surviving

grafidog

I just celebrated my new birthday, March 3. This year was 11 years, cancer free. I remember the wind being sucked out of my body the day I was told I had breast cancer. I had a 12 year old daughter still to raise and I worried if I would be around to see her graduate from high school. I worried that she would be forced to grow up without a mom and I just wanted to live long enough to see her through those tough teen years. My son had just met the girl of his dreams and I thought it would be nice to see him graduate from college and get married. When my daughter turned 18 and graduated, I thought perhaps I had not been greedy enough in my request for time. I watched her blow out her 23 candles last month and announce her engagement. In these past 11 years, I have known such joy and now count 2 grandchildren and one more on the way. What an awesome gift these last 11 years have been. I know when I was first diagonosed, none of this seemed possible. So, hope you can take something from my success and look forward to when you will have 11 or more years behind you as well.

SusanAnne

Happy "Birthday" and thanks for sharing your wonderful story. Sounds just like what I asked for last year when I was diagnosed. Congrats on becoming a grandma and all the other good stuff, sounds like you are having the time of your life! I hope my story has a similar outcome. I wish for you many more years yet to come. Enjoy!

vac

congratulation your letter made me feel warm and fuzzy and happy. i am stage 3 i pray everynight that i get to see my girls grow up to become productive young ladies and happily married then with children. what was your stage? keep up the good work

tlmac

What wonderful news! I was stage II, grade III with clear lymph nodes and will celebrate my first year being treatment free on May 8th. Postings like yours always give me hope that more and more of us will have similar outcomes. Congratulations on your continued good health and many blessings.

krisrey

HI grafidog,
Thanks for sharing your wonderful story of hope, and congradulations on your new birthday.

It will be one year of my dx coming on Good Friday, I finished treatment on December 30th. Like you I had many of the same exact thoughts. My twin girls are much to young (9years) and I just prayed that I will be able to raise them and see them lead a productive full life. I am not thrilled with my "new" status but I also know that I have done all I could do (treatments) and am doing everything possible now staying positive and learning to go on with my life and enjoy my girls.

lynne40

Congratulations and Happy Birthday! You give us all hope. It's so nice when someone re-visits the site and tells a positive story. Nice to hear a positive message from the "other side". You made my day! Hugs,
Lynne

billandpatty

Congratulations! I'm a 4 year survivor and am amazed at the "gift" I received 4 years ago. Like you, I had all those same feelings you had -- "if I could just get in some more time" ... So I have looked at the time I've had, which I view as my gift, and what joy I've experienced in the last 4 years -- even out of very simple things like the sun shining (I live on the West Coast and it's been absolutely beautiful for about 10 days, it's hard to believe it's only March, not late June). My children were in college when I was diagnosed, but I still wanted to see them graduate, start careers, marry? and have grandchildren. I also wanted to live longer in my marriage -- it's been a good one. Cancer (I was also diagnosed with melanoma last year -- 10 months surviving that one) has tested our marriage and has shown us all the different kinds of love you can have for one another. Our relationship is better and deeper than it was 4 years ago. We also laugh more -- at really silly things. I don't want to sound like it's been a piece of cake -- it hasn't, but all of this has made me (us, including my children) more grateful for what life really is and what really counts. I thought I knew before the cancer diagnosis, but I didn't, not completely. And maybe that's a life long quest that makes life interesting and alive; trying to figure out what it's all about. Thank you for sharing. It does give us all hope to know that you can get on with living a long time. And now I'm helping to plan my daughter's wedding -- what fun and joy we're having. It's quite a process but also an honor to be included in her helping plan her dream day.

Take care.

blackpearls

Thanks for giving me hope! I signed up for this board three weeks ago and for some reason I was scared to log on after I signed up. The tumor found in my breast was stage 1 grade III. I don't have to have chemo but I was just contacted to start radiation treatments. I was so happy to see your note first. God bless all of you. Hope is really a wonderful thing!!!

Unknown

Thank you so much for your message. I was diagnosed with stage 1, grade III aggressive tumor last Oct. 2003 at age 39. I am finishing chemo, then will move onto rads. I keep thinking I'm going to die before 2004 is out. I have a 7 yr old daughter and I want to be there to watch her grow up. But your post reminds me that I must cling to whatever little hope I have. Thank you so much and I'm so glad that you've had 11 cancer free years. Here is wishing you many, many more.

Jaded

Snookums

SusanAnne said:

Happy "Birthday" and thanks for sharing your wonderful story. Sounds just like what I asked for last year when I was diagnosed. Congrats on becoming a grandma and all the other good stuff, sounds like you are having the time of your life! I hope my story has a similar outcome. I wish for you many more years yet to come. Enjoy!

Amen! Happy Birthday and Thanks- Blessings , Candy

blackpearls

unknown said:

Thank you so much for your message. I was diagnosed with stage 1, grade III aggressive tumor last Oct. 2003 at age 39. I am finishing chemo, then will move onto rads. I keep thinking I'm going to die before 2004 is out. I have a 7 yr old daughter and I want to be there to watch her grow up. But your post reminds me that I must cling to whatever little hope I have. Thank you so much and I'm so glad that you've had 11 cancer free years. Here is wishing you many, many more.

Jaded

I thought the same thing right after my diagnosis in early February (this year).I felt too that I was going to die, but in the Bible it says that every sickness is not a death sentence. I'm going to keep holding on and I hope you will too.