Was on a high until yesterday.

pscott1
pscott1 Member Posts: 207 Member
Went in for my 6th treatment. Talked to Onc after labs and he delivered news to me that I guess I just never heard him say. Maybe he said it from the beginning and I just wasn't listening. My tumor marker is down to 1.6 and all 30 of the lesions in my liver are shrinking considerably. However, he told me that I would never be off chemo...at least not more than for a 3 - 6 month break at a time. He also told me that even if I keep my numbers down and my tumors are in control, the average time for me to survive this is 2-3 years. How did I ever miss that?! I can't tell you how down I am. I'm an emotional mess. I have a little 10 and 13 year old. I can't leave them. Has or is anybody facing this same thing? Can I not survive more than 2-3 years?! Liver resection is not an option. How do I go after this now? I want to keep up the fight but this just totally knocked the wind out of me. I just want to live and definitely a lot longer than 2-3 years! Any words of advice, encouragement, wisdom......

Thanks friends,

Pam
«1

Comments

  • pepebcn
    pepebcn Member Posts: 6,331 Member
    May be you must check for a second option but there are many of
    us who have been operated after shrinkage of many liver lesions Pam!.Others are still here with their less ions controlled leaving a comfortable
    life, don't pay attention to stats ! Talk for example to Winter Marie!.
    Hope it helped my dear! Hugs!
  • Lovekitties
    Lovekitties Member Posts: 3,364 Member
    Dear Pam
    I can certainly understand your shock at such pronouncements, and no I don't think you would have missed any of that if you had heard it before.

    My suspicion is that even with the good news of very low marker and shrinkage that your onc is thinking that at some point your current chemo may stop working. I think he over stepped the bounds though giving you a time limits.

    I would suggest that you get another opinion if at all possible.

    As you have doubtless seen from others posting here, it is more than possible to beat those odds. Who knows, at some point a liver resection might even be possible, even a cure.

    Don't give up hope. Make plans in your mind to be around at least to see the little ones graduate and marry and give you grandkids.

    Make sure you tell your doc that you don't plan on leaving any time in the next 20 years!

    Hugs,

    Marie who loves kitties
  • Buckwirth
    Buckwirth Member Posts: 1,258 Member
    Pam,
    The chemo for life thing is a bit tough, but it is not always as bad as it sounds, see Craig, Phil and others who have been here for years, and manage quite well in their daily lives.

    The numbers your Oncologist referred to are a median (the patient exactly in the middle).

    Half will survive longer, half will pass sooner. A better explanation of this can be had here: The Median is NOT the Message

    The question is, what half are you on? The median age at diagnoses for mCRC is 74. Are you below that threshold (rhetorical, I read your profile and know you are)? If so, your age alone says that you will probably outlive the median.

    Your overall health plays into this, as does how you are reacting to your treatments.

    The treatments get a bit easier too. Once you have the tumors under control the type of treatment can change. I started on Folfox, had radiation, and am now taking Irinotecan/Erbitux.

    Note also, that while your liver is not resectable now, it may be after chemo is through. You would not be the first who was told surgery was not an option, only to find yourself having surgery.

    Something else to take to heart, the five year survival rate for Stage IV CRC has gone up over 100% in the last decade! So even your latest dire news may just be old dire news.

    One of my favorite caregivers on this board, GeoTina (she is Tina, the patient is George) recently reminded her husband that this is a marathon, not a sprint. So, ignore the stats, and plan your life as you will live it.
  • pscott1
    pscott1 Member Posts: 207 Member
    pepebcn said:

    May be you must check for a second option but there are many of
    us who have been operated after shrinkage of many liver lesions Pam!.Others are still here with their less ions controlled leaving a comfortable
    life, don't pay attention to stats ! Talk for example to Winter Marie!.
    Hope it helped my dear! Hugs!

    Thanks so much Pepe!
    You have no idea the sense of relief I had after just reading your first line! This board is the best therapy I could ask for. Thanks for responding so quickly too...I have been so distraught since yesterday!

    Hugs back!

    Pam
  • pscott1
    pscott1 Member Posts: 207 Member

    Dear Pam
    I can certainly understand your shock at such pronouncements, and no I don't think you would have missed any of that if you had heard it before.

    My suspicion is that even with the good news of very low marker and shrinkage that your onc is thinking that at some point your current chemo may stop working. I think he over stepped the bounds though giving you a time limits.

    I would suggest that you get another opinion if at all possible.

    As you have doubtless seen from others posting here, it is more than possible to beat those odds. Who knows, at some point a liver resection might even be possible, even a cure.

    Don't give up hope. Make plans in your mind to be around at least to see the little ones graduate and marry and give you grandkids.

    Make sure you tell your doc that you don't plan on leaving any time in the next 20 years!

    Hugs,

    Marie who loves kitties

    Thank you Marie for responding.
    I have been in mental turmoil since yesterday. Every time I look at my girls I start crying. I have to believe that with the low numbers and shrinkage of lesions that there is some hope that other things can be done. I have gone on and read of others on the board that have mets even to other organs besides the liver and are still here fighting. I will take your advice definitely and not give up hope. I really could use another 20 years; even if I have to continue to listen to them bicker with each other every day! :)

    Hugs,

    Pam
  • pscott1
    pscott1 Member Posts: 207 Member
    Buckwirth said:

    Pam,
    The chemo for life thing is a bit tough, but it is not always as bad as it sounds, see Craig, Phil and others who have been here for years, and manage quite well in their daily lives.

    The numbers your Oncologist referred to are a median (the patient exactly in the middle).

    Half will survive longer, half will pass sooner. A better explanation of this can be had here: The Median is NOT the Message

    The question is, what half are you on? The median age at diagnoses for mCRC is 74. Are you below that threshold (rhetorical, I read your profile and know you are)? If so, your age alone says that you will probably outlive the median.

    Your overall health plays into this, as does how you are reacting to your treatments.

    The treatments get a bit easier too. Once you have the tumors under control the type of treatment can change. I started on Folfox, had radiation, and am now taking Irinotecan/Erbitux.

    Note also, that while your liver is not resectable now, it may be after chemo is through. You would not be the first who was told surgery was not an option, only to find yourself having surgery.

    Something else to take to heart, the five year survival rate for Stage IV CRC has gone up over 100% in the last decade! So even your latest dire news may just be old dire news.

    One of my favorite caregivers on this board, GeoTina (she is Tina, the patient is George) recently reminded her husband that this is a marathon, not a sprint. So, ignore the stats, and plan your life as you will live it.

    Thanks so much for your words of encouragement!
    I'm going to hang on to the hope that I'm on the outliving the median side! You have taken some of the extreme stress off my mind from this post. That says alot for how much support this board is capable of. I am going to keep hoping and fighting and even when it seems like the end; I'll fight even harder.

    Hugs,

    Pam
  • geotina
    geotina Member Posts: 2,111 Member
    Pam:
    I have no words of wisdom to offer to you at this point. What tomorrow holds for each patient, is unknown. Your treatments are working, so keep up the good work, as hard as it is. Stay as healthy as possible. Do something each day that makes you smile and do something that makes someone else smile. Treat yourself to a lazy day now and again. Heck, that bathroom will be just as messy tomorrow as it is today so just close the door.

    Don't stress over the next treatment, the next scan, the next appointment for these are things you have no control over. Simply do the very best you can.

    As for the future, worry about it when it gets here and for now, live the moment making memories. The stats are getting better and better for Stage IV and treatment options are evolving constantly.

    Take care - Tina
  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member
    geotina said:

    Pam:
    I have no words of wisdom to offer to you at this point. What tomorrow holds for each patient, is unknown. Your treatments are working, so keep up the good work, as hard as it is. Stay as healthy as possible. Do something each day that makes you smile and do something that makes someone else smile. Treat yourself to a lazy day now and again. Heck, that bathroom will be just as messy tomorrow as it is today so just close the door.

    Don't stress over the next treatment, the next scan, the next appointment for these are things you have no control over. Simply do the very best you can.

    As for the future, worry about it when it gets here and for now, live the moment making memories. The stats are getting better and better for Stage IV and treatment options are evolving constantly.

    Take care - Tina

    Same boat --same paddles..........
    I am in the same arena as you fighting the lions........Looking at most likely maintenance chemo...She did talk about 6 months of some type of regimen but not to talk about it until we see what we are up against.....Like you I have a 6 and a 9 year old, as well as a 17 and a 25 year old...So yeah, I know where you are at exactly...I questioned about longevity myself and she will not talk about it...she does say that however in my benefit that my cancer is slow growing, along with that though is usually harder to treat. But, all in all if we spend all of our time waiting for the storm to hit, and it never does......then we sure have wasted a lot of time.....and if we don't wait for the storm to hit and it does...then every minute we have needs to be spent wisely...Cancer has robbed me of the ability to guarantee my family any longevity with me. But, if we give up then why are we going through the hell we are now...It takes a lot to get up and start a new day, each day with the waking thought that its not me its someone else with this horrible disease. When it really gets me down is when I think that it could be my child instead of me...we just have to find that place where all is tucked away so that the lingering thoughts don't interfere with the things that life is truly about...memories, loving the ones closest to you, and treating people like they really do mean something to us, like we want to be treated...
    Pam, I won't sit here and tell you its easily done...I still cry when I start to think about some things, and mostly about my children, but then I realize that even though they are my children it could happen to it has also happened to thousands more and for the most part they do fine after a while...its damn hard to look at them and wonder why me ? I have a mom thats living and she has lost one child from polio at the age of 6. that was 1954, the same year the polio vaccine was invented...Well, I am the baby she was taking care of when the other passed away, I am considered by the other family members as her pet, simply because I was there keeping her busy while she tried to grieve. Now, I am the one she sees in the same boat as her daughter, my sister was. So, for me to pass away before my mom does is not an option, its just not going to happen, I won't allow it to.
    I ask a lot of questions on this board about new things that pop up that I am not very learned about, but knowledge is power, and power is the key to longevity in this journey. The more knowledge you contain, the better you can dictate how your treatment regimen goes and what options are available to us out there. Use this board to find that strength that gets you through the next hour, day, or week...We are here for each other, and when I find a predicament that seems to be more than I can handle, I come in here and see how many different options that I really have and then I start to get that "Im fixin' to kick its azz again" feeling, and thats where we all want to be, in that frame of mindset. Its easy to get down when we re occur or chit goes south on us...Im kinda in that funk myself right now, but Im not going to wallow to long...When I feel the need to vent, then I vent...and then I move on...but we can't give into this...because just like polio, someday there will be a cure, and we just have to fight it from treatment to treatment until that day comes....Pam, someday millions are going to be cured of this disease and it could be ten years from now, or 10 minutes from now...but it could very well be anytime a major breakthrough....and thats something real to hold onto...also when I feel down I ask myself if not me then who else would have taken my place getting this dreadful disease...I know what I can handle, and what I can't...as long as its me and not my loved ones then in a sort of way I am still protecting my family by taking the burden of having this away from them.
    Take your time to cry, we certainly deserve to do that, and at any given time. I promise that if I decide to vent I am going to...It does rinse out the crap for a while...but try and get mad after you vent and take it out on the cancer, not the family...take it out on the cancer by skipping something it loves as a snack....sugar. Take that extra piece of pie and toss it, or take that candy bar and toss it. I take it as if I can't claim it on my income tax as a deduction, then its not gonna live in my house or my body......get the "attitude"...don't think about something...do it...don't put it off til tomorrow, do it today and then its another accomplishment...
    Its easy to give up, I have been on the verge many times in the last 3 years...but just because a cell decided to get squirrelly on me and my WBC didn't squash it as it normally does doesn't mean that it gets a free ride in my body...if it wants to take me out then it better get its chit together cause I have puked,cussed, puked some more and still go back for another round of chemo...I am about to take a scope down the old nostril and have to swallow that...now, won't that be a damn hoot...but you can bet that I will do it, and the reason is because I got 5 here that depend on me, and Im not gonna let them down.........and neither are you.....so since we are in the same boat hold my hand and lets get through this...Look at it this way....lots of great stuff can happen in two or three years..........thats what Im counting on...........love to you......Clift
  • dorookie
    dorookie Member Posts: 1,731 Member
    Pam,
    There are many success stories out there too, Buzz is right, a cure can come at anytime. I am stage 4 and have been NED for some time now going on 3 years, Thanks to GOD and some dang great doctors. I was too told I only had a short time to live but here I sit, still causing hell. I do not know if it will return, but if it does I will fight again, I have 2 daughters and a grandson that I want to be around to see for a long time. Like Buzz often says, no one here on this earth can give you or anyone a time frame, thats up to the man upstairs. So please use the board anytime to vent, cry, scream, and know your not alone, someone here has or is going through what your going through. We are all in this together.

    HUGS
    Beth
  • luvmum
    luvmum Member Posts: 457 Member
    I know how you feel
    Dear Pam,

    I always read the successful stories to cheer myself up. When the doctors found out my mum's recurrence 3.5 months after her liver resection 3 weeks ago, they only give her months to live. I don't know how true would this be, I have been living in pain since. She is on new chemo regimen now and I will pray for a good respond to her and of course good long-lasting respond will be even better.

    I try not to think too much. We can never predict our future. Phil keeps telling me if there is a 20% successful rate of the new chemo drug, why not my mum. This really help! Believe you could be one of those long term survivors!

    Best wishes to you my dear,
    Dora (hugs)
  • taraHK
    taraHK Member Posts: 1,952 Member
    you are not an average

    "the average time for me to survive this is 2-3 years"

    With all due respect to your oncologist, that doesn't even make sense -- there may be an average out there (probably very updated, due to advances in treatment) -- but you are not an average -- you are one person -- and NOBODY knows how long you will live --- or any of us.

    I am one of those who is on "chemo for life". It's been about 8 years since my diagnosis. I've had 4 recurrences -- and I'm still going strong! My philosophy is: I just have to stay one step ahead of the advances in medical science (both traditional and 'alternative') -- which are advancing very rapidly (faster than my cancer!). As others have said -- the drug combo I am on right now might not "cure" me -- it just has to keep me alive long enough till they invent the one that does!

    My boys were 10 and 12 when I was diagnosed. They are 18 and 20 now! (and I've enjoyed every minute of the squabling ha ha)

    Hang in there, darling

    Tara
  • herdizziness
    herdizziness Member Posts: 3,624 Member
    Oh Pam
    Dear Pam,
    Those words were said to me once upon a time. If I survived the 4 - 6 months by some miracle (it's been 1 year and 5 months now)that I would be on chemo for life, that I would never have surgery. I prepared my video will, wrote my letters, gave my precious things to those who I wanted to have them and felt happy that I had the chance to take care of things.
    And here I sit 7 months after my surgery (the one I would never qualify for)and 4 weeks after my LAST chemo that I was told would never, ever end (well, for however long that lasts, which I hope is a long time) time is a good thing, things can change for the better.
    So do not despair my dear, do not despair.
    Love and hugs,
    Winter Marie
  • Annabelle41415
    Annabelle41415 Member Posts: 6,742 Member
    Hope
    You need to continue to hope. Get a second opinion as there might be other options out there for you. If others have their tumors controlled and are here 7 years later than there should be that same plan for you.

    Kim
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    Hi Pam
    To be honest, I'm not sure that I believe your oncologist. I just don't get how he can make these predictions. Does he have tomorrow's lottery numbers by any chance since he seems to be able to see into the future?
    First, your tumor markers are down.
    Second, your tumors are shrinking.
    Third, how does that figure into 2-3 years?

    Are the tumors in such bad areas that they can not be dealt with by a resection or by RFA?
    I was diagnosed on Feb 25th, 2004 with stage IV colon cancer. My liver was a mess with tumors making me inoperable (at the time). My oncologist was still talking "cure" with me, we never had any discussions other than that. She certainly never took out the crystal ball that some oncologists seem to get. Maybe she stayed in class that day instead of getting a crystal ball? I really have very little "trust" in someone who would give me an expiration date unless I was one giant walking tumor.

    True, after the liver was dealt with by a resection and an HAI pump, I had to deal with lung mets which I'm still dealing with, but after 3 operations (2005, 06, 07) I had just a few small nodes in my lung(s) that were (and still are) being dealt with by RFAs. I've also stayed on chemo (Erbitux) but that is more of a targeted type of chemo and while there are side effects, I am able to live a fairly normal life. My oncologist and I still talking "cure" too. So I'm here after about 7 1/2 years.

    In the beginning of this whole thing I had no idea what to expect but I had a 10 yr old and 4 yr old at the time. Now they're 17 and 11. Have there been times when I didn't think I'd be writing 7+ years after my diagnosis? You betcha! (Ewwww) Are there times when I'm driving on the highway when some moron almost kills me? You betcha with that too. You never know.

    I know that we are all different and respond to treatment differently. I can't say that if you do as I do you will have similar results. I'm also not saying that you won't either. For me, going for chemo once every 3 weeks is not a big deal. If I have to do this for another 10 years, I'll take it. Maybe nutrition is the way to go, others on this site have had great success with that method. There does not seem to be one size that fits all with cancer. If it were me, I'd seriously consider getting another opinion on your situation.
    All the best
    -phil
  • tootsie1
    tootsie1 Member Posts: 5,044 Member
    Don't give up!
    Hi, Pam.

    You've had so many words of wisdom come your way, so I don't really have anything to add, except to say hang in there and see what another opinion might mean for you. Never hurts to see!

    *hugs*
    Gail
  • gfpiv
    gfpiv Member Posts: 59 Member
    Hang in there
    Pam, you've gotten some good advice/perspective from folks already. It's very true about how everyone reacts differently, and who's to say you can't be in the percentage that is able to beat it? As you know, there are all sorts of treatment options, and more on the way.

    I'm in a similar boat to you - "numerous" liver mets, excellent reaction to chemo, but no expectation of ever becoming resectable...so likely "chemo for life". And yes, cancer - and the associated treatments - really does suck at times, but I am still very much enjoying my life to the fullest extent I can, and counting my blessings daily.

    One thing I found helpful in my case was installation of a hepatic pump (HAI), which delivers concentrated chemo to tumors in the liver. True, unlike some people's results, it hasn't shrunk my lesions to where they might be operable, and we don't expect it ever will. However, the monthly treatments themselves are MUCH easier to get through than systemic chemo (which I'm also doing bi-weekly). And I fully believe that HAI has been a major reason I've been able to buy myself disease stability over the past 11 months. Who knows, maybe if we stick it out long enough, that miracle cure will come around the bend for all of us?

    Anyway, just wanted to throw HAI into the discussion in case that might be a viable possibility in your case. Best of luck in the battle, it sounds like you have a lot to live for, don't give up hope.
    -Chip
  • pscott1
    pscott1 Member Posts: 207 Member
    Buzzard said:

    Same boat --same paddles..........
    I am in the same arena as you fighting the lions........Looking at most likely maintenance chemo...She did talk about 6 months of some type of regimen but not to talk about it until we see what we are up against.....Like you I have a 6 and a 9 year old, as well as a 17 and a 25 year old...So yeah, I know where you are at exactly...I questioned about longevity myself and she will not talk about it...she does say that however in my benefit that my cancer is slow growing, along with that though is usually harder to treat. But, all in all if we spend all of our time waiting for the storm to hit, and it never does......then we sure have wasted a lot of time.....and if we don't wait for the storm to hit and it does...then every minute we have needs to be spent wisely...Cancer has robbed me of the ability to guarantee my family any longevity with me. But, if we give up then why are we going through the hell we are now...It takes a lot to get up and start a new day, each day with the waking thought that its not me its someone else with this horrible disease. When it really gets me down is when I think that it could be my child instead of me...we just have to find that place where all is tucked away so that the lingering thoughts don't interfere with the things that life is truly about...memories, loving the ones closest to you, and treating people like they really do mean something to us, like we want to be treated...
    Pam, I won't sit here and tell you its easily done...I still cry when I start to think about some things, and mostly about my children, but then I realize that even though they are my children it could happen to it has also happened to thousands more and for the most part they do fine after a while...its damn hard to look at them and wonder why me ? I have a mom thats living and she has lost one child from polio at the age of 6. that was 1954, the same year the polio vaccine was invented...Well, I am the baby she was taking care of when the other passed away, I am considered by the other family members as her pet, simply because I was there keeping her busy while she tried to grieve. Now, I am the one she sees in the same boat as her daughter, my sister was. So, for me to pass away before my mom does is not an option, its just not going to happen, I won't allow it to.
    I ask a lot of questions on this board about new things that pop up that I am not very learned about, but knowledge is power, and power is the key to longevity in this journey. The more knowledge you contain, the better you can dictate how your treatment regimen goes and what options are available to us out there. Use this board to find that strength that gets you through the next hour, day, or week...We are here for each other, and when I find a predicament that seems to be more than I can handle, I come in here and see how many different options that I really have and then I start to get that "Im fixin' to kick its azz again" feeling, and thats where we all want to be, in that frame of mindset. Its easy to get down when we re occur or chit goes south on us...Im kinda in that funk myself right now, but Im not going to wallow to long...When I feel the need to vent, then I vent...and then I move on...but we can't give into this...because just like polio, someday there will be a cure, and we just have to fight it from treatment to treatment until that day comes....Pam, someday millions are going to be cured of this disease and it could be ten years from now, or 10 minutes from now...but it could very well be anytime a major breakthrough....and thats something real to hold onto...also when I feel down I ask myself if not me then who else would have taken my place getting this dreadful disease...I know what I can handle, and what I can't...as long as its me and not my loved ones then in a sort of way I am still protecting my family by taking the burden of having this away from them.
    Take your time to cry, we certainly deserve to do that, and at any given time. I promise that if I decide to vent I am going to...It does rinse out the crap for a while...but try and get mad after you vent and take it out on the cancer, not the family...take it out on the cancer by skipping something it loves as a snack....sugar. Take that extra piece of pie and toss it, or take that candy bar and toss it. I take it as if I can't claim it on my income tax as a deduction, then its not gonna live in my house or my body......get the "attitude"...don't think about something...do it...don't put it off til tomorrow, do it today and then its another accomplishment...
    Its easy to give up, I have been on the verge many times in the last 3 years...but just because a cell decided to get squirrelly on me and my WBC didn't squash it as it normally does doesn't mean that it gets a free ride in my body...if it wants to take me out then it better get its chit together cause I have puked,cussed, puked some more and still go back for another round of chemo...I am about to take a scope down the old nostril and have to swallow that...now, won't that be a damn hoot...but you can bet that I will do it, and the reason is because I got 5 here that depend on me, and Im not gonna let them down.........and neither are you.....so since we are in the same boat hold my hand and lets get through this...Look at it this way....lots of great stuff can happen in two or three years..........thats what Im counting on...........love to you......Clift

    Clift...what would I do without you?
    And I truly mean that. When I have these horrible moments I come on the board looking for some of your words of wisdom. I know what you mean about me having it and not my kids; that is some comfort for me. Alot of times when I say "why me" I find myself turning right around and saying "why not me". I do hold on to the hope that if I can just keep stable and healthy enough, no matter 3 or 30 lesions, that one day there will be a cure. Clift it is so hard to make it some days; when I look at people I work with and know they are healthy and have the luxury of planning for retirement or even a vacation next winter, and I'm not sure how much time I even have, it's so sad. I look at my girls and I just hang on their laughter, their smiles and even the sound of their young voices. I'm trying to just live in the moment and appreciate the time I do have with them. But you know how it is....that sadness comes rushing in and the fear that one day I won't be able to hear their voices or laughter or be able to see their smiles anymore. The Onc's words hit me like a ton of bricks and I had the feeling again of when I first heard those words "you have cancer"...but I am a fighter and always have been. I'll be down and hurt for a little but then my "Popeye" mentality will kick in; you know.....'I've taken all I can take and I can't take anymore'. I won't let cancer rob me of everything. I'm going to work on getting mad and standing up to this thing. And just like you, no matter how sick this crap makes me that I have to continue to have pumped into my body, I'll deal with it and keep going. Keep your hand out for me Clift because I have a feeling you're going to have to do alot of hand holding down the road. Much love back to you! You are always in my thoughts and prayers. We're going to make it thru this together. Hug your babies and your older babies too.....they are what keeps me in this fight! I will be thinking of you with the upcoming test you have to take. Ask them to give you something to relax you. Let me know how it goes. Take care of yourself! Hugs, Pam
  • pscott1
    pscott1 Member Posts: 207 Member
    dorookie said:

    Pam,
    There are many success stories out there too, Buzz is right, a cure can come at anytime. I am stage 4 and have been NED for some time now going on 3 years, Thanks to GOD and some dang great doctors. I was too told I only had a short time to live but here I sit, still causing hell. I do not know if it will return, but if it does I will fight again, I have 2 daughters and a grandson that I want to be around to see for a long time. Like Buzz often says, no one here on this earth can give you or anyone a time frame, thats up to the man upstairs. So please use the board anytime to vent, cry, scream, and know your not alone, someone here has or is going through what your going through. We are all in this together.

    HUGS
    Beth

    Thanks Beth.
    I truly feel like we all are in this together. This is my solace when I feel I just can't talk to anyone around me. Thanks for the encouragement and I pray you continue to be NED for many years to come.

    Hugs,

    Pam
  • pscott1
    pscott1 Member Posts: 207 Member
    luvmum said:

    I know how you feel
    Dear Pam,

    I always read the successful stories to cheer myself up. When the doctors found out my mum's recurrence 3.5 months after her liver resection 3 weeks ago, they only give her months to live. I don't know how true would this be, I have been living in pain since. She is on new chemo regimen now and I will pray for a good respond to her and of course good long-lasting respond will be even better.

    I try not to think too much. We can never predict our future. Phil keeps telling me if there is a 20% successful rate of the new chemo drug, why not my mum. This really help! Believe you could be one of those long term survivors!

    Best wishes to you my dear,
    Dora (hugs)

    Dora, I'm so glad your mom is on the new chemo and I pray it is
    successful. I'm going to believe just like you said; I long to be one of those long term survivors!

    Hugs,
    Pam
  • pscott1
    pscott1 Member Posts: 207 Member
    taraHK said:

    you are not an average

    "the average time for me to survive this is 2-3 years"

    With all due respect to your oncologist, that doesn't even make sense -- there may be an average out there (probably very updated, due to advances in treatment) -- but you are not an average -- you are one person -- and NOBODY knows how long you will live --- or any of us.

    I am one of those who is on "chemo for life". It's been about 8 years since my diagnosis. I've had 4 recurrences -- and I'm still going strong! My philosophy is: I just have to stay one step ahead of the advances in medical science (both traditional and 'alternative') -- which are advancing very rapidly (faster than my cancer!). As others have said -- the drug combo I am on right now might not "cure" me -- it just has to keep me alive long enough till they invent the one that does!

    My boys were 10 and 12 when I was diagnosed. They are 18 and 20 now! (and I've enjoyed every minute of the squabling ha ha)

    Hang in there, darling

    Tara

    Thanks Tara,
    You have no idea how good that makes me feel!!! I feel the same way that as long as I keep good numbers and no recurrence or further spread, I can hang in there until they find a cure for this mess! I am going to stay positive that I can survive this. You truly did help me with your comments about seeing your kids grow up to adulthood. I will hang on that thought for a long time! Bless you!

    Hugs,

    Pam