Six years!

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Lorikat
Lorikat Member Posts: 681 Member

middle of October I will be six years NED.  When I was first diagnosed and on here A LOT I could not imagine six years NED!  So. Hello to all my old friends on here and blessings to all!

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  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    edited September 2017 #2
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    Lorikat

    Congratulations!  I am so happy for you!  That is fantastic news!  May you continue to be blessed with NED!  Hugs!

    Martha

     

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

  • Wellzen
    Wellzen Member Posts: 42
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    Congratulations 

    Congratulations 

  • eihtak
    eihtak Member Posts: 1,473 Member
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    Lorikat...

    Yay!!! Congratulations to you! Isn't it something that at the time of initial dx and during treatment the thought of having this be a thing of the past is so hard to find, but here you (and many of us) are, to prove it does happen!

    I wish you a long lifetime of NED blessings ahead and hope to continue to hear from you every now and then. 

    Celebrate that 6 year mark with a virtual toast from us all!

    katheryn

  • Mollymaude
    Mollymaude Member Posts: 431 Member
    edited September 2017 #5
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    Thanks

    Thanks for sharing your good news!

  • TraceyUSA
    TraceyUSA Member Posts: 316
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    WOOHOO!

    Happy 6 years!  May you have continued good reports!

    I know exactly what you mean about being unable to imagine 6 years NED when you 1st joined.  I'm approaching 5 years in the spring & never could have imagined that either.  I remember seeing posts similar to this when I first joined and being amazed & inspired to see survivors.

  • Jane s
    Jane s Member Posts: 77 Member
    edited September 2017 #7
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    Yay!

    Congratulations! !  Best news ever!

    This makes me wonder,  I asked my dr when I could be considered "cured" and he told me 5 years.  Is that what you all have been told?   Were you told something else?  Just curious. .

    Jane

  • TraceyUSA
    TraceyUSA Member Posts: 316
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    Jane

    It's my understanding that 5 years post treatment is a milestone because your chance of reoccurance is very low.  I could be wrong but that's what I remember hearing.

  • shamayim
    shamayim Member Posts: 22 Member
    edited October 2017 #9
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    off the charts and surpassing them

    lorikat,

    Congrats on your good health.  It's inspiring to know that people can and do survive anal cancer.  We are members of such a rare group and you have gone beyond where they track your survival which means you are officially off the charts.   I hope someday to reach your milestone.  Its a big deal!  I am cancer free 2 years and a 1 year Heart attack/widowmaker survivor. 

  • Lorikat
    Lorikat Member Posts: 681 Member
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    Thank you!

    thanks for all the good words folks!  I come back just to share that we CAN MAKE IT!!!  Blessings to all!

  • Jane s
    Jane s Member Posts: 77 Member
    edited October 2017 #11
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    and thank you

    It's so helpful to those of us who are still in the "danger zone" to hear from those of you who are out of danger and doing well.  It really has helped me turn my attitude around and really believe I'm going to be fine.  so THANK YOU!  

  • jcorum
    jcorum Member Posts: 54 Member
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    Congrats on 6 yrs!!!!

    When you start treatment, you dont think life will ever get back to normal. Nice that it does!!

  • xxsarahxx
    xxsarahxx Member Posts: 10
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    Jane s said:

    Yay!

    Congratulations! !  Best news ever!

    This makes me wonder,  I asked my dr when I could be considered "cured" and he told me 5 years.  Is that what you all have been told?   Were you told something else?  Just curious. .

    Jane

    Oncologists typically don't

    Oncologists typically don't really talk in terms of "cured," so you may never technically hear that term, rather they usually use remission or "no evidence of disease."  This is mostly due to the fact that they can never say 100% that microscopic disease (i.e., cancer cells) aren't present either locally at the original tumor site or at remote sites such as lymph nodes or other organs.  BUT, in practice, anal cancer, generally will recur within the 1st year or two if it is going to come back (acknowledging that there are always exceptions), so if you make it a couple of years with no evidence of disease (NED), you're in good shape.  They'll keep you under surveillance for five and, at that point, the statistics for recurrence are so low that they'll release you from care and consider you "cured," although I believe you're still strictly classified as NED for the aforementioned reasons.

  • Gemma579
    Gemma579 Member Posts: 7
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    Congratulations!

    So happy for you!  Thank you for sharing this wonderful news.