Today, I have reached two years NED

We love ya though!  Congratulations and, even though it has been under such terrible circumstances, I am glad I have met you.  

I hope you did something really special for YOU!  A facial, manicure, great meal or maybe some bubbly.  Heck maybe all of the above.  

My take on life is - everybody is dying; and very few know how long they have.  One of my friends who never missed a day of school all the way through high school graduation died at 22 when she was thrown off a horse and broke her neck.  She left two little girls along with a husband - they were exactly the same age as my kids.  Another good friend had a heart attack at 27.  She never married or had any kids.  Every year on her birthday I sent her now 90 year old mother a card - she was her only daughter with three boys.  My youngest brother dropped dead at 37 in his living room after coming home from the hospital on a Saturday morning after having an MRI on his shoulder - it wasn't his shoulder; it was his heart.  His 16 year old daughter and his 12 year old mentally handicapped son were with him.

The thing is, life is so fragile and yet so strong.  I know this sounds crazy, but I don't mind having this.  Life is what it is.  I don't believe in a personal god but I do believe there has to be something that is that spark of life that comes at birth and leaves at death.  As with anything in my life, I will work through it and what happens, happens.  I have had a wonderful life and I certainly don't want it to end but I'm a quality over quantity person.

Congratulations on your anniversary, Abby.  I raise my bottle of Lipton Ice Tea to you and offer a toast to many, many more of NED!!

Take care,

Eldri

I read somewhere that some consider the NED to be a period of rebirth in some ways.  It might seem strange but I think it is a day to mark the Thriver you are and the new perspective you carry - both good and bad. I  know you lost someone very close to you to breast cancer; maybe this is a day to live a little more loudly, enjoy a piece of cake and have a wonderful swim.  

You inspire me and have been a good centering point of calm for me on many days.  Cheers to you.  

Hugs Anne

EZLiving66 said:

I've been thinking about NED

You know that makes perfect sense to define NED as after your surgery if the surgery removed all the visible cancer.  Obviously everybody has cancer cells in their body but your immune system kills them before they can attach and multiply.  That's where we are!!  On October 30th, I will be be one month NED.  Hey, this is pretty cool!!

Take care and look for the positive!

Eldri

Great feeling, isn't it?  And it'll be even better next year and the year after and on and on.  Relish every single day.

EZLiving66 said:

Congratulations, Abby!!

My take on life is - everybody is dying; and very few know how long they have.  One of my friends who never missed a day of school all the way through high school graduation died at 22 when she was thrown off a horse and broke her neck.  She left two little girls along with a husband - they were exactly the same age as my kids.  Another good friend had a heart attack at 27.  She never married or had any kids.  Every year on her birthday I sent her now 90 year old mother a card - she was her only daughter with three boys.  My youngest brother dropped dead at 37 in his living room after coming home from the hospital on a Saturday morning after having an MRI on his shoulder - it wasn't his shoulder; it was his heart.  His 16 year old daughter and his 12 year old mentally handicapped son were with him.

The thing is, life is so fragile and yet so strong.  I know this sounds crazy, but I don't mind having this.  Life is what it is.  I don't believe in a personal god but I do believe there has to be something that is that spark of life that comes at birth and leaves at death.  As with anything in my life, I will work through it and what happens, happens.  I have had a wonderful life and I certainly don't want it to end but I'm a quality over quantity person.

Congratulations on your anniversary, Abby.  I raise my bottle of Lipton Ice Tea to you and offer a toast to many, many more of NED!!

 

Take care,

Eldri

Quality over quantity ? BAM<BAM<BAM !!! Nuff said, Me got sealed lips. but heart on a hug fest, HUGS to all my amazing sisters on this blog.

Eldri sorry about your family and friends, but the lessons learnt from those experiences are serving you well, it's shining through.  Showers of NED blessings my sister.

Moli.

HellieC said:

Great news!

Great news!  Whether you count it from diagnosis, surgery, or post surgery treatment - it's still good news!  It's a long old journey,with many bumps in the road, so we need to celebrate every victory along the way!

Kindest wishes
Helen xx

Time to CELEBRATE!!!!  Congrats on your two years. And heres to many many more for you and all the rest of us that celebrate with you.

I have heard that we settle into a new normal over time. I hope your new normal will bring you peace, calmness and allow you to be open again when you get there.

Love and Hugs,

Cindi

Cathy

Happy to celebrate with you.  Sending hugs and continued well wishes!!

Kathy

pinky104 said:

Survival Years

Interesting that your doctor told you that survivorship starts 5 years after your surgery.  I'd read many times on here that survival starts counting after your hysterectomy.  However, my oncologist (separate from my gyn/onc who did my surgery) told me congratulations on being officially 5 years out at five years after the end of my last chemotherapy appointment. I wonder if it depends upon whether you're talking to your surgeon or the adjuvant therapy person.  Maybe they each consider what they do the most important thing in your treatment.  Anyway, congrats and may you have many more years of survivorship!

  

If you think of NED as being no evidence of disease, that would mean different things to different people.  If, after my hysterectomy, my CT scan would have shown other tumors, then I wouldn't have been NED.  But since nothing showed up in lymph nodes or visably anyplace else then wouldn't that be NED?  

My gyno/oncologist told me that with just the hysterectomy, I had a 50/50 chance they had gotten it all since they couldn't find any other cancer.  But....since it was UPSC there may be many cells of undetectible cancer that the chemo would kill off upping my survival rate at five years to 80 to 90%.