SURVIVOR....UTERINE CARCINOMA. STAGE 4-2b

Pinky was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer and survived 7 years I believe. We have other survivors here. The board is very quiet but we are out here.

I had renal cancer and got my right kidney removed in 2008. In August 2024, 16 years later, I got diagnosed with stage 4 renal cancer that attached itself to my spine. Also, have a lesion on my other kidney, my liver and lung. Had A CT Scan in December and my lesions shrunk by about 30-50%. The main cancer on my spine stayed the same size, but they hit it with radiation and got a little of it with surgery so the doctor said there are most likely dead cancer cells showing up on the scan.

Wow, this gives me so much hope! However, are these all the same kinds of "carcinoma?" Is "serous" and "high-grade" different from others?

Takingcontrol has lots of information about other things you can do to help prevent recurrence. Search her screen name.

To answer your question- how long can someone with metastatic cancer stay in remission?
You can remain in remission for as long as you keep your body healthy and functioning like it should.
Cancer doesn't grow in a healthy body. You are not healthy if you develop cancer.

Forherself, I saw you mention my name so I had to reply. I haven't been posting for awhile.

I was officially diagnosed with Stage 3b, Grade 3 endometrioid cancer in Oct 2014 after my hysterectomy (though my symptoms began in August). Grade 3 endometrioid is in the same category as serous- it is aggressive and likely to recur. Besides the tumor in my uterus, I had a spot on my right ovary and a small perirectal tumor. Also lymphvascular invasion. Two months later, Jan 2015, before I began any treatment, my cancer metastasized to my liver, spleen and vaginal cuff with nodules on my spleen and lung. 90% of my tumors were gone by March 2015. I was completely cancer free by August 2015. It has now been over ten years since my initial metastases. No recurrences since then.

Some words of wisdom from what I have learned-

1. You need to address the root causes of your cancer to prevent a recurrence- oncologists do not use this approach so you will have to become a cancer detective and get a handle on the state of your health (comprehensive blood testing and comprehensive genomic testing is critical to uncover your health issues and broken cellular processes- testing tumor markers and a CBC is not enough). Everyone develops cancer from a different set of factors, even people with the same type of cancer

2. You can cut out the tumor but you can’t cut out the cancer -cutting out my ‘tumor” did not stop new cancer from growing- I had a toxic environment in my body that allowed my cancer to metastasize very quickly so I had to identify those issues and address them

3. Take control of your health and cancer- cancer remission is about healing your body so it functions like it should- you need to heal what is broken but first you have to identify what is broken

4. The more cancer treatments you get, the higher your risk of more cancer -you don’t want to poison yourself to death or decimate your immune system

5. Don’t ever put anything in or on your body if you don’t know what is in it, how it works or the potential side effects- I refused the addition of Avastin and Everolimus when my cancer metastasized and a low dose pill of Cytoxan after I stopped my initial 6 chemos of Taxol/Carbo)- I didn’t want to add more damaging treatments into the mix- I found other solutions to address the causes of my cancer

6. Use treatments that target your particular issues- don't just use a cancer drug because it is recommended and you don't know if it targets one of your issues-a targeted treatment does not have to be a cancer drug- losing weight, rebalancing hormones, maintaining strong levels of Vitamin D3 are examples of targeted therapies

7. You have to work hard at keeping yourself cancer-free- it is a lifetime job-the end of your cancer treatment is the beginning of your work

8. Don't sit around waiting for some miracle drug when there are many options available today- lifestyle changes, non-cancer drugs to treat many of the causes of your cancer and natural compounds (supplements/vitamins)

Takingcontrol58
To the next ten years.

You are an inspiration and a gift of hope for all of us. Your journey is amazing and thank you for sharing. I want those years too. Trying to stay healthy and happy. Aloha, Lana

What was the comprehensive blood testing and comprehensive genomic testing that you had done. I will start chemotherapy for Stage4b endometrial serous cancer in a few weeks and am leary of all of the side effects that the infusion chemicals (carboplatin, plactaxol, and keytruda) can cause but also realize I am in a metastatic state and need treatment to knock it back a bit. My oncologist has said I can be on Keytruda, an immunotherapy, for up to 2 years. It has a lot of nasty side effects and I figure the longer I am on it the greater the chances of experiencing one. So I am looking at my options and would appreciate any input you might have.

Jenny2,

I just sent you a long message with answers to your questions.

Takingcontrol58