Stage IV 8 year anniversary

foxy said:

Hello Heidi, and yes you have a beautiful name! Congratulations on your achievement. As Ron said I am a stage 4 surviver from 20 Dec 1993. Back in those good old days???? we had to take levamisole as well as 5Fu and it was the most disgusting drug ever, but it certainly did the trick for me.

I also had a large liver met removed at the same time as my hemicolectomy. Since then I have said good bye to half my right breast, my right ovary nodules on the right side of my voice box and a thingy on the right side of my cervix. They were all pre- cancerous and only found by continued scans etc. Funny that everything is right sided. Anyway here down under, we do not have the same treatment that you get elsewhere, but with a great Specialist I was able to give the beast a boot. I continue monthly CEA's and Liver function tests, but at this stage I am a definite NED.
All the very best to you.

Virginia.

Thank you all for your kind words. Sometimes people ask me whether I did anything special to overcome cancer and I'm always a little embarrassed to admit I didn't do anything tangible. I didn't take supplements, juice things, cut out foods or anything else. I did whatever the doctors said. The one thing I will say is that I never ever gave up hope. I felt every day was a gift. If I only had so much time to live then I chose to live each day with hope and joy rather than despair and depression. I only really asked "why me?" once and that was years after the diagnosis when I asked my onc. "why did I survive? What is it about me or my genetics or whatever that did the trick?" He just said sometimes there are just miracles. I wish there was some genetic test they could do on the long term survivors to find the magic bullet that would turn the tide for all! I would gladly sign myself up for study!

So anyhow on my anniversary, we went out to dinner and then even though I was full and really should be watching the calories - we went out for ice cream! Yummy! It was a pretty good day!

Hope all is well with everyone!
Heidi