On December 1, 2009, my oncologist declared me cancer free. I’m not sure if that’s the true medical term as many cancer books I have read call it “NED” or “No Evidence of Disease.” Personally, cancer free sounds much better to me.
Of all the research I have done on cancer, the first two years are the most critical in to beating the disease as it is the time when the cancer is most likely statistically to present itself again. Once you pass the two-year mark, the five-year mark is the next big milestone. At that point, if cancer returns it is usually a new cancer and not a recurrence of the original cancer.
An ad for the American Cancer Society says we should celebrate birthdays (plus the ad I keep seeing has Keith Urban singing it and I will do whatever he tells me to - grin. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlRCkyU2lh4 ). I guess now I have two birthdays to celebrate each year – my real birthday and my cancer free birthday!
I’ve never been one to want to be the center of attention, even on my birthday, so having two days to celebrate a year seemed a bit much to me, so I wasn’t sure how I wanted to note this occasion. The thought even crossed my mind not to even mention it as I thought I might be jinxing myself (I still think that as I type this). However, I decided it should be celebrated as many lose their life to this horrid disease. Every day on earth is a gift and each year I move beyond this is a blessing. I’m not going to have a big party, but I am going to have a nice dinner out with a couple of girlfriends and toast the occasion a time or two!
As far as an update on me, I’m still going through the reconstruction process and physical therapy to get range of motion for my back and left arm. I saw my oncologist for a check up two weeks ago and he said everything looks great blood work wise (all the rest is up to me to tell him if I’ve noticed any changes in my body.) I asked him about my specific cancer (triple-negative) because all the information I have read have said it is the hardest to survive. He said that was so because that cancer has no targeted therapies. I asked if my genetic marker explained the triple-negative type and he said “no” but he did say that all the studies he has read show that patients who have the genetic marker and the triple-negative cancer have a higher survival rate than those who do not have the genetic marker, so that made me very happy! As far as my journey goes, I will get expanded two more times (Dec. 3 and 17), insert the left side implant in a surgery in early February and two have more reconstructive procedures in the spring. I should be done by May/June – almost two years from start to finish.
I’m a little sad as I was asked to attend the year-end NASCAR banquet in Las Vegas this weekend, but I opted not to go so I could stay on schedule with my reconstruction process. It would have been a lot of fun, but I really want to finish this process so I can get on with my life and start feeling better again.
Of all the research I have done on cancer, the first two years are the most critical in to beating the disease as it is the time when the cancer is most likely statistically to present itself again. Once you pass the two-year mark, the five-year mark is the next big milestone. At that point, if cancer returns it is usually a new cancer and not a recurrence of the original cancer.
An ad for the American Cancer Society says we should celebrate birthdays (plus the ad I keep seeing has Keith Urban singing it and I will do whatever he tells me to - grin. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlRCkyU2lh4 ). I guess now I have two birthdays to celebrate each year – my real birthday and my cancer free birthday!
I’ve never been one to want to be the center of attention, even on my birthday, so having two days to celebrate a year seemed a bit much to me, so I wasn’t sure how I wanted to note this occasion. The thought even crossed my mind not to even mention it as I thought I might be jinxing myself (I still think that as I type this). However, I decided it should be celebrated as many lose their life to this horrid disease. Every day on earth is a gift and each year I move beyond this is a blessing. I’m not going to have a big party, but I am going to have a nice dinner out with a couple of girlfriends and toast the occasion a time or two!
As far as an update on me, I’m still going through the reconstruction process and physical therapy to get range of motion for my back and left arm. I saw my oncologist for a check up two weeks ago and he said everything looks great blood work wise (all the rest is up to me to tell him if I’ve noticed any changes in my body.) I asked him about my specific cancer (triple-negative) because all the information I have read have said it is the hardest to survive. He said that was so because that cancer has no targeted therapies. I asked if my genetic marker explained the triple-negative type and he said “no” but he did say that all the studies he has read show that patients who have the genetic marker and the triple-negative cancer have a higher survival rate than those who do not have the genetic marker, so that made me very happy! As far as my journey goes, I will get expanded two more times (Dec. 3 and 17), insert the left side implant in a surgery in early February and two have more reconstructive procedures in the spring. I should be done by May/June – almost two years from start to finish.
I’m a little sad as I was asked to attend the year-end NASCAR banquet in Las Vegas this weekend, but I opted not to go so I could stay on schedule with my reconstruction process. It would have been a lot of fun, but I really want to finish this process so I can get on with my life and start feeling better again.
I still have a lot of pain in my left arm, back and chest area, but I'm doing physical therapy each week and doing my PT exercises daily. I'm back on the treadmill daily and doing weekly yoga. It is helping my stamina and I'm proud of myself as I even did a half run / half walk on the treadmill this morning. I will continue to push myself as I want to get stronger and keep moving forward.
The picture is of me about a month ago out to dinner celebrating a friend's birthday. The hair keeps growing!
Thank you again for keeping up with me. I am truly blessed to have so many great people in my life. Please keep praying that I continue to be one of the lucky ones and keep this cancer from recurring.
Finally, in case you didn’t know, December 1st is “Pay it Forward” day on Facebook. Do something nice for someone else and expect nothing in return. Let’s see how many people we can make smile today!
With love,
Marcy
