It’s been nine years since my mother died from metastatic breast cancer. She was diagnosed with early stage, ER+ breast cancer in 2004. Her cancer metastasized to her liver and probably her bones, too, in 2007. She died a few months later on March 6, 2008. Statistics say, following a metastatic diagnosis, the median survival …
Recurrence
When I read that headline (title of this post) recently, I thought, really? What planet was that clinical trial done on? As I thought more about the content of the article (because you cannot go by headlines, as we all know), I decided I needed to write a “rebuttal” of sorts. Of course, my response here isn’t …
Last week I had my checkup with my oncologist. Sometimes I’m not even sure why I keep having these appointments because as I’ve mentioned before, we pretty much have the same discussions now at each one. This is a good thing. A really good thing. I am not complaining. I don’t want to have a …
Cancer is all about worry. Cancer causes a domino effect of worry. One worry leads to another. When you first find your lump or whatever clue finally gives your sneaky cancer away, you worry about what might or might not be. You worry about if you should tell anyone, make that doctor appointment, or schedule that …
When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer and discussing chemotherapy with my first oncologist (yeah, I’ve had five, but who’s counting?), we talked about the Oncotype DX® Test. This test helps determine risk for distant recurrence in some early-stage, estrogen-positive breast cancers. It is used to help decide if a patient will benefit from …