Postby Mys » Sun Jun 28, 2015 6:35 am
Five years ago, I woke up from a colonoscopy to a diagnosis of colon cancer. There was no doubt, I was near full blockage. A couple of days later I recieved a diagnosis of DCIS breast cancer and was told my colon resection would be followed by a mastectomy before chemo. The colon cancer had spread to 10 out of 26 lymph nodes.
I was in shock, and knew my prognosis was not the best. To be honest, I did´t think I would live five years. I had a one-year old son, and was terrified I would not see him grow up. In my head it was very black or white - either I would get sick and die within five years, or I would never have a recurrence and continue with my life as before after this ordeal was through. (I saw my mother die from colon cancer at age 50, and propably assumed my cancer would be like hers).
What I did not foresee, was that I would be very much alive five years after diagnosis - but with recurrent cancer. I had a lung recurrence three years ago and am NED still. Colon cancer treatment has improved in many ways the last 20 years - in fact my surgeon told me last week that had my disease been treated 20 years earlier at his hospital, I would not have recieved the lung metastasectomy. They would have given me palliative chemo, not given me curative treament. Now they say that even though I need two more years of follow up scans, my prognosis is good - and I can even finally get the DIEP breast reconstruction (a massive surgery they have posponed until they thought I was most likely long-term NED.)
I write this post not to congratulate myself or recieve support from the board, I know some can wonder why those cancer-free are posting. But it helped me a lot when I was newly diagnosed to read posts from people with similar diagnosis to mine who were alive and well five years on. I certainly did nothing to deserve surviving more than others, this feels totally random. I am not the same person as before cancer, and I miss the person I used to be. But I am alive and get to see my son start school next month.
Wishing you all the best possible summer!
Mys
CC diagnosed June 2010 (at 34), stage 3C. 10/26 lymph nodes. Simultaneous DCIS breast cancer. Lung met first seen on scan March 2012 (6mm), open lung surgery October 2012 (8mm). Biopsy confirmed metastasis. No chemo after lung surgery. NED.