Needing positive stories
Hi Ladies
I am 44 and I have been diagnosed with stage 2a Grade 3 TNBC. I would love to here you survival stories to give me hope.
xxxxx
Forum Discussion
19 Replies
- Hi Kate....I'm doing really well thanks....second chemo next Tuesday. The main probs I had was a reaction to the docetaxol (which they sorted out and hoping it won't happen again. ) and horrible bone pain from the neulasta but once I got on the endone that was ok and I even went to yoga ! Had my head shaved yesterday because it started falling out and I have been surprised because I always thought I had a bad shaped head but everyone thinks its an improvement ! I have a few head covering options but I think none of them will be secure enough to stay on in Downward Dog pose so I think I'm just going to do bald yoga ;) If you're reading the Advertiser you must be in Adelaide ...so am I ! Where are you having your chemo ? As for the cancer and chemo imagery I imagine my body as really healthy and strong but invaded by a small and unwanted intruder ....and we are seeking out any splinter cell groups and blasting them into another galaxy ! I feel a little bit like Sigourney Weaver in the first Alien movie and now I have her hairstyle !! Perhaps I've spent too many years with my 3 sons . Sounds like you're keeping busy and doing well :) xxx Karen
Dear Karen, thanks for the message. I'm back at work today and tomorrow so that next week with my last chemo dose I should have some sick leave left! I've negotiated with my dean to continue through the five weeks of daily radio in Feb/Mar to work but leave early - so I'll timetable all my teaching classes early in the day. Am still a little apprehensive but trying to be brave! I realised I've been a bit low re chances of recurrence, and this morning I read my horoscope and it made me realise I need to live more for the day (I know I know) - it said: "You are looking too far ahead and anticipating a problem that has not yet arisen - and which may not ever arise. All you need to do as you enter 2014 is stay steady, be kind and remain in the here and now" (Jonathan Cainer, the Advertiser). I still am not looking forward to next week's chemo and I've feel a bit like a walking skeleton of dead cells, but another analogy I have grasped that has helped came from a friend talking about regeneration - suddenly I thought, 'Yes! I am regenerating (like Doctor Who) - by the time my last dose is done ALL my cells will be new ones! I'll be a whole new me! Wow! How cool is that?! Anyway, these are the small things to sustain me. What about you?
Kate
Dear Karen, thanks for the message. I'm back at work today and tomorrow so that next week with my last chemo dose I should have some sick leave left! I've negotiated with my dean to continue through the five weeks of daily radio in Feb/Mar to work but leave early - so I'll timetable all my teaching classes early in the day. Am still a little apprehensive but trying to be brave! I realised I've been a bit low re chances of recurrence, and this morning I read my horoscope and it made me realise I need to live more for the day (I know I know) - it said: "You are looking too far ahead and anticipating a problem that has not yet arisen - and which may not ever arise. All you need to do as you enter 2014 is stay steady, be kind and remain in the here and now" (Jonathan Cainer, the Advertiser). I still am not looking forward to next week's chemo and I've feel a bit like a walking skeleton of dead cells, but another analogy I have grasped that has helped came from a friend talking about regeneration - suddenly I thought, 'Yes! I am regenerating (like Doctor Who) - by the time my last dose is done ALL my cells will be new ones! I'll be a whole new me! Wow! How cool is that?! Anyway, these are the small things to sustain me. What about you?
Kate
- I just saw your post and hope you're doing okay. I felt really scared too when I was diagnosed about a month before you and have been looking for positive TNBC stories ( Google can be good but horrible too so I try to avoid it too much ) .. I have made buddies with a woman in the US who was stage 3 grade 3 TNBC and given 6 months to live ..... 30 years ago ! She is a grandma now and no problems . One of the US TNBC sites says "Stay Strong, Live Long and Fight Like a Girl !" I really like that warrior spirit . There are lots of good stories .... The body is amazing and the care in this country is outstanding . Every best wish for the New Year and I do hope you're feeling a bit less scared... It's all pretty much a big shock isn't it ......however I think we can all feel really confident about the future and the fact that advances are being made in research worldwide every week, In the US there has been a particular focus on TNBC over the recent couple of years and this can only be good for us. There is also a woman in the UK who had TNBC years ago and has written a very positive book....I've ordered it online but haven't got it yet with all the Public holidays . I'm not sure if anyone else here has read it but I can let you know what it's like :) xxx Karen
Hi Mandy - just you asking for positive stories cheers me up! I read somewhere you'll feel loved with BC - amazingly & from unexpected quarters that's true. School mums who drop off pasta bakes - that's what impresses me. I'm early on with stuff - not finished chemo yet, but managing one foot in front of next. Have a gentle time over the festive season xxx Kate
- I was so overwhelmed by my diagnosis but I will be two years in April next year since my surgery . I had TC chemo six weeks radiation . It was all doable. Take time for you and put yourself first. I had eight months away from work and I needed that time to recover and get back to the new normal me. Don't stress the little things this site is great to ask anything you want to know. I am trying to get more exercise and to eat better and find a support group I go to a great help and have meet some inspiring women . All the best Deb
- I was so overwhelmed by my diagnosis but I will be two years in April next year since my surgery . I had TC chemo six weeks radiation . It was all doable. Take time for you and put yourself first. I had eight months away from work and I needed that time to recover and get back to the new normal me. Don't stress the little things this site is great to ask anything you want to know. I am trying to get more exercise and to eat better and find a support group I go to a great help and have meet some inspiring women . All the best Deb
Hi there,
So sorry that you are here amongst us because of a diagnosis none of us want to hear. I too am Triple Negative, diagnosed March 2012, had lumpectomy with chemo and radiation therapy.
For me the only way to cope is to trust Father God to walk the road with me and to give me strength and peace. Also to take it one day at a time and to not google and to not sit and think about "what if". It was a wake up call for me to appreciate those in my life and life in general, so I am now not putting anything off that I can do today, I am a 60yr old grandma :)
Come January I will have 2 years behind me and I am looking forward to many more. There is always hope, never give up. All the best, AnnHi there,
So sorry that you are here amongst us because of a diagnosis none of us want to hear. I too am Triple Negative, diagnosed March 2012, had lumpectomy with chemo and radiation therapy.
For me the only way to cope is to trust Father God to walk the road with me and to give me strength and peace. Also to take it one day at a time and to not google and to not sit and think about "what if". It was a wake up call for me to appreciate those in my life and life in general, so I am now not putting anything off that I can do today, I am a 60yr old grandma :)
Come January I will have 2 years behind me and I am looking forward to many more. There is always hope, never give up. All the best, Ann
