Stopping Femara after 5 years

Hi Dawn and Mellyb,  yes I also understand that many of the people who get metastatic cancer die fairly quickly, that primary breast cancer rarely kills, because generally it is metastatic cancer tthat makes breast cancer a fatal disease, and this is why it makes us anxious. I did not mean to suggest that this was not true. Sorry if I  was unclear.

My oncologist says the outcome of metastatic breastcancer all depends  on the molecular type of cancer (HER2+, Luminal A or B, or Basal/Triple neg or other),  whether that cancer responds to the treatment given, and where it reoccurs (and the brain is one of the least curable options).

Also that  while metastatic cancer is what kills almost everyone who dies of breast cancer, 15% are still alive 5yrs later. 

Many of these people  in the 15% live on for decades with NED (no evidence of disease)  after having treatment for metastatic cancer.As you say, they are not cured, but they do not have any active cancer in their bodies either.  Others have disease that remains stable and does not progress..This specially true of women with HER2 positive cancers who missed out  on the special HER2 targeting treatments but get it for their secondary cancers like the lady I mentioned.

And science is developing new treatments all the time..

Also all of us who have had primary cancer tumors removed by surgery have  those metastasing cancer stem cells in our bodies that haven't yet set up secondary cancers and maybe never will, but could. None of us can be sure we are cured, even with primary cancer. While we will probably live a full life, we also have the chance our disease will progress some day.

So in a way we are all in the same boat:  we either have cancer in our bodies (either primary or secondary), or we are having treatment after surgery with no evidence of disease, or we are vigilently waiting and hoping for the best.

It is hard not to be anxious with this disease.