Video re Mets BC .... EVERYONE needs to watch it

Thanks @Afraser for ur grounded response. Personally i find 
Being told ive got a much greater chance of dying than i thought isnt  particularly helpful  to me . My Glass is 70% full.

I have a bit of sympathy for doctors - heads they're wrong, tails they are wrong too. Making people depressed rarely helps recovery. Giving false hope makes people disillusioned and angry. I don't know how old those stats are, and as @kmakm says, a breakdown would be interesting,  but I focus on the facts that a) cancer is no longer seen as automatically a death sentence; b) treatment is getting better - not always great, but better; and c) developments in treatment of many cancers (again not all) are getting exponentially faster. Many of us live in a relatively safe environment where we don't expect to be starving, homeless, or die younger than we imagine we should. But older women particularly can face the 2nd gloomy prospect, and car accidents, heart disease, and other joys are pretty effective at achieving the third. When I got a very nasty infection some time ago (thanks seroma!) I realised that 100 years ago I would have simply been filed under "death by sepsis".  Cancer was a distant second as a threat to plain old bacteria. Something I think about with superbugs and overuse of antibiotics for ailments that may not really need them.  I have kept a quote from Jane Caro since the time I was having treatment - I found then it helped my perspective. Her child was extremely ill, and she was talking to a neonatologist about how to cope.

 " He just said the following, words I've never forgotten and that have formed my approach to parenting and to life (and, it seems, the universe) ever since. "Terrible things can happen," he said. "They can happen to anyone. There's nothing special about you and nothing special about Polly. Danger is reality, safety is an illusion."

Her child survived. Many of us do. And if you can manage it, living without that illusionary safety net can be a wonderful thing. It just takes an awful lot of practice. 

Doctors never said that,they always act like it’s finished with 

I think as I finished treatment nearly 2 years ago ,I’ve been very naive,I really struggled at start being positive but because time has passed I thinking I’m done with cancer,I didn’t know 30 percent becomes Mets,I thought there was much less chance than that, that’s very depressing indeed and terrifying.

@kmakm I'm in WA, not that far from JJ770

@Kattykit Oh that's good to hear. Where abouts in Oz are you?

Double bugger, @Kattykit ... I think we all hear the 'recurrence' word often enough even from our very first appointment with the surgeon once diagnosed - but to be honest, I just thought it related to 'regular BC' not Mets.

I don't recall actually hearing the Mets word (or even being aware of it as an advanced cancer condition) until many months later ... and it was driven home to me when one of my Uke ladies was diagnosed with it mid last year (after months of a niggling rib pain and 15 years after her surgery & treatment.) Then a wonderfully fit offshore kayak fishing buddy who's had back pain for years was diagnosed straight up with it (his was from undiagnosed prostate) - and he had all the checks regularly - both bloods and 'finger'!  His prostate never enlarged until his PSA went off the scale this time last year. Sadly, he is too far along for any treatment other than pain control.  :(   But he is still getting out there on the water, chasing those big fish.  I will be joining him in Feb at South West Rocks!

oh dear, that's a wake up call, @Aggie

Absolutely, @Sister - as do we all! It is best just to get on with your life - but also the need be aware of following up on any changes to your body, unspecified pain, in particular.

2 sisters in law's mums are in their 90s and had their BC surgery/treatment 30 years ago.  I also have several friends who are 15 years on without recurrence of BC (tho have had brushes with other Cancers with good results.)  And of course, my husband, Keith with his stomach cancer - 5% are lucky to get past the 5 year clear mark with the one he had - and he is now nearly 9 years ..... Bryce Courtenay (the writer) being one who didn't make it.

The real bugger is that our bodies are currently getting 'conditioned to continuous pain' as the medication we are on GIVES it to us in big doses - so it could already be masking pain from possible Mets.  We just need to be very aware - and act on any suspicion of unusual symptoms, quickly.  

Take care, be aware xx

I'm NED but very aware that it could come back as it did for my sister (just after the 5 year clear).  At the moment, I'm focusing on the positive side of the stats but I do know that the negative side is quite big.  I'm hoping that if mine does recur, it's far enough down the track that new treatments are available.

Yeah, I did know that if it came back it was for good but I tried not to let that thought intrude too often, I have a great oncologist though, she's the bomb, Very little pain from the mets, the letrozole gives me the most grief, so I feel your pain @kmakm, I've found the best thing for me is stretches before I hit the ground every morning, I actually feel pretty good most days.

I am waiting to hear with interest if or how having the CHEK2 mutation affects recurrence. They may not even know. Yep @Kattykit, crapshoot is a good word for it. How are your pain levels at the moment? K xox