good news

good news

good news Hi all
I just wanted to share my good news - I got my CT scan results today and my onc said those magic words ‘total remission’!! We all know that means that they ‘just can’t see anything’ and that it can come back at any time but ‘total remission’ sounds sooooo good.

When I was diagnosed with liver mets 4 years ago my, very upbeat, onc told me that there was someone in the US that had survived 4 years (an incredible feat at the time). I reminded him of that today and he told me that the woman has now gone 7/8 years!

Whoever she is ‘good on you’ you are an inspiration to us all. I have now moved my goalposts and won’t be satisfied with anything less myself.

Blondie

Oh yippee!!..I just love hearing good news I’m SO pleased for you Blondie. :slight_smile:
Take Care! Belinda…xx

wow! What kind of good news is this? Pretty damn wonderful! So good to read something positive, congratulations!

Jenny
xx

WOW ! WOW! KEEP GOING THIS THE BEST KIND OF NEWS WE ALL LIKE TO READ ABOUT YOU MUST BE THRILLED ! GOOD LUCK TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY
SOPHIE

Congrats Blondie!
Don’t forget an Aussie here has gone 16 yrs with liver mets…now THATS a goal for you to beat!
I am also in ‘total remission’ It is a year since secondary diagnosis for me so I will aim for your 4 years as MY next goal!
well done!
Nicky

Hi Blondie,
That’s amazing news - congratulations.
Thank-you for letting us know - it gives renewed hope to us all.
Flojas.

Wow how good is this news? So so pleased for you!

Love Twinkle xoxo

Fantastic news, I’m so pleased for you Blondie.

Love Susi xx

SUPERB Good on you Blondie - lets keep the good news coming.

xxxx

Please advise me Hello Blondie
What great news , i have had my results today , not such good news. I have been on herceptin for 6 months with liver mets and lung. The mets have grown very slightly the oncologist is not too concerned yet he said he may add some gentle chemo if things deteriate any further. What i dont understand is if the herceptin is working why are they still growing? And also shouldnt he add the chemo now while they are small? Feel frightened of the future now.
Lots of love Carol M x

That’s great news Blondie! I will be going in for my brain MRI tomorrow being very “positive” (you know that thing everyone wants you to be? You are LIVING proof!)

with love,
Suzy

So pleased for you Blondie, long may it continue

Best wishes
Jojo
XX

Blondie,

What fantastic news!!!
I’ve had liver mets for 18 months now, my scan in January showed no sign of the tumours, but they didn’t say ‘remission’, I’d love for them to say that!!!

Wendy X

Advice? Hi CarolM

I am afraid that every person is different and my response will not be the same as someone else’s. I have been on chemo that only lasted for 6 months and have been on Arimidex (works wonders for lots of people) that did nothing for me. Your Onc will be trying to find the thing, or more likely, the combination of drugs that will be effective for you.

Your questions - why not add chemo while tumours are small? - seems a good one to me and I suggest that you ask your Oncologist to explain. What I find works best is if i put all my questions in a letter and send it to my oncologist before my appointment and then he comes prepared to answer them when we meet at my appointment date. My oncologist is always ready to see me sooner if i am worried about anything (worrying isn’t good for us) and yours should also be sensitive to your requests for help.

If you feel you aren’t getting the help you need you are perfectly within your rights to ask for a second opinion or to ask to transfer to a more sympathetic oncologist - but give this one a chance to explain as he may have felt that you had all the information you could cope with at the time, and he may have been right.

Hope your new treatment brings results - when is the next scan?

Blondie

Suzy39 and Wendyjj Suzy - all the best with the scan, I will be thinking of you and let us know how you get on. The waiting is agony isn’t it.

Wendyjj

I agree it is very unusual for the word ‘remission’ to be used and the last time I was told that a couple of years ago (by another more junior doctor) he looked as if he wished he could have cut his tongue out afterwards! I questioned my oncologist (to see if I really had heard right) and he said that what they preferred to say was ‘no observable sign of disease’ but that, yes that did indeed mean ‘remission’. They don’t like to use the word ‘remission’ as people can take that as ‘cured’ and, as we all know, that isn’t the case with breast cancer mets.

Having said all that ‘remission’ is a wonderful word and does wonders for the morale. It doesn’t have a end date attached to it after all and we can give ourselves just a bit bigger window on life which feels great.

Good luck to you both

blondie

Thank you Blondie Hi Blondie
My next scan should be in 3 months , i think he is keeping a close i on me, he,s a really nice oncologist but he,s from the old school , when i asked him about Tykerb he didn,t seem to know what i was on about. I think he is keeping other kind of drugs for when he really needs to use them, as i am a coward when it comes to chemo , i had such a bad time of it last time. As the mets are still what he calls small and not giving me any problems yet , he is not to concerned, although i am . When you had liver mets for 4 years did they grow in size or stay the same ? love carolm x

CarolM Hi Carol
My mets shrank after chemo and being on Arimidex in March 2003 but didn’t go completely. In late November I started getting discomfort and finally in December contacted my oncologist for an appointment. I was seen within days and an ultrasound showed clearly that one of the tumours had grown and was 6cm. Taxotere and Herceptin followed (19 Dec 03) and a scan towards the end of the Taxotere showed that the tumour was shrinking. By June or July 04 the scans were clear and have been ever since.

I hope this helps but please feel free to contact me if you want more information.

Blondie

for carolm Hi Carol

Hope you dont mind me replying, i’m new to this forum… ive also got lung mets and am on herceptin.

My onc told me he wouldnt take me off it because he believes it is slowing the cancer down. I have to stay on it until he gets the go ahead for a trial for Tykerb which should be mid may.

hope this helps

I feel scared too… we can be scared together…

Love

Jakki
x

Blondie Super fantastic news!! It’s so nice to even see that someone is in remission!!! Long may it last!!! Funnyface