Hi everyone,
Take a look at this:-
What a real inspiration.
What a remarkable story. I must say I didn’t like the reporters ‘you have a positive attitude’ take but ho hum, we are used to this by now. Pretty amazing all the same.
Jenny
x
Wow thanks for posting this fayjay!
Like Jenny I didn’t like the reporter’s ‘‘positive attitude’’ take…I’ve lost some very good friends who tried so hard to stay here.
But thanks again…it’s great to hear Carolyn is doing so well years and years after her secondaries diagnosis.
Belinda…x
I know from another site that lots of people find this story inspiring but its reporting is very irritating. Yes it is good to hear about people at the far end of the statistical curve who survive secondary breast cancer but the story is crammed full with all the usual myths and metaphors about how the lucky survivor was able to seal her own fate as one of the living…she just ‘got on wth it’, she never complained, she played sport, she went to a spiritual healer who told her she was going to beat this. She ‘likes to win’…‘her attitude saved her’.
But what do these messages say about those we know and love who have died of this disease? That they didn’t fight hard enough? That they complained too much? That they had the wrong attitude? That they should have played golf? I feel sickened to my core about how spin such as this continues to pervade the mythology of cancer…and I believe such spin is damaging.
Good luck to this golf playing heroine and yes your story is unusual and lucky and that’s great for you… but the real world of cancer is infinitely more complex, more moving, more filled with our real stories of mutual hope, support, and inspiration than this.
Jane
Sorry if it offended you Jane.
I did not mean to offend anyone, I thought it would do the opposite.
Apologies
Fay :o(
Hi Fay
I found the story inspiring.
Thanks for posting it.
Liz x
Thanks for posting this ,stories like this one give hope to so many people when all may seem lost . We should celebrate anyone who has ever beaten this bloody desease.
Lindiloo x
thanks Fay - i was thinking today that this was just too hard and how easy it would be to give up coz I find my chemo so hard and from being always around folk and children at work, I am now isolated in the country living alone… but although it is impossible to compare different folks - your posting this story has helped me today… maybe she didnt feel as rough as i do with my chemo… but maybe she did… maybe she had someone she could ‘complain to’ and so her husband wasn’t aware of her fears and maybe she had lots of support from her family …it doesnt really matter…our cancers and treatments are all so different …
my aunt told me she ‘didnt know anything about cancer and didnt want to know anything’ and hasnt phoned me since I phoned her…and my only other aunt is very ill with cancer in hospital now, so hopefully supportive family isnt a neccessity!!
but the video was right in one thing… attitude is important and okay it may not save your life but it gives us a fighting chance… and although I still feel down I do need to watch inspiring stories… so thank you for posting it… ive put it into my bookmarks…we need all the help we can get !
hope all is going well with your treatment etc…
suex
Hi Fayjay,
I’m not in the least offended. I’m just terribly interested in the way that cnacer in general and breast cancer in particular gets written about in the media. I know too that my own views and feelings about having breast cancer are perhaps not always the same as many others…I don’t like fighting talk, battle metaphors and thinking positive…didn’t like them before I got breast cancer and like them even less now.
I don’t do offended…honest…but I will always say what I think…perhaps sometimes unwisely…
very best wishes
Jane
Hi Fay
Thanks for posting this - certainly gives me hope as I had never thought you could survive so long with mets. And so am very glad that you saw it and posted.
Like Jane (and some others) though, I do get irritated by the slant put on it by the reporter. One day I daresay they will be able to say why some people survive so much longer than others when the prognosis looks initially the same, but I am fairly certain it won’t have anything to do with the things listed in this piece. At the moment for me it is purely down to luck - though I do believe having a “positive but realistic” attitude (wish there was a better way of describing it) helps me live a happier life!
So I’m not about to see a spiritual healer or take up golf but will remember this story and hope that I can survive for even a fraction of that time, secure in the knowledge that Carolyn has indeed managed it for over 30 years.
Thanks again, Fay
Kay x
what a wonderful inspiration. Gives us all hope at least.
Sue x
It’s great to hear such stories!
Denio x
Yes its a great story and the best of luck to her. I know what some of you mean about the "positivity conquers all " attitude alot of people have.
love Andrea x
Hi to all
fabulous story I am a great believer in positive thinking I have just sent Ian my hubby to buy golf clubs and a labrador!
love Debs