Does having secondaries mean that one is terminal?
This may seem a really stupid question, but the reason I ask, is because I was asked this by my pension company, when looking into getting it to pay out early.
I don’t feel terminal - whatever that feels like, but I do have secondaries in my spine.
Any thoughts?
Cheers
Isobel
Hi Isobel,
Like you I have secondaries in my bones. With breast cancer once it has spread to the organs it is considered secondary (metastatic) breast cancer and there is no cure i.e. it is terminal. With treatments changing bone mets in particular can be very manageable for many years but no-one knows if/when it will continue to spread to other organs. So for the purpose you are being asked YES it is terminal. Hope you don’t find it too upsetting to realise this - as you say you don’t feel terminal. I have had breast cancer for 20 years now, and extensive bone secondaries since 2002.
Dawn
xx
Hi Isobel
Having secondaries usually means that our BC is now incurable (I have bone & liver mets, and – like you & Dawn – also don’t feel “terminal”), but the use of the word “terminal” might have different meanings depending on who uses it, e.g. our doctors could sign the “special measures” form for us to apply for Disability Living Allowance, which identifies us as having no more than six months to live (I’ve had DLA under these circumstances for over six years) which sounds pretty terminal. On the other hand, the definition of “terminal” for your pension company might be something else, i.e. being diagnosed with a terminal illness. I would probably get some legal advice about how your pension company might interpret “terminal” – try your local Citizens’ Advice Bureau – before giving them an answer. Ditto if you’re trying to get travel allowance (most firms absulutely won’t insure us if we’re “terminal”).
Interestingly, I applied to get my local government “final salary” pension three years before retirement age, on the grounds of my ill health, and was told that I could have retired and accessed it some years earlier, i.e. when I’d been dx with my primary BC, as I’d become incapable of doing the job (senior management) that had accrued the pension. Another thing you might be interested to know is that, if you have a lump sum with which to purchase a pension annuity, there are several firms in the UK that offer higher payments if/when we might not live too long. If you want more info, please PM me, and good luck!
Marilyn x
Thank you very much Dawn and Marilyn for replying. No I don’t find it too upsetting - I try not to dwell on it.
Marilyn - I too, am in a final salary scheme (NHS)and have been referred to Occupational Health for ill health retirement. I am also 3 years before my planned retirement age, so we will see how that goes. I am definitely ready to retire, so won’t be crying any tears over that!
Regards
Isobel x
Hi Isobel,
I was diagnosed in July 2007 with bc and bone mets. Had chemo, mx, anc and rads and am now on zoladex, arimidex and zometa iv. I was signed off sick immediately and then tried to go back on a phased basis in Aug 08 but it was too much for me. After much thought, I asked to be considered for retirement due to ill-health. I had worked for the company for 19 yrs and was in the now closed final salary scheme. It was a long shot and HR didn’t think I would get it, largely based on the fact that I was 44 and almost 20 yrs away from retirement.
HR wrote to my surgeon, onc and GP practice and after an awful lot of hassle, the pension fund doctor gave me full retirement (my pension is what it would have been had I retired at 65) without hesitation. Everyone was surprised but I did see the 2 lots of letters that had been sent to HR and the onc used the phrase ‘incurable’ and that I would need a lot of treatment in the future and the surgeon gave my (v low) chances of making 5 yrs. I was already aware of all this so wasn’t upset by it and although once you have mets it’s classed as terminal, like all of you I don’t think of it that way. I never had a medical from my work.
I haven’t applied for DLA at all - either under special rules or not - as I don’t think I’m ‘bad’ enough yet. Retirement has taken a lot of getting used to because I’d always aimed to get back to work and normality and retirement was for older people ! Having said that, the last 3 months I’ve settled into it and it was the best thing I could have done and I intend to make the most of everything while I’m able to - Mallorca in April and Rome in May so far !!!
Good luck.
Liz