When someone says they have been living with mets for 10 years… all heads turn. We all pay attention. We all want to hear their story.

And, time seems to stand still when someone tells us they have been living with mets for 10+ years!

Living with metastatic breast cancer is a challenge, and these stories give us hope. If you have hit that 10 year mark, please share your story with all of us.

Sheila: Breathe in the Darkness and Exhale Light

In September 1997, at the age of 56, I was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer. At the time my tumor status was estrogen positive and HER 2 negative. Due to cystic breasts and some calcifications, my health had been monitored vigilantly. Wishful thinking led me to think that because my situation had been followed closely it would keep the cancer away.

My doctor initially recommended a mastectomy. However, after doing some research and seeking… » Read More

Sue: A runner who still loves being active

In 1996, on my 50th birthday, I was diagnosed with metastatic cancer to my bones. I had never had cancer. I was a runner, and for a few months my back had been aching, especially when I ran. Eventually I had an MRI, which indicated I had some kind of cancer in my spine. Several weeks later I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, estrogen/progesterone positive. The pathology report indicated breast cancer, but the site of the cancer in my breast has never been found.

 

For ten years I was successfully treated with Tamoxifen and Arimidex. I also had radiation to my fourth… » Read More

Katherine Russell Rich

17 Years Later, Stage 4 Survivor Is Savoring a Life Well Lived

New York Times, April 26, 2010

Each year on a day in January - the 15th, to be precise - I go to a Web site and post a message to hundreds of women I've never met, saying, essentially, "I'm still here."

 

Within days, a thunderous chorus comes back, 200 voices, 300. A few of them ask, "How can this be?" Sometimes they begin, "I'm crying." Many answer in kind: "I'm here, too. It's now three years." "Five years." "Three months." "Seven."

 

What… » Read More

Lisa: Ignore the survival statistics

In 1994, I was 28 years old and diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer. My initial treatment consisted of lumpectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation. I decided not to pursue follow-up treatment with hormonal therapy because at that time, there was not enough research showing the effectiveness of hormonal therapy in young women.

 

In 1999, I started to feel sluggish on the treadmill and had a cough. I asked my primary care physician if I should change my diet. Although she knew my medical history, she told me not… » Read More

Patty: Roller Coaster Ride of 25 years

My name is Patty. I am 63 years old and I have metastatic breast cancer.

 

On Memorial Day 1981, I was 34 years old, enjoying life with my wonderful husband and beautiful 18-month-old daughter and I felt a lump in my right breast. Pure fear set in immediately. My OB-GYN assured me it was nothing. The doctor's words were "just a cyst" and I felt tremendous relief.

 

Five years later when I turned 39, I was having my yearly GYN exam. No problems. I was fine. Upon departing the medical office building, I noticed a mammo center was about to open. Although I… » Read More