Sit A Spell

Not to be depressing, but I am a bit- was looking into the survival rate of my cancer and the meaning of 100% treatable with a 5-10 year survival rate.  Now to most people this may sound great, but to people diagnosed with any kind of cancer it gets confusing.  I will try and clarify all of this shit as best I can.  The way doctors and study groups determine survival rates is that they do these “studies” and compare people diagnosed with cancer and try to put them in the same groups by the stage of the cancer and or the treatment of the cancer and their age at the time of the diagnosis.  Basically since I discovered my cancer very early my survival rate is higher.  They will remove my cancer by taking my breast, and I can continue to live for at least another 10 years without THAT cancer being a problem for me.  If I had NOT found it early and was diagnosed with cancer in a later stage my treatment options would change and my survival rate would be less simply because I have been living with cancer undiagnosed for an unknown period of time and when it might have been discovered my survival rate is less.  I have also found out that by choosing my treatment option at an early stage doesnt make a difference on my survival rate.  I opted for no chemo or radiation and am taking the steps I need to remove the cancer without doing any more damage to my body chemically.  I am Not doing the radiation as a precaution either because that may actually cause other cancer cells to grow.  That is why they removed my lymph node and checked it BEFORE they remove the breast.  I have been delt the cancer card, and will live with knowing that at any time it may reoccur or not.  I know that I will be LIVING for the next 5-10 years without a possible problem, but I also know that I may have cancer come a knocking at my door in the future.  My grandfather had lung cancer in 1962 they didnt have chemo or radiation back then, they removed the lung with the cancer in it.  He lived for another 33 years without ever having cancer come back.  He died from complications of a diabetic stroke.  I am hoping for the same outcome-cut out the thing that is holding my cancer and let me live till I am old and gray- I could get hit by a bus tomorrow and die, but I would not have died from cancer- it would be buried with me.

Love And Maybe Peace Of Mind

Margaret xoxoxoxo