My oncologist likes to say that, for women in my situation, treating Stage 4 breast cancer is like treating diabetes (or any other chronic illness). It must be taken seriously and treated but it can be managed and, when one responds well, the progression can be slowed or even stopped for long periods.
This is good to hear, given the alternative. And it’s infinitely more hopeful than the initial prognosis when my cancer first returned.
But chronic illness brings its own set of challenges. While I am happy to be going for treatment only once a month, in some ways this makes it harder to face treatment. I certainly resent it more. And long term chemotherapy does take its physical toll. But it is the emotional grind that is perhaps the most debilitating.
I wrote this post for MyBreastCancerNetwork.Com and you can follow the link to read the rest of it.
July 5, 2008 at 8:47 am |
I agree with everything Jill said. Thank you for sharing this with us.
July 6, 2008 at 9:31 pm |
Thanks so much to you both – it means even more coming from two who write so well and who get the whole cancer thing…;-)
July 20, 2008 at 5:51 pm |
My oncologist also used the diabetes comparison — I did not like it. I have several friends living with diabetes. It’s not fun. But it’s not cancer. True, I did have one friend who died very young from diabetes. But everyone else I know is doing just fine.
Lucky me, I have diabetes in my family history too. I’m just waiting for the shoe to drop. What’s the oncologist going to say if I have cancer AND diabetes….