Breast Cancer: 9 Years On
It seems incredible to me that it is nine years since my diagnosis of breast cancer. When I first started this blog I used to mark my “cancerversary” each year, but I no longer want to do this. It smacks of celebration and I am too painfully aware of those we have lost to cancer along the way. Instead, I want to mark this year’s milestone by sharing a video of a talk I gave recently to a group of medical educators. It reflects my journey from the shock of cancer diagnosis to the patient advocate I am today, passionate about the power of social media to educate, support and connect us globally.
This is such a fitting way to mark the day.
Today is also my cancerversary – four years. Four long, lightning quick years. Like you it feels disrespectful as well as presumptuous to celebrate. Too many mixed emotions on a day like this.
The celebration for me, is in the strong friendships which have been formed, no matter where we are on the path since diagnosis.
Warm wishes and hugs of solidarity. Next week in Bangkok I will watch your video 🙂
Philippa
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I agree with your statement about celebrating the strong friendships that have been formed. I am coming up on the 2nd anniversary of when I began my journey on October 19th. I also have mixed emotions especially for those who have lost their battle.
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The temptation is to say happy cancerversary Philippa..but that doesn’t feel or sound right. However I do wish you peace of mind and health of body as you continue your journey. I too am celebrating frienships made along the way – of which yours is one I feel blessed to have.
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I agree with Marie. I also wish you peace of mind and a healthy body as you continue on your journey. I began my journey 2 years ago this month. It is wonderful to connect with other survivors that can offer us hope along the way and we are blessed that we get to pay it forward to the many that will unfortunately follow.
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What a perfect way to mark this bittersweet day. I’m so torn on cancerversaries: On one hand, I expect to feel proud of getting through one more year, but on the other I feel as if I’m tempting fate while thumbing my nose at those who weren’t as lucky. I suppose it’s just another way cancer messes with us!
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Nancy, you took the words right out of my mouth. When I reached my first one year milestone, I was definitely in a celebratory mood, but as the years have passed, the occasion, as you say has become bittersweet and I mourn the passing of those I have lost to cancer, like my mum, more and more.
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Such powerful comments as well on your blog. All resonate so much with me. I’m so glad to have found you and others through this global connection that you have facilitated. Yes it’s so important to acknowledge these points in time, but celebrating is at odds with all that is lost and changed. Go well this next year and find your joy where you can. Audrey xxx
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Audrey thank you so much for your lovely comment – meeting you online has been both a joy and a privilege on my journey 🙂
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Hi Marie I watched it as an epatient and also as a PhD researcher who is investigating health design and the involvement of patients in the design process. You have given me many more books to read (to add to my growing pile!) along with some great quotes and references. Thank you!
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With each of your round-ups, tweets and kind words, your advocacy for e-patients, and the posts on this blog, I’m always grateful that you are here with us. So today, I’m glad for you, Marie, being here and sharing your story. Anniversary aside, nine years is a good thing. Keep pushing up that number. ~Catherine
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Catherine, I am so touched by your words – thank you so much x
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dear Marie,
I loved hearing your voice, so impassioned with every aspect of what you set out to impart. and I think that telling your own story about how frantic you were to find out about the effect on your fertility that chemo would have, and that you demonstrated the whys and hows about getting that information successfully will have made a very strong impact of what being an e-patient (or an e caregiver, or friend or family member) is all about. it certainly set the tone for the rest of your talk! all the rest of your talk was so powerful, and gives so much hope to patients who want their doctors to participate WITH THEM in this new era of healthcare revolution. I particularly liked seeing the book you showed, “social media in clinical practice”! and I also thought that Dave’s story, going from a terrible prognosis, to being able to access ACOR peers, then finding the exact treatment he needed AND that is was available at a hospital in his area was so pertinent and showed a very dramatic result – that dave had the treatment, is doing well, and is now a major player in e-patient/doctor advocacy. quite a profound and extremely powerful outcome.
here’s just a snippet from Hugh’s story – he had multiple myeloma. as I began to frantically gather information from the internet, I learned that Hugh would be a good candidate for a stem cell transplant, as his oncologist had indicated. It gave us both so much hope when the treatment plan for the chemo he would receive was being planned. however – there could have been a DISASTER which I discovered by further searching myeloma patient/caregiver blogs. I found out that if certain chemo meds were used, as well as other regimens, with Hugh’s initial treatment THAT THEY WOULD CANCEL OUT ANY CHANCE OF BEING A CANDIDATE FOR HAVING A STEM CELL TRANSPLANT! thankfully, Hugh was cared for by a renowned MM specialist, who was well aware of this – but quite impressed with the discussion about it that I initiated. and it gave me a real boost of confidence that I COULD be a good advocate for Hugh.
thank you, Marie, for this very comprehensive and very exciting talk you gave and shared with us. and thank you so much for being such an educated, enthusiastic, and engaged advocate for us and for the revolution that you are so committed to. we are SO FORTUNATE to get to benefit from all you participate with and bring to the table to enlighten both us and the medical community.
much love and light and gratitude, dear friend, XOXOXOX
Karen
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dear Marie,
I forgot to comment on your being nine years out from you BC diagnosis. that you chose to honor it, not celebrate it, by sharing your marvelous talk that gives such hope and so much good information to us all was a very excellent way to mark the years. but I bet all who so love and appreciate you, dear Marie, are very happy that we have you with us, and we are filled to the brim with gratitude, it is not the number of years to be celebrated, it is the number of people to whom you have reached out to and how you give of yourself to our amazing community – with such care, such love, such compassion and such hope. XOXOXOX, karen
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Wow Karen! Your comments are like gold in the blogosphere – thank you for your continuing love and support to all of us – you make a real difference in our lives xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Congratulations on the nine years out! You do so much good; I can’t tell you what an encouragement you’ve been to me as I sojourn through my third diagnosis. What a sisterhood this has been for so many. And you are right at the heart of it! xo
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Congratulations on your “cancerversary”. It is a celebration of you and what you have overcome, so don’t be shy about your happiness. I am in the midst of treatment and feel inspired when I see you 9 years out.
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