Nine years and nine months ago I was told I had stage 4 lung cancer. I was not expected to live much more than 10-12 months so I decided to use some of my savings and have a big party for My Last Birthday.
Since this would be ‘My Last Birthday’ I wanted to go out in style. I invited a hundred or so of my favorite people and people who had helped me much over the years. I put up a tent, rented tables & chairs, burgers, fries, a keg, bottles of wine, many of my friends brought their musical instruments.
My friends will tell you I’m always late, and true to form I’m late for my own funeral. By 9 years or there about. But since my Last Birthday Party was such a blowout I think it déclassé to insist that each subsequent birthday might be my last. So today I celebrate the NINTH ANNIVERSARY of MY LAST BIRTHDAY.
No one is more amazed at this than I.
In your face cancer.
Written by
Denzie
Moderator
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
You give me hope that my husband who also has stage IV lung cancer will also be around for a few more years yet. This September will be 2 years from diagnosis.
2 years is a kind of waterfall place. When I was diagnosed I was told that the possibility of surviving 5 goes up exponentially. Sending hope it holds for your husband.
Fantastic! Gives me hope as I deal with my statistical “realities”. My wife and I will celebrate our 50th anniversary next month. I’ve been thinking that at least I’ll make it to that.
What a fabulous post, Denzie! You have been such a positive voice and encourager for me and for so many others. We can believe together that we will indeed have many, many more birthday anniversaries.
Such a great “Birthday” to celebrate! I ate a piece of cake to join in the celebration You are an inspiration my friend. May you celebrate many many more.
I was so pleased to read a positive message. I have started to save positive messages as rereading them lifts my spirits when I am feeling a bit down. I am just 6 months into my stage 4 diagnosis. My first goal is to join the 9 years club which is getting more and more members all the time. My next goal will be the twenty years club. More people will be living with lung cancer as a chronic disorder and I am one of them. Thank you for letting us know your story. Happy Birthday and here's to the next 9 years.
So glad you found this site. There are many amazing people here and there are some who are doing so well that they moved on. Including some who helped me through my early years.
Congrats and I find comfort in your story! I just passed 2 years s/p right Lower lobectomy and R UL wedge for stage 1 adenocarcinoma. Praying I can celebrate 9 years too!
When first diagnosed, I was told that if I made it to 2 years the possibility that I could make it to 5 went up exponentially. I’m so grateful to read that yours was found at an early enough stage that they were able to do surgery. Sending hope that it’s the last treatment you’ll ever need for lung cancer.
You go girl!!! You are an inspiration to us all. To quote Fran Drescher, actress, cancer schmancer. Don't know if the spelling is right, but you get the idea. Let's kick this parasite in the butt.
Humor is a wonderful tool and I love that Fran Drescher quote. Sending hope that you’ve recovered from your SBRT and that it totally knocked that sucker out.
Good news after chemo radiation, wedge resection and adjuvant chemo my PET scan showed NED. I’m so thankful. Thanks for your encouragement and hand holding during my treatments.
Congratulations! I was diagnosed in 2011, and I am still here also. that is 9 yrs, so yes there is hope. I plan on being around until I am really old .
I am doing Opdivo Treatments every 2 weeks. I also try to eat right and exercise when I can. The Opdivo shrunk my tumor by almost 80% and I am NED at the present time
Reading your post was a delight! Happy Birthdays to you! Huge congratulations! You and I seem to be filled with the same spirit of joie de vivre!
I, too, had stage 4 lung cancer. Like you, I kept kicking it, and celebrating life. My big hurrah was a birding trip to Costa Rica. I said while I can still
breathe and walk, I'm taking my dream trip. I had to hike up into the mountains. It was hard because of the altitude. I live on a flat Florida beach. It was hard because of my lung cancer. I
had an inoperable tumor close to my heart. I had had the top lobe of my right lung removed. Chemo almost killed me, and the oncologist said they couldn't give me any other treatments. So, I treated myself with my own determined energy. I climbed those mountains! By the end of my trip, I was running up the the hills. On June 3rd, 2019 my tumor was gone. I am cancer free! Whoohoo! Kicked it out of my body! I celebrate you! I celebrate me! I celebrate every day of this wonderful life! Celebrate 🎉🎂🥰🥂
Thank you for sharing your experience and for this kind words. Well do I understand the drive that took you to Costa Rica. Please consider sharing your story in a new thread. People come here looking for hope and your experience gives me hope. I don’t think you shared an update about your trip and I’d love to read more.
There is no easy answer. I do just about everything conventional wisdom says not to do including eating refined sugars and having an occasional glass of wine or beer.
Currently I am enrolled in a study that seeks to understand why I had such a complete and enduring response to treatment when others with a smaller disease load and less aggressive cancers did not. If they learn anything I’ll post it.
I would be interested in results of that report since I survived and my husband didn’t. Intellectually, I know why he didn’t make it, I just sometimes wonder why I did. We both had stage 4. I guess that is some sort of survivor’s guilt talking. I am very happy I survived. I have always been positive and have a strong faith, but others do, too. Just in that frame of mind since this is around the time my husband was diagnosed last year.
When or if something comes out of this I will certainly share the information. So far nothing has come of it. Survivor’s guilt is tough to cope with. My mom had the same lung cancer I have and she only survived 4 1/2 months.
Sending prayers for strength in getting through this tough time period. I hope sad memories are replaced by happier ones.
Thanks. 50 + years together definitely gives me happier memories over the sad ones. I am a Hospice Volunteer and I was delivering a bunch of handmade cards for patients who we can no longer visit. That in itself has me feeling down. Missing John and CoVid 19 has me home alone. Throw in a kidney stone and a mammogram that needs further testing and that is my atypical mindset today. Thanks for prayers. I will bounce back. I always do.
I was reading about your 9th birthday just wondering what type of treatment you are on because I want that. I have Stage IV Lung cancer along with bad Copd and on oxygen. For me they said if I'm lucky 2 yrs. just found out this year. How did you do it most of my days I sit and get depressed. I have 2 kids one is 43 with (2) kids 16 and 12 and my youngest is 24 in college studying how to be a politician. She is already working and the capital here in Texas she is doing good and would love to see her graduate. It seems like I take 2 steps forward and get kicked back 4. I'm on Keytruda which is done once every 3 weeks but for the rest of my life. Should I start having parties? lol...
My oncologist ordered concurrent chemotherapy and radiation. He said my stage 4 cancer behaved more like a 3B so he went outside of standard of care. He had to find a radiologist who was willing to treat me as a 3B as well. They only did it because my general health was very good. There were no comorbidities to complicate treatment. When I was diagnosed, Stage 4 cancer was not normally given Radiaion except when a mass was blocking the esophagus, there were brain metastices or to relieve pain from bone mets
Until a few days before my diagnosis I was able to walk several miles at a pop and as a volunteer on a weekly summer music festival I could carry loads of folding chairs up 2 flights of stairs for storage. My apartment was up 3 flights of stairs from the parking.
My asthma and COPD are really a result of the radiation and scarring left by the chemotherapy. The concurrent treatment was extremely debilitating and at one point I needed help getting up the second step into my house.
My sister calls me a unicorn because I survived this long having had only one line of treatment with no maintenance chemo. My doctor told me I’m a miracle. As mentioned, I was told I would probably be dead 10-15 months after I was diagnosed No one can tell you for sure when you will die Time given over to worrying about dying is time you can use to make memories with your family
The standard of care you will likely receive was approved because it gave patients longer progression free survival with fewer side effects.
Thank you I'm only on Keytruda seems to be working spots getting smaller but I have Copd bad and my breathing is not good at all. In a wheelchair an on oxygen which not being able to get up and do what I want is getting really old. I'm going to see a new lung dr on Friday due to spots showing up on my lungs that the cancer dr does not know what they are.
I'm keeping praying the this new dr can help me with my breathing and life can get back to somewhat normal. Then maybe I can drive my car again.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
A different kind of survival
Finding a Balance - 7 Ideas for Not Being All Lung Cancer All the Time
