This was in my Facebook feed tonight. Very promising!

[iamdonell]

foxnews.com/health/new-canc...

[Mindysooty]

Anything that can potentially kill cancer cells is interesting and worth thinking about for sure. It's all encouraging and feels like we're inching our way forward towards the magic moment of a full blown cure.

My only criticism - if I can call it that - is theyre talking about 'catching it early' before it's had chance to spread which I now know is a bit misleading. Having read an article recently, I've come to realise that even if we catch it early, the cancer cells may already have spread further afield but remain undetected only to raise their ugly head years down the line. When I had BC back in 2010 it was caught early, grade 1 v small and no spread to lymph nodes. Lumpectomy and no chemo reqd. Because that's what's drilled into us, ie catch it early, do your checks etc, I honestly thought that was it, I'd cracked it yet here I am now with mets all over. Still good to catch it early as less chance of spreading but it doesn't eliminate it 100% like I used to think. I just think this is one of the biggest misconceptions about breast cancer - it is for me anyway.

But back to the main point of the article - thumbs up . X

[Barbteeth in reply to Mindysooty]

I agree with everything you’ve said...also one woman was affected so it’s hardly a groundbreaking moment

They blow up these things out of proportion...it annoys me more than gives me hope

I’m feeling very negative today as you may have gathered

Sick of people saying ‘be positive ‘ ‘you’re strong’ ‘you’ll get through this’ etc etc

People just try to placate us and don’t understand the seriousness of this disease

Barb xx

[JBirdnut in reply to Barbteeth]

You nailed my sentiments exactly.

Stage one, lumpectomy, lymph nodes clean. Did taxol (8 treatments), radiation (5 times a week for 6 weeks) and was told..."you are cancer free".

Home free....yah!.

But it showed up again in less than 2 years. I think it never was gone. Still upset about no PET SCAN when treatment was done. Oncologist said not in protocol.

[hopenowandtomorrow in reply to JBirdnut]

I agree with you JBirdnut! Same thing happened to me. After going through Masectomy, chemo, radiation deemed “cancer free” only to get MBC Dx 2 years later. 🤨!

[kearnan in reply to Barbteeth]

I agree. Every other day there is some ground-breaking new treatment for breast cancer. Until it works on a large amount of women and would have to study these women for years, it is just a new trial going on. At least we know somewhere somebody is trying to figure out how to avoid it from coming back but that is no proof.

[Barbteeth in reply to kearnan]

I wish they would hurry up!!

Barb xx

[kearnan in reply to Barbteeth]

The funniest thing is that I really knew nothing about breast cancer until I was diagnosed. I had no idea there were different kinds or different stages. I just thought there was one type of breast cancer. God I was so naive. I think what struck me the most is that I was then told that 1 out of every 8 women get breast cancer. That is an awful lot of women. I was shocked. That is why I always understand if someone says the wrong thing because quite frankly, I had no idea what was involved and how treatment is different and there are different kinds. I wish to return to NOT having it and being naive. Now, I know more than I ever wanted to know about breast cancer. Oh yeah and SSDI and Medicaid and Medicare. I swear this is a full time job. Tomorrow Cancer Center. When I first started going, it seemed interesting to see what it looked like, how it worked. It felt like I was doing a documentary on it. Now, and it took a good year and a half, the realization that this is for life has hit me. I think the worst was when one of the receptionists said Hi Anne Marie. I was so upset and angry that she knew my name (stupid I know) and I think it hit at that moment about it being for life. I wish I had any family to make stupid remarks but I have none. None of my friends live in Brooklyn anymore and I don't drive. I just am so fed up with it already. Tomorrow I have to go to cancer center for shots, blood work and the onco meeting. Now, I just get angry. As soon as I get there, I want to leave. The reality took a while to hit me.

[Barbteeth in reply to kearnan]

Horrible isn’t it

I learned all about it 24 yrs ago when I was first diagnosed BUT I never knew it could come back decades later or I would have been more vigilant

We live and learn the hard way

Barb xx

[kearnan in reply to Barbteeth]

Cancer just sucks. I remember when first being diagnosed the first thing said to me was "Don't feel guilty." I was kind of confused and I said to her why would I feel guilty? She said when I tell many women their diagnosis, they get upset and think they did something wrong. They say I ate healthy and organic, I don't drink, I don't smoke, I run marathons and exercise every day, etc. She said to me Cancer is random. You can do everything right physically and mentally and it won't make a difference.

Many of the women had had mammograms on a regular basis also.

So don't ever blame yourself for not being more vigilant. Cancer does what it wants when it wants. I doubt there was anything you did that could have not made it happen. Never blame yourself! (PS: I told her well I don't feel guilty

[Topaz_77 in reply to Mindysooty]

Agreed. I think it potentially gives people a false sense of hope. 30% of those with early stage BC do get MBC later. I don’t think enough people realize that. One lady in one of my offline support groups said she felt like she had been punched in the stomach when I said it could come back in the chest wall, like it did with me. A lot of people believe, as did I, that once your breasts are gone then so are your chances of getting breast cancer again. I say be happy over reaching remission but continue to get your checkups and continue doing your self-checks.

[mariootsi in reply to Mindysooty]

I agree with you! But still hope this vaccine will Get It All.

[Mindysooty in reply to mariootsi]

Me too. Each tiny step or study gives us hope and we just have to keep clinging to it. X

[mariootsi]

Wow! It would be a miracle!

[kearnan]

Somebody else also posted this article. I don't get it. The article says she was stage zero and and that she chose to join the clinical trial because her only options was to have a lumpectomy or a mastectomy. But even after completing the clinic trial, she was still required to have a mastectomy to ensure that all cancer cells were gone. So she did not avoid a mastectomy in the end anyway. So they do not really know yet whether or not her cancer will return. I guess we have to hope and wait for some years for them to see if the cancer cells they cut out react to the vaccine or if any of these ladies have it return some years from now. At least there are people out there doing research.

[Red71 in reply to kearnan]

It looks like the mastectomy was part of the trial so they could see if the vaccine worked. I would assume that if they prove that all the patients in the trial no longer have cancer cells in their breast, later patients would no longer have to have a mastectomy. It was very brave of her to go that route if she didn’t really need to go through having a mastectomy. And I would hope that if the vaccine takes care of the cancer in the breast, it would get rid of anything that was lingering elsewhere that doctors may not be aware of. I was also cured until I wasn’t. It would be nice to know that they are developing something that could actually be a cure, even if it is too late for us. Elaine