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I am ringing in the New Year by entering my 11th year of living with metastatic breast cancer.

Although living with cancer is the last thing I ever could have foreseen, it is what it is; and on a good day, I am grateful that I am still here. (I have more good days than bad). The hardest part is the treatment because when you have metastatic cancer, drugs only work for a certain period of time and then you have to find a stronger drug to keep your cancer in check.

(more…)

It is an unexpected finding considering that for most cancers, the latency period — the time between exposure to a carcinogen and expression of disease — tends to span decades.

“My initial bias was that for the first 10 or 15 years we would not see an increase,” said Prezant. “That’s another reason I think our findings are so strong, because I actually thought we would find the opposite.”

Read more at CNN

Being separated from a loved one is never easy. When a loved one goes off into harm’s way – it hurts. When one half of a couple decides to leave – it hurts. Losing the other half of what makes your world complete is devastating.

And then there is cancer.

Today I felt the tables turn in an odd way. I’m not losing someone because of cancer. After all, I am the one with the cancer. Nonetheless, I am losing. What can one say to a stage IV cancer patient who has just said goodbye to both of her children – off to college on the opposite end of the country. I have spent these years living with cancer trying to take advantage of every day. Being a mom was my second career, but the best career by far.

The medical community would agree my days are “numbered,” but they would do a nice soft sell on the subject. Not knowing how much time I have left, it will be hard for me to live so far away from my kids. Much of my happiness is tied to being with them. Now phone calls will have to suffice. I wonder if there are support groups for empty-nest moms with cancer?

Should we start one? All of you who read this blog are so forthcoming with your stories about your loved one who dealt with cancer or is in treatment right now. Any advice for me this time?

It’s time to let my children fly, and I have. They do not feel they must stay in Los Angeles to be with me, and I take that as a huge accomplishment. I want them to find their way in life and be the best they can be. They have the tools, and hopefully the confidence, to move forward to be successful at whatever it is they choose to do with their life. I am very proud to be their mother!

The FIVE Coalition is a network of organizations providing ways for all to take action in the fight against breast cancer, and the Noreen Fraser Foundation is pleased to stand with six other top nonprofits to create an unparalleled system of support and resources for breast cancer survivors, patients, advocates and their friends and families. Visit MyLifetime.com for more details and the air schedule for FIVE!