15 months

I just received some magazines from the Dutch Breast Cancer Association. The editor very kindly sent them to me after we corresponded via e-mail. I was looking for a way to contribute and volunteered to do something (for lack of a better idea). In the issues she sent me were some interesting articles. One of them is about a new study in which women who have a metastatic diagnosis initially, are able to select an operation. In The Netherlands, if you get diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer there is no operation at all. So I still have both my breasts (sounds a bit odd but that’s the case); no mastectomy took place. Apparently a study showed that if women are operated, their survival rate increases from an average of 14 months (not-operated) to an average of 31 months with an operation. Neither sounds very appealing I admit. And falling into the former category, I’m very happy to announce my 15th month of survival this month! A bit of an odd celebration but I’m happy just being alive!