Fighting cancer becomes more challenging

Metastatic breast cancer - I was stage 4 and terminal during the relapse. Multiple liver metastases, multiple bony metastases to thoracic spine, lumbar spine and ribs, metastasis in upper lobe of left lung, fluid in heart lining, fluid in lining of both lungs that tested positive for cancer cells, grade 3 cancer cells and CerbB2 (HER2) positive - I had them all.

Gosh! Come to think of it, my ctscan at that time must have looked like some polka-dotted artwork.

If facts and past figures are any indication, I should have become part of the statistics. However, my being alive is helping to keep the figures down.

Before I knew about the facts and figures, I would have just been doing my best to stay alive. Now, that I know about them, staying alive becomes a little more challenging, that is, it helps to swing the odds in favour of survivors.

Of course the fight is not mine alone. The oncologists with their conventional therapies, and those around me with their support, advices, recommendations - the approach may be different, but we are all fighting one common enemy - the cancer. However, I probably have an edge because the body is mine and I get to choose and decide.

Facts about breast cancer in Singapore

The following information was taken from 'Calendar 2008', a joint production from Breast Cancer Foundation and GlaxoSmithKline Oncology.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women in Singapore.

- 1 in 5 cancers occurring among women in Singapore is breast cancer
- Every year, there are 1,100 new cases (based on statistics from 2007 and before) of breast cancer with about 3 women being diagnosed with breast cancer each day. [Note : according to Abreast Link (BCF's newsletter of Oct 2008 - Jan 2009) the figure is 1,300.]
- About 270 (2007) die from the disease each year. (2008 - it was 313)
- 1 in 20 women in Singapore will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
- The incidence of breast cancer is highest among women aged 55 to 59. (My note : I am not certain about this as I thought it should be 50 to 59.)

Advanced breast cancer (also known as metastatic breast cancer) where cancer has spread outside the breast to other organs in the body, is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women, resulting in more than 400,000 deaths worldwide.

Breast cancer patients who have too much of Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor - 2 [referred to as ErbB2 (HER2)-positive] on the outer surface of normal breast cells are less responsive to hormone treatment. They are also at a greater risk of disease progression and death. 1 in 3 breast cancer patients here are ErbB2-positive.

With no cure for advanced breast cancer, more effective treatment options are needed to give patients more time to do the things they want to do as well as improve the quality of life for patients. The latest innovative targeted treatments help delay the spread of ErbB2-positive metastatic breast cancer and bring new hope to patients who can then cherish and spend more time with their loved ones.

Extracted from the Abreast Link, Oct 2008 - Jan 2009 issue, "breast cancer has overtaken colorectal and lung cancer as the top killer among women".