Discouraging Statistics

I go to a website for young cancer survivors. It's called Young Survival Coalition or YSC. It's a site for women under 40 diagnosed with breast cancer. It's been great to meet with these ladies and correspond with women exactly like me who are experiencing what I'm going through. I ask questions and they KNOW. There isn't anyone else around me that can do that. They don't take any crap, they give you the straight dirt. It can be very encouraging to be around women like that.

Bad news is that they got ahold of my snail mail address. They sent me a letter encouraging me to donate to their fundraising drive. They give a couple of horrible sob stories in their letter and then give these scary statistics. Well, for me they are discouraging. I want to research it more because it just gave me little hope. Here's what it said that was so hard to hear:

• More than 11,000 young women will be diagnosed with breast cancer
• Close to 1,400 of these young women will die
• There is NOT enough research done on young women diagnosed with breast cancer
• Only 50% of women diagnosed under the age of 40 will live 10 years past their initial diagnosis.

Are you freaking kidding me? I only have a 50% chance of making it past 10 years? That SUCKS!!!! I'm so angry that they sent this to me. I have struggled and cried and been so scared of doing the wrong thing this year and they send me this???? I have no clue where the statistics came from or what they include. Does it mean if you never did anything about your breast cancer you would die, or refused treatment, or only did partial treatment? Did it say the stages of cancer you had to be in that category or if the different stages or hormone levels matter at all? How dare they put that information in a letter to someone just barely hanging onto their sanity after going through a year of pure hell. SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (sorry)

I've been on my YSC site watching the progress of one woman in particular. She just entered the hospital and told everyone she had a good feeling she wouldn't be coming out. She wished us all good luck and said goodbye. It seems that since I got my diagnosis, I've known at least 4 women in my life get it too. It's like a sick perverse club or something. I should know better than to think how it could get any worse because as soon as I do, something worse comes along.

My New Years resolution is to make sure I never ask how much worse it can get. I should know by now that if you ask, I guarrentee it WILL get worse.