"Not curable, but treatable"---cancer has recurred into a rib bone

minimal size. CT scan not showing much elsewhere.

"Optimistic"...doctor says it's like having diabetes...she will have cancer until she dies.....

Poor Elizabeth. :hug:

not expect her life to be significantly different.

Talked about all cancer patients...

She is completely asymptomatic...lucky she cracked the rib because they found it so early...It's her left rib...the only thing that hurts her is her left rib and she blesses it!

Elizabeth Edwards is one of my favorite people.

ever. And that's from the husband of a cancer survivor. Good people there.

I hope they can treat it without putting her through too much agony. :cry:

was found to have breast cancer a year ago last December (2005). She had a radical mastectomy followed up by additional surgery to remove lymph nodes. At that time they still thought they had gotten it all until they did a bone scan and found cancer had spread to a bone. Because of her age, 78, she is not a candidate for extensive chemotherapy. They also thought she would not benefit from radiation although they did decide to hold off on radiation and keep that in the "arsenal" for future use, if necessary.

The doctor told us at that time we were no longer going for a cure but management of the disease. My mother now takes a teeny, tiny pill that the doctor calls hormone therapy to control the spread of the cancer. She also goes once a month for a transfusion of Zometa that is a calcium supplement to help keep her bones stronger.

My mother now has a pill to take each day, she has to have blood tests done once a month, she has an IV once a month and every 3-4 months she has a bone scan to assess if the cancer has spread to further bones. She has remained "healthy," feeling very good with absolutely no spread of the cancer at all for over a year.

Do we know how long this will last, no, but we'll take every day we can. The point I want to make is that Elizabeth can live a very active, full life with this cancer and her treatment. I fully expect Elizabeth to come back out fighting and fighting hard.

Not great news but not the absolute worst either.

In 1980, my sister died after her breast cancer (diagnosed in 1975) spread to the bone. There was no way to slow it down. It is gratifying to know that cancer treatment has progressed so much in 30 years. I like to think she helped in some small way by entering into several trials during her battle with breast cancer.

She had a full radical almost immediately after the tumor was found and still lasted only a few years. She was 26 when it was diagnosed. She endured years of pain and misery as she fought through it. To think that we've overcome much of that horror is such sweet music. Thank you.

For women having initial mets to bone, median survival is 71 months. This is much better than the median survival for a visceral or lung met. She is relatively young, healthy and will receive the very best care; she might be one who survives a very long time. I hope so.