 Senior Patient Advocate Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 8,311 | Remission means there is no more living cancer not even a cell so that's a hard date to pin. Some of us call it the date after surgery with clear margins and some that didn't have surgery call it the date Tx ends hoping that it killed all the current cancer cells. It's just a date that means something to the patient as it would be technically almost be impossible to determine that exact time when the last cancer cell died so pick whatever date you want. I have never used that term, "in remission". I keep 3 dates in mind; the date I was told I had cancer; the date my Tx began and the date my Tx ended and I refer back to them depending on the conversation.
David
Age 58 at Dx, HPV16+ SCC, Stage IV BOT+2 nodes, non smoker, casual drinker, exercise nut, Cisplatin x 3 & concurrent IMRT x 35,(70 Gy), no surgery, no Peg, Tx at Moffitt over Aug 06. Jun 07, back to riding my bike 100 miles a wk. Now doing 12 Spin classes and 60 outdoor miles per wk. Nov 13 completed Hilly Century ride for Cancer, 104 miles, 1st Place in my age group. Apr 2014 & 15, Spun for 9 straight hrs to raise $$ for YMCA's Livestrong Program. Certified Spin Instructor Jun 2014.
| 
