New to Health Unlocked

[Formersnowbird]

In April 2000 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had a mastectomy, chemo, and five years each of Tamoxifen and Femara. Everything was fine until February 2018, when a biopsy of my underarm lymph nodes confirmed the recurrence and spread on the same side as before. I am presently taking Ibrance and Letrozole (Femara again) and the results so far are encouraging. Side effects: lots of fatigue and some hair thinning.

[SeattleMom]

Hello! Your situation has some similarities to mine. I was diagnosed with BC in October 2000, followed by double mastectomy. No other follow up treatment as there was no sign of cancer in sentinel nodes. 17 years went by and then, in November 2017, I was diagnosed with MBC with lesions in my spine.

I am taking Ibrance and Letrozole and also have side effects that include fatigue and hair thinning. I will say that the fatigue is not nearly as excessive as it was in the first few months.

God bless you!! Hope you continue to have successful treatment. XO Linda in Seattle.

[PJBinMI]

I'm sorry that you are having to deal with this recurrence but the fact that it took so long does bode well for you, compared to if it has returned in two years! Some of us with E + do really well for long periods of time. I hope that will be the case for you.

[Clair19 in reply to PJBinMI]

Let me ask you mine was diagnosed in 2001 however I knew in 2000. But I’m Her2 Negative, do you think I was E+and it changed? I was diagnosed last summer stage 4. I know just because my mom had it I got it. They say only Braca gene is hereditary, I’m not so sure. I know you have lived with mbc so long, your an inspiration to me the way you deal with it. Big hug....

[Barbteeth in reply to PJBinMI]

Hi

I always love reading your posts..always encouraging

Is it true that the longer the time between primary and metastasis has a promising outlook..it’s so difficult to be positive some days

I have many bone mets after 24 years cancer free..although the mets may have been there a while but not 5 years ago as I had an mri for back pain then and nothing showed up on that

Barb xx

[Juliandrea in reply to Barbteeth]

Yes it’s seems the women who survive longer are the ones who had mets many years after initial diagnosis. I was diagnosed with bone mets from the beginning. Would love to hear from someone who has been successful with treatment for a long time with Estrogen positive MBC from the beginning. It would put a lot of our minds at ease for sure.

[MaryJ-S in reply to Juliandrea]

I have had MBC from the beginning since I had Inflammatory Breast cancer as well as invasive ductal. I was diagnosed in 2005 and 3 years later they found it in my bones. I think I am somewhat unusual in that I was ER+ from the beginning. I have been on and off chemo and HRT and the new drugs since 2005 with some breaks in between. A couple of things I feel helped me. One, I lost about 15 pounds and 2, I limited how many carbs I ate and 3, I retired from a very stressful job when I turned 60. Fortunately my medical was covered until I turned 65. Attitude is really important. If you are struggling with depression or a dark outlook on life please get some counseling or let your oncologist know! There is help. The new drugs are magnificent in that they keep us alive until a cure is found or another drug is develop. Stay as positive as you can...

Hugs,

MaryJS

[Juliandrea in reply to MaryJ-S]

Thank you for your reply Maryj-s so good to hear your story. So happy to hear how well you are doing. I thank you for the tips, all good advice. Staying positive is half the battle for sure. You have made this dark day brighter for sure. Being only 5 months for me it’s scary . I am ER positive as well . If you don’t mind what treatments have you been on since the Mets ? How old were you when diagnosed?

Thank you again, and a big hug to you as well

[Kykakeke]

18 years of no worries of cancer! Wow!! I had 16 years before the beast came back. I really thought I was home free. But, not to be! Right now I’m doing OK but the uncertainty creeps in. I’m grateful for whatever time is on my clock. Bless all of us!!!