My name is Amanda and I was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma last December after fluke Lumbar MRI findings. Last January after much suspicion, they confirmed on a bone biopsy I was already stage 4...bone mets. I was severely anemic and put through a few bridging therapies before and after my ovaries/tubes were removed. I’ll be 42 in a week.
Three and a half months ago I had to have a femoral nail placed for a pathological hip fracture. I just started Ibrance and Aromasin after we learned the Letrazole/Faslodex combo stopped working and I now have liver mets plus more bone involvement. Starting my second cycle next week if I can get insurance crap figured out. If this doesn’t work it’ll be chemo for me. I refuse to give up living though. Cancer sucks !!!
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ToxicBewbz
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Glad you’ve joined here..we’re all in the same predicament
Mine came back after 24 years..thought I was ok till a vertebrae fractured and I found I had mbc to numerous bones..such a shock and I’m still reeling from it after 8 months
I want the old me back and I can’t ever have that again..that’s even worse than the hideous treatments I put up with
welcome, sorry your here. I hope the new treatment works well and for a long time. I was recently dx mets after 7 years. It sucks so bad! but we have each other, thank God!
don't look back and don't give up! there are a lot of treatments. xo
Robin
Hi Amanda!
Welcome to this site. It is good to meet you.
You sound like you have a positive attitude, which I feel makes a huge difference to our lives. I was initially diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma too last March. But after two months of going backwards and forwards to hospital for MRIs, CT scans, a PET CT scan and so on, they finally told me it was metastatic in May, and I have been having treatment since then. I think what threw the medical staff was my age, previous good health and no family history of breast cancer.
I hope your new treatment is successful. Let's all keep going until an effective cure is found for all of us, not just the few we may have read about who have managed to successfully beat metastatic breast (and other) cancer.
I hope you get the insurance part working. So far this is what makes me the maddest, especially if you need to go on medicare and have to incur large co-pays around $10,000.
Hi everyone it’s sad that there’s so many of us going through this and it breaks my heart. I’m glad I found this site. I’ve tried a huge group on FB in the past but I couldn’t get over all the generic “thoughts and prayers” comments rather than actual supportive discussions. I’m not a religious person so I struggled with that lol. Anyway sorry to be here but glad for the supportive community 💜💜💜
Yes Amanda. It sucks big time .. My left arm is always in pain and i am a left handed person. I find it very hard at times to try and get in and out off my car and doing other things . hope to get answers tomorrow ..onology appoint to get bone scan results and see where to go from there. It very hard at times to even deal with the big C word. I hope u get the proper treatments .. We have very good care here in Canada ..but if it gone to far then guess no matter where we live it finds us. Good luck.
Hi Amanda. You've been though a lot. I really feel for you. Sounds like you have a good attitude...not letting cancer stop you from living. That's my biggest struggle - always worrying about when my current treatment will stop working.
I'm glad to hear you are taking Ibrance - it worked well for me after Letrozole stopped working (I started with Letrozole in 2013 before Ibrance was available). I wish you well.
Hey Amanda. You can sing that!! Cancer really does suck! I’m 36, MBC in bone and liver. Had the ovaries removed in October 2018. I’m on the Letrozole and Ibrance combo. Starting cycle 3 today and so far so good (except for the fatigue, pains and aches, but I can LIVE with that).
It must be a right pain in the proverbial having to stress about insurance. I’m in Ireland and thankfully, I don’t have to worry about any bills. I don’t have private health care, but I do have a medical card (which I fought for).
Life still has to be lived. We all could be around for a long time yet 🤞🏻
Dear One, So sorry you're here, but glad you found it. I, too, was diagnosed Stage IV from the beginning -- also to the bone. That was 7 years ago. I was no evidence for 5 years. Now have liver and lymph node involvement and am on taxol and keytruda. Just started keytruda and Dr. had to go to pharma co. for compassionate use since insurance denied. So far, so good. I agree, don't give up Amanda. A positive attitude can help the days go better.
I am sure the new treatment will work just as well for you. What treatment were you on before ? Sounds like it worked very well. What type of cancer do you have?
My diagnosis was breast cancer. I was on tamoxifen 6 years ago. Did chemo, radiation and mastectomy 7 yrs. ago. Since recurrence, was on Ibrance and Faslodex, but then it spread to liver, so she took me off those and I started IV chemotherapy.
So initially it was Tamoxifen until my ovaries were removed then I was switched to Letrazole, Xgeva, and Faslodex. Now that the Fas/Xgeva stopped working (temporary anyway because of the bone marrow involvement) I’m on Ibrance and Aromasin plus the Xgeva still. I’m almost done with my first cycle. The mass has grown quite a bit in the last two weeks but my onc wasn’t shocked by that he said it’s common initially. I see him again in two weeks.
I am so sorry that You so much complications, It is hard and it is really good that you do not give up but ask your doctor if They can request a genomic study of your biopsy maybe if the liver is the new site , because the biology of the cancer can change and if they do the genomic study it can tell the treatment to follow or if there trials for you take care and God bless you
Thanks very much . They did do a liver biopsy about a month ago and confirmed it’s still the same cancer cells that took up residence there thankfully. It’s crappy but at least the demon hasn’t mutated.
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