Welcome to the new ladies, but sorry you have had to join us. You will find lots of very helpful people all over this Forum. Take advantage, and ask as many questions you need to.
Carolyn - good luck with the new garden furniture delivery. Good old hubby, putting it together for you! Say hello for me!
Hugs. Barton.x
Hi Sarah, sorry you have had to join us. Understandably your in a scary place at the moment take time to take it all in and be gentle on yourself, once a treatment plan is in place for you things will settle down. My secondary dx was March 2014 and I totally wrote myself off! I have mets in my hips ribs and spine and at the moment I'm stable and living a relatively "normal" life still working part time and booking hols etc.
Hugs Janette xxxx
Hi Sarah,
Sorry you have had to join us. It is very raw and scary at first, but it does get better. Once a treatment plan is put in place you will start to feel more in control. I am three years on since the double whammy of SBC, and there are ladies on here who have been dealing with this for many years.
Be gentle with yourself, write your questions down for the onc. Scream , cry when you need to , you don't have to be a saint.
You will find the 'New You '.
Hugs Marie xxx
Thought id also post this as it may give us all a bit of cheer. When i saw my onc on Wed, i mentioned 'liquid biopsies ' which he explained are actually blood samples from which an attempt is made to classify cancer cells within the circulating blood. I asked about this because I had heard about it on the Inspire website.
My onc had, at a previous appt explained that they thought my ca had changed its DNA(letrozole no longer worked, whilst id had a brilliant response some years earlier) so this week, I wanted to know if i was still oestrogen pos.
the onc said on Wed there was a trial being considered soon which would be looking at precisely that and I would be eligble for it, but that the planners were still trying to find the money.
apparently they hope to be able to look at the subsequent dna changes that happen and to then be able to target these and even eventually maybe predict which changes will happen so they can target those also.
.
if this approach works then ethically, the NHS will have to make it available all over the UK, as I suspect it will soon be in the USA....as they seem to be trialling it already!
THis appears to be a radical new way of looking at cancer which could make great inroads into treatments, because I had already heard that ca cells metabolism uses specific proteins in order to grow and spread. Seems this new method could perhaps lead to them nipping these in the bud? As well as forgo the need for tissue biopsies, which of course are painful and traumatic and cannot always be done...some mets are far too small to be seen.
i think CANCER RESEARCH UK .is a good place to watch, for these new trials hopefully to be emerging shortly.
love and hugs
Moijan
Hi Sarah, sorry you have been through such a traumatic time. Just wanted to tell you that I was diagnosed in 2001 with lobular oestrogen pos bc. Had a mastec - lymph nodes 12out of 13 were positive and my margin was less than the millimetre they like...in fact the bc had spread out of the nodes...into the fatty tissue under the armpit. All scary stuff I know, but now im 15 years on, albeit with secondaries in my liver and spine.
i do hope that helps...I know it feels like the end...I retired because they said there was a 75% chance of secondaries within two years and I was just as scared as you probably are.
i like to think I live a normal life and in fact things do feel normal, apart fom all the hospital visits!
take heart, try to enjoy the little things if you can...I havent children, but my great neices are a distraction!
love and hugs, Moijan💜💛💚💙
oh and Carolyn...I have been eating chocolate today, 90% cocoa🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫
Hi im new to this site and looking for some support. I have read through some of these post and have been uplifted.I am 45yrs old and was diagnosed in may16 with IDC two lumps removed with immediate therapeutic mammoplasty.Went for results of op to be told no clear margins and both tumours were bigger than first thought and out of 5 nodes i had a speck in one. due to this i was given bone scan& ct scan then second op for clear margins. results of second op were clear margins and clear bone scan but ct scan showed something in the sacrum,then i had mri scan and they were still not sure so a pet scan followed. went to see oncologist for results to be told that i have secondary breast cancer a single 2cm spot in the sacrum but the rest of the body was clear at moment. it has left me and hubby blown away not to mention my 3 kids 14,12,& 9 . I have been put on tamoxifen because er+ and my oncologist is going to find out where i can have targeted rads. I will also have monthly injections of denosumab,no chemo yet.I was wondering if anybody else has started with one single met in this area. we are terrifed about the future and would love some support.
sarahx
Hi sharon
So sorry to hear you have progression and also that I can't remember if you already had liver mets or whether your bone mets have now spread to the liver. My bone mets spread to my liver after 5 years on hormone treatment. I insisted on a liver biopsy, having read on this forum about receptor status changes. I'm glad I did as my HER2 status showed as having changed from nearly 10 years of being negative to now being positive. This has given me different treatments available which I wouldn't have been able to if I hadn't had the biopsy done. I would suggest that you contact your oncologists secretary saying that you need an appointment earlier than the scheduled one on 16th as its too long to wait for a change in treatment as far as you're concerned. I know it's holiday season and that all the consultants in our hospital seem to take August off (grrrrrrrr!) but hopefully your appointment can be moved forward. Ask if a biopsy can be done.
If however you have had one done already I'm assuming it wouldn't have been too long ago therefore the results would probably be the same as current in terms of receptor status. In either case your oncologist should be able to put you onto another type of chemo, having seen from your postings that the hormone treatment hasn't been effective. Also it may be worth asking for a second opinion and travel to the nearest specialist cancer hospital. I'm in the south so I have been to The Marsden twice for second opinions but I know of The Christie further north and think that Sheffield has a specialist centre if you are closer to there. Your oncologist won't like it (mine was very huffy about it!) but you are entitled to it and it could open up other treatment options or even being considered for a trial of newer drugs or combination of drugs that aren't available locally.
Hope some of this info helps and sending lots of hugs your way as its a bummer when we get progression.
Nicky x
Hi Sharon, sorry to hear about your results, can't really offer any advice on liver mets though. I know it's a few weeks off until you see your onc (which is rubbish!!) I'm the same I usually have to wait around 4 wks it's ridiculous! But I would think he/she will have a treatment plan ready for you to start on.
Stay strong sending you a big fat cyber ((((hug))))
Janette xxxx
OH Sharon, It's so scary and disappointing when there is progression. I would think you should have more treatments, after reading your list! Hang in there and give your oncologist a call if you are worried. You shouldn't have to wait. Hugs! FF
Hi Sharon, so sorry to hear your news. I wonder when your last status check was. Is there a possibility your cancer type has changed. If you haven't had it done for a while an option might be to ask for another biopsy to see as if it has changed the chemos won't make any difference.
much love to you xxx