Stage 4 breast cancer with bone mets

FawnMarie3
FawnMarie3 Member Posts: 5
in Breast Cancer #1
Is anyone out there going through stage 4 breast cancer? Really want to talk to someone who is dealing with the same thing that I am. I'm 35 and I have battled this before when I was 25.

Comments

  • LoveBabyJesus
    LoveBabyJesus Member Posts: 1,679 Member
    #2
    Hi Marie -- So sorry you're
    Hi Marie -- So sorry you're dealing with this again. There are a few ladies here with stage 4 and they're doing well.

    Sending you a big hug. Please know you'll be in my prayers.

    BTW, I am now 34 and was dx at 32 last year. Please know you are not alone.
  • MAJW
    MAJW Member Posts: 2,510 Member
    #3
    So sorry...
    So sorry for the reason you've found us but this is a great place, full of caring, supportive women with all stages and types of breast cancer..and various age groups......I am stage IV triple negative bc... but do not have mets to my bones..but I do have it in my lymph nodes and it was found in Feb. I had 3 small spots on my brain and one small spot on my liver in addition to the lymph nodes....I had 10 rads treatments to my brain, that took care of that...my oncologist was able to get me on Avastin, through the manufacturer, which was pulled by the FDA in Jan. for stage IV bc....I have that with Carboplatin..long story short my tumor markers were 98 in Feb when the brain mets were picked up by scans...since starting this chemo cocktail my markers are now 34... well within the normal range for bc...best news we've had in over a year! And I now have chemo every 3 weeks instead of every 2 weeks...I have no doubt that the Avastin has been the game changer for me...I would encourage anyone with stage IV to ask their oncologist about trying Avastin..if they can get you on it...insurance will NOT cover it because the FDA pulled it for bc...and it is very expensive..

    There are ladies here with bone mets and I'm sure they will share their story and experiences with you...wishing you the best
    Hugs, Nancy
  • camul
    camul Member Posts: 2,537
    #4
    Hi FawnMarie
    I have stage iv bc with mets to the bones. Mine is pretty wide spread through almost all the bones, the skin, connective tissues of the chest wall and ribs, and I have a couple of small tumors in my liver that the chemo has been able to keep stable and they are not affecting the liver function. I am 54, was originally diagnosed with IDC, er+, pr+ and her2 - at 44. I am now being treated for triple positive, which means I get herceptin with chemo. It will be 2 years in September that I have been fighting this. I have weekly chemo, have had rads to the hips, pelvic, and tailbone twice which really helped with the pain.

    If you have questions that I can help you with, feel free to private message me. There are quite a few others who are stage iv on this board with bone mets and they seem to be doing very well. Like everything else, it depends on how our bodies respond to the treatments, and how involved the tumors are. I am sure you will hear from some of them also.

    You came to a good group. This group is very supportive and are willing to share and do whatever we can to help. Sorry to hear you have it back again. It is not easy, but I am hopeful that a new treatment will come up that will turn this into a chronic condition. For some with mets who have responded well to treatment, it seems to already be a chronic illness.

    I wish you the best, feel free to ask any questions you may have.

    Carol
  • New Flower
    New Flower Member Posts: 4,294
    #5
    camul said:

    Hi FawnMarie
    I have stage iv bc with mets to the bones. Mine is pretty wide spread through almost all the bones, the skin, connective tissues of the chest wall and ribs, and I have a couple of small tumors in my liver that the chemo has been able to keep stable and they are not affecting the liver function. I am 54, was originally diagnosed with IDC, er+, pr+ and her2 - at 44. I am now being treated for triple positive, which means I get herceptin with chemo. It will be 2 years in September that I have been fighting this. I have weekly chemo, have had rads to the hips, pelvic, and tailbone twice which really helped with the pain.

    If you have questions that I can help you with, feel free to private message me. There are quite a few others who are stage iv on this board with bone mets and they seem to be doing very well. Like everything else, it depends on how our bodies respond to the treatments, and how involved the tumors are. I am sure you will hear from some of them also.

    You came to a good group. This group is very supportive and are willing to share and do whatever we can to help. Sorry to hear you have it back again. It is not easy, but I am hopeful that a new treatment will come up that will turn this into a chronic condition. For some with mets who have responded well to treatment, it seems to already be a chronic illness.

    I wish you the best, feel free to ask any questions you may have.

    Carol

    Hi FawnMarie
    I am out here, was diagnosed with stage III C in 2008 at the age of 46, and recently in June of 2012 with stage IV. I am on Xeloda pills (Chemo) and Xgeva shots for bones. I am still learning how to live a normal life with this diagnosis. There are several of us on this board stage IV. This forum dispite stages is a very supportive group of caring people. If you have questions, please PM me as well.
    Hugs
    New Flower
  • SIROD
    SIROD Member Posts: 2,194 Member
    #6
    Another Stage IV
    Hi FawnMarie3,

    As you can see there are a lot of us with Stage IV, all very different. I will be in my 18th years since diagnose next month and am on my 3rd recurrence. My first was a regional recurrence and my 2nd was cancer in several ribs and then I went NED until 2008 when it returned to both lungs & lining and in 2011, the ribs cancer returned. There are many women like me on other sites who have lived with mets for many, many years. I have been very fortunate to have responded well with my treatments.

    The longest person that I read who survive with metastasis was Rita Arditti. She spoke at the 2009 Dana Farber METS symposium. Her cancer journey with metastasis lasted 30 years. Her mets began in her lungs and eventually spread to her bones and liver.

    With all the research going on with the new vaccines and gene sequencing, there is a lot of hope of figuring out how to fix us.

    Please ask the questions.

    Wishing you the best,

    Doris
  • CypressCynthia
    CypressCynthia Member Posts: 4,014 Member
    #7
    I am also Stage 4 with bone
    I am also Stage 4 with bone mets. I have been 25 years since original diagnosis--3 years since official bone mets diagnosis (although bone mets symtoms started in 2005). My original diagnosis was in Feb. 1987 when I was 33.

    I am doing well on hormone therapy and a bisphoshonate. Still working and determined to keep fighting. You are welcome to PM me anytime.
  • missrenee
    missrenee Member Posts: 2,136 Member
    #8
    CypressCynthia said:

    I am also Stage 4 with bone
    I am also Stage 4 with bone mets. I have been 25 years since original diagnosis--3 years since official bone mets diagnosis (although bone mets symtoms started in 2005). My original diagnosis was in Feb. 1987 when I was 33.

    I am doing well on hormone therapy and a bisphoshonate. Still working and determined to keep fighting. You are welcome to PM me anytime.

    As you can see here, FawnMarie
    you are not alone. I welcome you here and am so sorry you have to be here. I was diagnosed in Dec. '09 with Stage 3C IDC with 10 positive lymph nodes. After treatment (lumpectomy, axillary node dissection, 6 rounds of TAC chemo and 33 rads) I did well on Arimidex for 18 months. Then in January of this year, after experiencing back pain and many, many tests, I was re-diagnosed as Stage 4 with bone mets to T-12, lumbar spine and pelvis. I have been on monthly injections of Faslodex and infusions of Zometa. I am happy to tell you that my PET scan after 6 months of this therapy was negative, showing resolution of the mets. I am currently in remission and will continue my treatment.

    We are all on this roller coaster ride. Things can be great for a while and then the bottom falls out completely. We all understand. Please know you have many, many friends here who will offer their support, words of wisdom, personal experiences, encouragement and love. Come here often for whatever reason you need. We're all here for you.

    Hugs, Renee

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