Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer
My mom (48) was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer two years ago. She finished chemo and radiation treatment 6 months ago and just got results back that it’s now in her brain, lungs, spine and esophagus. She isn’t doing well mentally and every time we talk ( I live 6 hours away) all she does is cry. I’m worried about her mental state now because she doesn’t seem to be very optimistic. She has an appointment at MD Anderson in Houston in November but I’m wondering if hearing other people’s success stories could be helpful or if anyone has any information on what to expect moving forward. I think we are just a little in the dark and not sure what happens next or where we go from here.
Comments
-
I'm 67 and had stage 2 breast cancer in 2015. I had a lumpectomy, chemo and radiation. I had been taking anastrozole since then, and found out last November that the cancer had spread to my hip bone, spine and lung. My doctor switched me to Faslodex, Ibrance and Xgeva which seemed to be working, but now the cancer is attacking my liver.
This month my doctor put me on Xeloda and said she has a patient that has been on it for three years, so I'm hopeful it will keep it from spreading. The only good thing (if there is one), is that breast cancer is so common there are many different treatment options available. If one doesn't work, perhaps the next one will. At least that's what I'm holding on to. Prayers for your mother that she will beat this.
0 -
I'm stage 2 with Her2+ and Er & PR- but currently no spread to lymph nodes. I'll be starting Taxotere, Carboplatin plus Herceptin and Perjeta next week. Not sure what type of surgery yet because it will depend on if tumor can be shrunk. Then more Herceptin and Perjeta post surgery. What is/was your treatment plan? Taxotere and Carboplatin attack other cancers too. Not just BC. Herceptin and Perjeta are specific for HER2+
0 -
I'm getting a bone scan, full body CT scan and MRI today (spending the whole day at the hospital) to see what stage-hoping it's not stage 4. I'm having a lot of really bad symptoms, I suspect it's in my bones and lungs, hoping it's not. They are saying for sure chemo, some Herceptin cocktail for one month, re scan to see if things are shrinking, then surgery (mastectomy) as none of my breast is savable, possibly both if lymph nodes in other side need to be removed, then more chemo, then radiation. Assuming my heart is healthy enough for all that. I've been very healthy up to this point but in the last 3 months my health has declined rapidly. I'm 54 yrs. old, very active, in decent shape, eat very healthy, don't smoke, don't eat a lot of processed foods. My breast tissue is so dense I could not feel the lump. I think I've had cancer for many years and just didn't know. I developed Paget's-a secondary cancer of the breast, which brought me to the dermatologist for a biopsy and boom....cancer. I'm 3.5 weeks from that original diagnosis and it has taken this long for a CT scan, bone scan and MRI. It takes so long for each step, then waiting....I wanted them to schedule the whole shebang right away but they would not listen to me. "This is the protocol" they say, one step at a time. My response to them: This is my life!!! Then they say-cancer takes years to develop, not weeks, nothing is going to change that fast....OK that may be true, but in the meantime I'm experiencing pain that I've never felt before in my ribs, chest, lungs, back, arms, neck...I can feel things happening to my body. I'm getting weak. I know a lot of people react that way when they get a cancer diagnosis but I really do feel that things are moving really fast inside my body right now. They did say my tumor is "very aggressive" so is it possible I'm not crazy? I told them before they did a lymph node biopsy that I know it's in my lymph nodes because I can feel it, I'm experiencing what feels like lymphedema, my lymph nodes are so swollen and painful...I know I sound crazy. When they did an ultrasound on my lymph nodes the nurse showed me what she was seeing and almost all of my lymph nodes were black (cancer) I really hope I'm wrong about my bones and lungs but so far I've been right...I do not want to be right today!
0 -
Mine is HER2-, PR/ER positive, IDC in the sentinel lymph node.
1 -
I’m so sorry for what you’re going through. I’ve had breast cancer for over 2 yrs. Mine is also rare and aggressive. I understand what you’re going through, the fear, the anxiety, the unanswered questions about YOUR body, the ticking of time that’s passing achingly slow or as fast as a cheetah when you’re in Sloth mode and need it all to Stop. I wanted to address what you wrote about their comments to you. My cancer was diagnosed in Sep. 2021 when it was 2.4cm. The lumpectomy was in Dec. 2021 and the tumor had grown to 4.8cm. Mine is rare and mine is like the speed of light compared to most. So, you have every right to feel what you do and you are correct. This is your life, you are the biggest advocate for your life and no one cares about it as much as you. You are the best detective of yourself and know what they don’t. They’re used to dealing with so many cancer patients sometimes that they forget that we are not standing and getting frustrated in some DMV line waiting for our ticket to be called. Anyways, good luck and sorry for the long comment. Goodnight~ Mayumi
1 -
My scans showed that the cancer is in my lungs, three tumors. My health is declining very rapidly. Yesterday at the hospital (for more tests) my husband had to put me in a wheel chair because I could not walk any further to get across the other side of the hospital. (this was before we got the results). Now knowing it's in my lungs my symptoms are all making sense. I strongly feel that if the doctors don't do something soon I won't be around much longer. I just can't believe that in this situation that the doctors take the weekends off and make you wait weeks for the next appointment. I'm literally dying in my husband's arms and they are doing nothing to help us. My husband said if they don't do something tomorrow he's going to admit me to the hospital. My lungs feel like they are on fire, I have sharp pains in my chest that nearly knock me out, I can't walk very far, I get out of breath. I get cold when I pee and start shivering so hard it makes me cry, the list goes on....4 weeks ago I was running with my two dogs every day, now I can barely walk across the house.
0 -
It may not be that the doctors are waiting around. My insurance takes a few weeks to approve PET scans, biopsies, etc. It seems like forever to get these tests done to see the cancer's progression. I'm hoping you get some relief soon.
1 -
So sorry to hear you're having such a hard time. I hope things have improved since you posted this. And if you have posted an update, I will look for it and hope it's brighter. I am the caregiver for my wife (83) who had a mastectomy and lumpectomy 4 years ago. And some radiation about a year ago. It's currently Stage 4 and she has some skin metastasis going on, along with pain from the new tumor that's been growing. We have had some success with Ibrance and Letrozole, but when it stopped working after 16 months, we were changed to Faslodex and Kisqali. Neither of those worked for her, so we are going to start Xeloda in a week or so. Her doctor speaks highly of its success rate. Hope she's right. Your comments describing your weakness and tiredness hit close to home. My wife was always full of energy until the cancer descended on us. Now, like you, she has trouble maintaining enough energy to walk from the bedroom to the kitchen. I hope your doctors take some action pretty soon so you can get your strength back. You hang in there! We are all here for you.
0
Discussion Boards
- All Discussion Boards
- 6 CSN Information
- 6 Welcome to CSN
- 121.2K Cancer specific
- 2.8K Anal Cancer
- 440 Bladder Cancer
- 306 Bone Cancers
- 1.6K Brain Cancer
- 28.4K Breast Cancer
- 391 Childhood Cancers
- 27.9K Colorectal Cancer
- 4.6K Esophageal Cancer
- 1.2K Gynecological Cancers (other than ovarian and uterine)
- 12.9K Head and Neck Cancer
- 6.3K Kidney Cancer
- 666 Leukemia
- 789 Liver Cancer
- 4.1K Lung Cancer
- 5.1K Lymphoma (Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin)
- 235 Multiple Myeloma
- 7.1K Ovarian Cancer
- 53 Pancreatic Cancer
- 486 Peritoneal Cancer
- 5.3K Prostate Cancer
- 1.2K Rare and Other Cancers
- 532 Sarcoma
- 717 Skin Cancer
- 647 Stomach Cancer
- 190 Testicular Cancer
- 1.5K Thyroid Cancer
- 5.8K Uterine/Endometrial Cancer
- 6.3K Lifestyle Discussion Boards