Metastatic Breast Cancer

Miranda54

Hello,

I am new here, 64 yrs old, and was in remission for 15 years. Breast cancer stage II with hormone positive, her2 negative. I had a lumpectomy, chemo, radiation, and 6 years on tamoxifen. I was supposed to go on another hormone inhibitor for 5 yrs but refused. Side effects from tamoxifen was enough for me. I'm not sure if I regret that decision or not!!!

I had a routine PCP appointment this past July and mentioned a pain I had in my hip. He recommended I get an X-Ray. Thank heavens he did! Bone Mets! Many more tests done to find out I have them throughout my skeleton and a tumor behind my left eye.

I had 10 rounds of radiation for my eye, top of my neck, and in my hip.

I am on Letrozole and tolerating it well, just a little tired and lots of hot flashes. I tried Ibrance 125 mg for 21 days but did not tolerate very well. I will be having an MRI on November 18th to see if everything is stable and if so, will be going on Kisqali 200 mg.

I end my PFML (reduced to 5 hrs a day) at the end of the month and then I go back to work full time. I work in customer service and able to work most days from home.

Anyone here taking Kisqali? How are you coping? Am I crazy to think I can continue to work?

Right now, I have great health insurance but expecting to retire in a year. Very concerned about the cost of treatment when I go on medicare and supplemental insurance. Is it covered?

I will greatly appreciate hearing your experience on this medication!

Bless you for your patience reading my long post 💞

RocDocVic

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/328679/metastatic-breast-cancer

I'm on Medicare and BCBS insurance plan as the secondary payer. It is not a Medicare Advantage Plan. So far everything has been covered. I've read horror stories about Medicare Advantage Plans not approving treatments and tests etc. A lot of doctors and hospitals are dropping MA insurance because of this. I highly recommend you contact Boomerbenefits dot com to find out which supplemental and prescription plans would work best for you in your area. They also provide support if you use them. If you start out on MA plan and then decide to switch to a supplemental insurance plan they typically require underwriting and they may be more expensive at that time. They're holding webinar classes now since it's open enrollment so you can find out more about how Medicare and supplemental insurance plans work.

RocDocVic

Is Kisqali covered by your insurance provider? Is it a pill or IV infusion drug? Part D can be tricky to navigate too. Have Boomerbenefits walk you through this too. Have a list of all meds you're on.

Miranda54

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1718922#Comment_1718922

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1718922#Comment_1718922

Bless you! BCBS was my plan for secondary.

Thank you so much for the information!

Miranda54

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1718923#Comment_1718923

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1718923#Comment_1718923

Kisqali is in pill form. I will check out Boomerbenefits, Thank you!!

RocDocVic

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1718924#Comment_1718924

I've been blessed that I could keep my BCBS insurance into retirement. Everything has been covered and nothing denied by Medicare, so BCBS pays their part. If you're on Facebook look up Boomer Benefits. They're a good source of information too.

RocDocVic

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1718925#Comment_1718925

If it's horrendously expensive ask them about the Canadian Pharmacy in Florida. They get drugs at Canadian prices and will mail to your house. Boomerbenefits should know about this and provide contact information.