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Breast cancer spread to liver, skull, spine, ribs, hips etc.
Breast Cancer | Last Active: May 13, 2023 | Replies (67)Comment receiving replies
I am in your same situation. I gave liver, bone d sad bd lymph node Mets. Started on Anastrozole,Ibrance and Zometa and am at my 3 month mark my pet scan shows the Mets are decreasing which is good news. The draw back are the side effects. The depression, fatigue and nausea are the worse but with meds are somewhat manageable. I take Claritin for my bone pain and it works well. Im 72, much older than you Cynthia but I understand what you are going thru. I had breast cancer 12 years ago so this is recurrent for me and treatable but not curable. Lots of thoughts clouding my brain these days. Praying the side effects calm down. Prayers for all of us going thru this. Maria
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I too am 72, living with stage 4 metastatic BC for 11 years now (46 years since original mastectomy) I was on Letrazole for 10 years with minimal side effects (mild neuropathy & fatigue) keeping the spread to my bones (sternum) at bay. I went off for a few months and next scan showed spread to liver, ribs spine & scull.
So now I am on Ibrance, gabapentin and discussing Xgeva instead of Fosamax. I have used medical marijuana since it was legal in Oregon (and now in the state where I currently live) and sporadically for fifty years. I’d be lost without it.
I have managed to stay away from any major chemotherapy and avoid opioid pain killers (except for a few days after breaking my shoulder).
I’ve kind of gone on, but I’ve a number of years dealing with this: YOU HAVE TO BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE! Question your doctors and educate yourself. Right now at almost 73 I am making different decisions than in my twenties (I mean at 26 my oncologist suggested I do heavy duty chemo and have a hysterectomy!) I went east to build boats and had my son five years later. I’m a firm believer that “quality of life” doesn’t have to be a trade off to longevity.