Just joined any info appreciated

Mozub89

wife of 38 years diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer which has spread to bones and other areas. Oncologist never answers questions when I ask but answers direct to her like I’m not there. He always says she looks great which she does but the next words are it’s terminal but treatable. Verzenio 100mg has slowed thing down. 150 mg put her in er.

Relocated to texas when we became grand parents 3 years ago. Not much family around but my question of many is what does the verzenio actually do?

Any info is greatly appreciated.

exbrnxgrl

mozubu,

I am sorry to hear of your wife's diagnosis. Her mo is correct. Stage IV or metastatic breast cancer (mbc) is not curable. Treatable for a certain period of time? Yes, but which treatments will work and for how long is a matter of educated trial and error. I will be frank with you. There are many “tools" in your mo's toolkit but nothing is a cure. Some of us experience long periods of NEAD, no evidence of active disease, but this almost inevitably ends. Still, there is hope. New drugs are being developed and we hope to hang in there long enough to benefit from them.

As for your wife's doctor, it sounds as if you are not entirely satisfied with him. How does your wife feel about him? I understand that you are her very valued support person but she is the patient and therefore the boss! One of the things breast cancer does to many of us is make us feel powerless so please make sure that your wife is the one in charge. If your wife is not comfortable with her mo I urge her to find a new one. At stage IV she is going to have an ongoing relationship with her mo so it is important to find someone who is not only competent but someone who makes her feel comfortable and that she has confidence in.

I have not been on Verzenio but check out this thread:

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/6/topics/881100?page=2#post_5715256

We also have a caregivers forum which you might find useful. Lastly, I would urge your wife to join us for support and information. The women on bco can be a tremendous source of support on every level since we all have breast cancer.

Thank you for being such a great support for your wife but always remember that she is the patient and she runs the show! Take care.

illimae

Mozub, I have no info on Verzenio either but there’s the thread exbrnxgrl posted above and there’s 1 or 2 others in the MBC zoom group (you can use the search feature to find it and she can join us on Monday’s, if interested) that are currently on that treatment. I will say that yes, it is terminal and treatable. I’ve been living with it for 5 years now and am doing well, it all depends on how our bodies respond to the meds and fortunately there are several to try.

I’m sorry the doctors aren’t engaged with you, my husband experienced the same thing until I insisted that he was important in my ability to live with this disease and must be acknowledged. I suspect some doctors aren’t used to dealing with many spouses, as waiting areas are usually full of women alone for appointments and perhaps they’re cautious about what they say in front of the patient, if the questions are tricky or depressing. Either way, being upfront and firm but polite should put them on the right track.

And welcome to Texas, I wish you both great luck.