Thank you mods!

You're welcome

I like the changes, thanks!

Hugs & Hope! 

I don't find that it makes things clear.



That's the problem with subdividing things - it can go on endlessly.



Having been diagnosed with recurrence - which is an event that has profoundly affected my life - about 16 months ago, I don't know where I should post.



Are there others like me? I feel out of place in moving on, stage IV, just diagnosed, and hormonal. Hmm...



Perhaps this is a reflection of the nature of recurrence. Is the recurrence dangerous or a triviality? Constant shifting back and forth.



I don't have a solution to suggest to the moderators. Maybe people like me just fall between the cracks and we have to make ourselves welcome.

You can please some of the people some of the time , but not all of the people all the time...

hugs

oz

Darya you can post on any thread that you like...but the way things are going there will be soooooooo many threads we wont know whats what..

Me I 'll stick to the stage 4 thread.. 99% of the time...

Brenda - it's nice to know I'm not the only one. I don't see a lot of people on here with recurrence, and it seems you and I have a very similar situation, although I am on hormonals - switching from one to the other hoping that something will work longterm.



I hope you're doing as well as can be expected on the chemo. Do they know yet if the chemo is working? I wish you all the best with that.



I too was told I had mets - specifically they called it "metastatic but not stage IV". Luckily they can't see anything in my internal mammary nodes anymore - just the axilla.

I am so happy that these new boards have been created.  I worried about potential but not mets people being left out.  As a relatively new metster I will visit here, if there is any encouragement, answers, whatever that I can contribute to help, I will.  If you are diagnosed with mets, I do encourage you to visit the Stage 4 board -- lots of good info.  I think some feathers were ruffled by non-mets people posting (this was unfortunate) -- I hope we can all help each other here and on the other boards.

Elizabeth

Darya--I appear to be hypersensitive to meds, and each time I start with a new MD I explain this as best I can. They typically express understanding and later on I realize they just didn't get it. Which in turn means, I usually have a strong/toxic/allergic reaction to something prescribed and hear how sensitive I am to meds. Yeah, I already worked that out!

Anyway, Arimidex hit me the hardest. I could hardly walk; I had poor balance, my muscles felt weak, and the joint/bone pain was awful. I would hold on to walls to walk with support. I tried to keep walking, since I walk a great deal for exercise and relaxation, and every step seemed unsteady. I love to dance (for fun--nothing professional here!) and I could not dance, because of pain and fear that I would fall. My mood changed so much: first melancholia, then--as I described to the onc--"bone sucking despair." I think he was terrified that I was suicidal, which I was not. My mental status was affected--just could not work out problems as well and memory was mildly impaired. My abdominal girth seemed to grow every day (and I am petite), to the point where I had to keep buying new clothes that just didn't fit right because I was only gaining in the middle; I felt bloated and often tender with abdominal pain. I decided to try Femara--no luck. I offered to try Aromasin, and my onc said he thought I should not try it. During the Arimidex period (more than a year), I received the Zometa to help with bone issues, and I was out of life/work for a week. So, my history with AIs has not been pleasant. All the side effects I experienced resolved after I quit the AIs.

Believe it or not, I took Evista (which I tolerated well), in spite of the fact that most of the research focused on prevention of initial breast cancer rather than prevention of recurrence. My onc and others I consulted thought SERM treatment would be "adequate"; I was given several reasons for not taking tamoxifen--some of which I don't even remember now (embarassing to admit). Of course, I now have been advised that I should start Tamoxifen after I finish chemo. I try not to second guess past care decisions, but, of course, there are times when I do.

I hope my above report has not been too detailed! And I hope that you will be able to tolerate "well enough" the aromasin--and have good results with it. I will continue to check in here to see how you are.

 Also, Elizabeth, I appreciate your post. I think some of the posts to the recurrence/mets section could have been construed as insensitive, but not everyone thinks about their impact on others when in distress. I think most of us gain more wisdom and are more aware of our impact on others by going through this cancer experience and connecting with others, but initially it can be very hard for some to look outside themselves. (I am hopeful that most do learn....) I'm glad you are willing to post here! And I hope your care is going well.