Lung Mets - PLEASE HELP!

Pam

Did you have a full year of Herceptin with your initial diagnoses? If not Herceptin will most likely help you now, if you did it can help again.

Did you have scans at time of dx that showed any suspicious spots they can compare to, to see if they have changed or if these are all new spots?

What kind of chemo did you have?

THere are a lot of particulars that will dictate your treatment and many options for ER positive and Her 2 positive.

Try to sit tight until dx from the biopsy and you will know better. I know many on these boards that are doing well with treatments, especially Hercpeptin for stage 4 keeping things in check, after that there is Tykerb, and other new drugs as well.

the waiting is horrible but you will get it figured out soon.

Pam,I have mets to the pleura (and liver and bones), which were diagnosed Nov 2007. I've been on chemo since then-no break from it yet, although we live in hope that I could be stabilised and have a few months off treatment.

 If...and there's still a chance that there is an innocent exlanation-if, this is mets, please rest assured that there are many treatment options for you. I see you are er+-you may respond to hormone treatmnet for a while, and therefore delay your chemo options. Herceptin to can be a helpful drug-if you turn out to be HER+

I won't try to sugar coat it for you as I'm sure you're aware of the implications.A stage 1V diagnosis is very serious indeed, and you will be on treatment for the rest of your life But many people can and do respond well for a number of years. I am much older than you (53), so my children are adults. But the thought of leaving them and my darling husband hurts me more than anything. I simply can't imagine how I would cope if they were younger, so I wish you much strength for this. Finally, should it transpire that you do have mets, please post on the stage 1V forum, where we will be able to share our experiences of treatment, worries and fears with you-and of course, listen to your fears and questions, and hopefully help you as much as possible. In the meantime, I'll continue to hope that there is another explanation for these worrisome spots....

Pam,

My situation was very similar to yours.  Got IDC on one side, did lumpectomy, chemo, radiation but I did not take Tamoxifen due to a blot clot issue.  Just a year after finishing radiation, had a bad mammogram and ultimately, it was confirmed that I had DCIS on the other breast.  Did the BRCA testing, it was negative.  Tried to do another lumpectomy but they could not get clear margins and I ended up doing a bi-lateral mastectomy with reconstruction.  Less than a year after recovering from that surgery, I did a "routine" scan and bam... there it was, nodules in my lungs.

It was 1 1/2 months between confirming mets with a lung biopsy and starting treatment (Femara).  Of course, I was petrified and remained so until my first scan. Hmmm... stable.  Scan after scan I was stable until my onc said, let's do a PET scan.  He had a feeling that the nodules went inactive and he was right.  I remained NED for two more years before the mets started to grow.  It has been six years... my mets are unaggressive and I feel absolutely fine... and the mets spread to my liver about two months after coming out of remission.

My point is that I did almost the same things that you did... and the cancer came back pretty quickly.  Yet... here I am plodding along... living my life.  My daughter was a senior in high school and I hoped to just get her through to graduation... she is now out of college for almost 2 years and is living and working in NYC.

Do not give up so fast.  We Stage IV's know where you are right now because we have all been there.  Simply IGNORE all the crap about thinking positive.  If you want to see a good post about that, come to the Stage IV forum and look for the thread entitled, "Finally, the truth about the BS of positive thinking" or something very like that, originally started by Fitztwins.  You will feel validated and calmer after seeing the video that Fitz posted and reading all the posts.  You may even... gasp... chuckle a time or two.  

I wish the best to you with your treatment and remember, the future is unknown so do not give yourself an expiration date.  

Robin 

Dear Pam,

 I read your post last night and I can't stop thinking about you. Your words about your young children keep ringing in my mind.  I know you are terrified. All of us with breast cancer have a big celebration after treatment, then the realization that it could come back haunts us all.  I was on the same treatment as you with close to the same dx. I have no kids: was waiting for the "right time" and then this happened and took that option away. But I can't imagine what it would be like to have to consider children in the midst of this.  I just want you to know that I am truly praying for you and that your biopsy results lead to a happy ending.  If not, dear, please think of all the people here and many other women surviving many happy years with mets.  I think of them every time I have a scare and realize mets doesn't mean the end anymore.  Everyday there is good news in treatment. Please post back and keep us updated as you are on my mind constantly.  I can tell already you a one strong broad!  You will be there for kids for a long time to come.  I think of Elizabeth Edwards and how she thought it was over as soon as she was dxed w mets and she is doing so well, despite the idiot husband :-)  I think of my uncle who was dxed with lung cancer ten years ago.... then dxed again... then again.... still going strong. God bless you darling!

She has joined us on 1V-but hasn't posted for  a while, so hope that all is well. Maybe she's on holiday having fun-let's hope so!

Lol!