Bone metastasis- Help

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WorldMK
WorldMK Member Posts: 13
edited June 2014 in Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis

Hi all,

I am writing this on behalf of my mother, who doesn’t speak
English, and lives overseas.

After two breast cancers (2007,2009) and one bone metastasis
(2012 treated with chemo & radiation), doctors just found another bone met
on 7th vertebrae. She is going through radiation (5 min a
day, for 10 days). On top of this she has kidney problems so limited options for pain
treatment. As her only child I am trying to do whatever I can to educate
myself on this, and trying not to panic. So I have couple of questions

  • 1.Is there a life expectancy? I know sounds silly
    to ask, no one really knows how much time any of us have. I keep reading, that once
    it gets to bone metastasis one has max 36 months. Doctors are positive they say they won’t
    give up, but the medical research papers seem not to be.
  • 2.Do you know of any treatments for pain that wont
    damage kidneys? Her pain is excruciating and keeps her awake for many nights.

Thank you for any suggestions. Wishes of good health to you
all !!!

Xxx

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Comments

  • Leah_S
    Leah_S Member Posts: 8,458
    edited February 2014

    WorldMK, I'm sorry your mother is going through this.

    I wouldn't put much credence into the "36 months" you read about. Most statistics about survival are outdated since there are so many new treatments available. It seems your mother has a low level of tumor, which is a good thing. Many oncologists call bone mets a "chronic condition". I was diagnosed almost 4 years ago. I still have a relatively low level of bone tumors and I live a pretty normal life. I have no plans to leave this life for a good long time.

    I don't know much about what pain meds are available for your mother. Could she get to a pain management doctor/clinic? That would probably be her best option.

    Best of luck to both of you.

    Leah

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  • WorldMK
    WorldMK Member Posts: 13
    edited February 2014

    Thank you so much Leah.

    It's good to hear your thoughts. I appreciate it.

    It was very difficult because I didn't know anything about this (I live overseas and they were trying to protect me so I found out when I made a surprise visit home). Imagine the shock.  I am getting married this year timing TBC as we are waiting to see how my mum feels.

    Anyway, for everyone else reading, if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Wishing you good health to all. x

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  • YoungTurkNYC
    YoungTurkNYC Member Posts: 334
    edited February 2014

    WorldMK,

    My mom has been living with bone metastases for over 13 years.  The first 6-7 years, she did not have any quality of life issues.  She literally did everything and traveled the world.  (She has had some quality of life issues since).  During this enitre time, she has been on a series of anti-hormonals and has been on chemo a single time.  So, she still has a huge number of options.  Her oncologist is treating her disease as a chronic condition.  Unfortunately, I do not have any advice to offer on pain management.  However, the rads should take care of the pain soon.  I believe it takes a few weeks for the pain to go away after radiation treatment on bone metastases.

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  • dlb823
    dlb823 Member Posts: 9,430
    edited February 2014

    World, I'm so sorry about your Mother's diagnosis.  As far as the pain, do you know if there's a pain specialist where she's being treated?  That would be the best type of doctor to help her figure out what she can safely take for her pain.  I was just RX'd Lidocaine patches as an added layer of pain relief. I don't know if something topical like that would pose a danger to her kidneys, but it's certainly worth asking about.  

    As others have mentioned above, in the US the first line of defense for bone mets is usually an aromatese inhibitor, often accompanied by some type of bone building drug.  And with a single met, I think most oncs would estimate her life expectancy at considerably longer than 36 mos.  

    Here's hoping and praying she does well with her treatment, and that she can see a pain specialist to help her get more comfortable.   (((Hugs))) to you both,  Deanna

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  • WorldMK
    WorldMK Member Posts: 13
    edited February 2014

    YoungTurkNY and dlb823- thank you. We are now told she needs radiation plus hormonal therapy. I will definitely find out if she can have Lidocaine patches or something similar. 

    Sadly the health system in Macedonia is far from perfect, in fact navigating it and finding your way around the private and public system adds so much additional stress and pain to the suffering. 

    It's such a difficult, and new situation for me to deal with. Since I only found out recently she has had these issues, I am trying to quickly i catch up and be of help. This is a whole new world, and I thank this blog and the people on it for support and information sharing. 

    I will keep everyone up to date. Thank you all.

    Wishing you good health to all. x

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  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited February 2014

    WorldMK, there are good private care available in Athens, which is nearby. If it is feasible economically, you may consider it, at least for a consult.

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  • pajim
    pajim Member Posts: 2,785
    edited February 2014

    WorldMK, I'm so sorry you and your mother are gonig through this.

    The radiation is for the pain (and will kill some cancer cells), the hormonal therapy sounds about right. 

    Pain treatment I dont know much about.  My bone mets don't hurt.  You might read the section on pain here at bc.org or at komen.org  Komen has an amazing amount of information about the various pain meds and how they work.

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  • ziggypop
    ziggypop Member Posts: 1,071
    edited February 2014

    Hi WorldMK, 

    So sorry that your mother is going through this. If you look at the Stage IV threads, I think you will see that many women live well beyond 36 months with bone mets. It's really wonderful that you are being so proactive in supporting your mom, just talking to you is probably the best pain medication, but I a sure that there are things that can be prescribed and hopefully the RADS will begin to help soon. Sometime you really have to push for them to find the right pain meds, but it is important that they do - managing pain is a part of treatment. 

    Many hugs to both you and your mother, and congratulations on the upcoming wedding. 

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  • Sue2009
    Sue2009 Member Posts: 228
    edited March 2014

    regarding pain control---fentanyl patches have changed my life, change them every 3 days, keeps pain to 1-3 level

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  • WorldMK
    WorldMK Member Posts: 13
    edited April 2014

    thank you everyone xx

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