Entering and Exiting at the Stage IV Forum

Stephanie, you ask great questions, and having known each other for years, the best suggestion is to be yourself. Your posts on other forums have been continually helpful, informative, and full of support. And that is true on this forum as well.

I have no words of wisdom to share with you. In fact, it is I who have learned - and continually learn - from you.

Chrissy is a huge help to those members that have questions! She always replies to them right away and is kind and encouraging! Thanks Chrissy!

TNCatMom, I think Suersis means bone mets only vs other mets, I'm not certain though. Any distant mets bone, lung, liver, brain, etc. is stage IV. I think quality of life varies greatly, some women are running marathons others definitely not. Maybe you are in the middle somewhere. I hope this helps.

My understanding on the stage iv and metastatic difference is this, and I may be wrong so please,correct me if so. Yes, they both mean that breast cancer has traveled to a different part of the body from the breast. It does not refer only to those with bone metastasis.

Here's where they differ (I think). A stage iv diagnosis is given to those women who are diagnosed from the beginning with breast cancer that has traveled to another part or parts of the body. I am one of these women, diagnosed from the start as stage iv.

A woman diagnosed with a lesser stage bc whose cancer then at some point progressed and invades another part of the body is said to have breast cancer metastasis. Their cancer is said to have metastasized. I think thewoman retains the original stage diagnosis with the addition of metastatic attached to it.

I may be completely wrong, but there was discussion about this before and this is how I remember it explained. A slight difference and yet the same. I, too, had always considered them one and the same and really, to my mind's eye, they are.

As for quality of life, as MusicLover says, it seems to vary greatly from woman to woman (and the occasional man.).

TNcatmom,

I don't think there is one "normal" for stage IV. Although clearly a minority, I am not disabled at all. I get very stiff when I am still and have lost the springiness in my knees, but that's from Femara. Once I move around I am fine. So as musiclover says, the quality of our lives varies greatly. I teach elementary school, so am very active. I've hiked on a glacier and climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge, all while stage IV. But, I spent more time in the hospital, initially. We are definitely all over the map"

Bon, I like your take on not assuming people have dropped off because they have passed. I too think many of them just decide to forget about cancer for awhile, or spend their time on other pursuits. Divine, I love how you "blab" out whats on your mind. You are always caring, informative, respectful and often quite amusing! TNCat, let's go with 10.....mirry, you have probably paid into the system for a long time, you have been dealing with this for a long time. You deserve to take the time now to nurture yourself. Karma only gets you when you do something with dishonesty or disregard. Noni, Fitztwins has been an inspiration to me also, not just because of the longevity but her sunny disposition and outlook (and that adorable smiling picture!) Caryn, I always appreciate your sensible even keeled posts, the voice of reason and honesty.

LongTerm, Your treatment history and experience are so unique- has your cancer been sequenced, to understand why you have responded so well to therapy?! Also, have you tried immunotherapy or, even better, trials that combine immunotherapy with other treatments (targeted drugs or chemo). For some time, I've wanted to mention to you that anti-CD47 looks especially promising as a new type of immuno- this antibody targets a cell surface marker that is high on all cancer cells, and is protecting the cells from being killed. The antibody makes the cancer cells more easily killed by treatment, and then in combination with an immunotherapy that boosts the immune system, looks super-effective in pre-clinical trials. It is in phase I trials now, heading for phase II. Whatever, the immuno can be a game-changer, and with fewer SEs...

Stephanie, I edit my posts sometimes because I read them over and discover that they don't make sense. I have a touch of chemo brain, and when I'm in a hurry, I just type and post.

Then, oops, that sentence simply doesn't make sense and I'm going to confuse someone. Oh, edit button!