If you are not Stage IV but have questions, you may post here

Hi there I am new to this and am hoping to find some advice or experience that would relate to my mother's diagnosis.

Mum (now aged 66) was diagnosed with Stage 3 HER2+ breast cancer in 2012, she had a mastectomy, chemo (Taxotere - Docetaxel), radiation therapy and Herceptin, and she has appeared to be cancer free until now. This week she has been diagnosed with metastatic cancer in the lungs, she is breathless and has lost her voice. She is going to have the fluid drained and then the oncologist has advised that the usual treatment would be another 6 rounds of the chemo (Taxotere - Docetaxel) and then Herceptin every 3 weeks for as long as she is alive, possibly in combination with Perjeta - though we live in New Zealand and that drug is currently not funded here.

My question is about the chemo drug Taxotere (Docetaxel). When she underwent the chemo therapy in 2012, the Taxotere had a profound affect on her short term memory - causing severe "chemo brain" (she can go and see a movie and if you ask her on leaving the cinema what it was about she may struggle to tell you), and it has never really improved since that time. I am concerned that if she has to undergo another round of this drug it will cause even more brain problems, leaving her unable to appreciate or enjoy the time that she has left.

Has anyone decided to fight against a metastatic cancer using JUST Herceptin and/or Perjeta and NOT done the chemo drug? If so what has been the experience/success? Or does anyone know anything about the Taxotere (Docetaxel) causing these memory issues and if there is an alternative chemo drug that they believe is better? Any insights much appreciated

Jen, these threads might be helpful:

"HERCEPTIN and/or PERJETA Threads"

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/8/topics/...

"mets to lung"

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/8/topics/...

Hi Ladies,

I had a bone scan in Sept for lower pain on my ride side. Earlier this year i had a MRI of my lumbar which showed modic and disc dissection in L1 to L5. My bone scan was clear except for uptake in L4 which per the report states "most likely consistent" with MRI results. I have read many stories of women being told its just DDD and it was mets or a friend was told it was mets and then biopsy revealed DDD. I almost want another opinion - anyone else have a bone scan similar and it was nothing?

Citrinetiff - I can't tell you how lung mets are found, but I can tell you sometimes it isn't mets. It sounds like your oncologist is doing all the right things for you. I just had a CT scan & then a PET scan. I was in a panic & then in a funk. There were spots on my bones; they turned out to be just spots, not mets. & it seems the spots in my lungs are not worrying the doctors. (They are going to re-check them after some times passes.) I hope all your test results bring good news. If not, your medical team and the people on these boards with experience of mets will be able to help you cope. You are not alone.

Sending hugs & looking for those with more experience to answer your questions.

Barbie, Citrinetiff, lung nodules are very very common. They just sit there. So long as they don't grow, they're not cancer. I have one that has been unchanged for 8 years. Infections can cause them, all sorts of things.

Lung mets are usually found either by accident, or because one has symptoms -- shortness of breath and the like. Accident is that they were doing a scan for something else.

Citrinetiff, that 2mm your nodule grew is really in theory. Each scan is different and is read differently. The nodule might have been slightly bigger to begin with. Your docs are doing all the right things. Could it be cancer? Yeah, maybe. But it could just as easily not be cancer. My [absolutely layman's] view is that if it were cancer, the chemo would have shrunk the nodule. Chemo does kill cancer cells.

My nodule is brand new since May. I have to get my pacemaker switched out for an MRI compliant one and then get an MRI. I have no idea how long it will take to get the switch done.

Keep us posted Citri

Citrinetiff, I am glad they are giving you a Pet scan. Hopefully it is a combo CT/Pet, it is the gold standard for determining . wishing you the best outcome. Keep us posted.

Bosum thanks for letting us know!!! Here's to tears not mets.

np, I don't see anything in the numbers you posted that are overly concerning. The test results to be most concerned about because they could portend a possible metastatic recurrence would be a CA27-29 (tumor markers) and a full liver panel including an AlkPhos. It that one is high, it can possibly be due to bone or liver mets. The ones you shared do not normally have anything to do with breast cancer, nor are they even high enough on my layman's opinion to be concerning for other serious issues, although some (like the calcium) probably should be watched, as it may relate to her decreased heart function. Also, if she is on any meds, they can often play a role. Hope this helps. Try not to worry.

LDH and ESR show tissue inflammation and damage. That could relate to her heart problem. Is her ESR 53 or .53? Could be she has an infection or the result of one somewhere in her body. Does she have arthritis?

Hi everyone,

I have had parasthesias for over 2 months now (tingling like pins and needles) on the back right side of my head, back left side of my head and down my spine. Did anyone have this as one of their symptoms for Stage IV? Thanks in advance

Hi Everyone, I'm about to start radiation and my MO ordered a bunch of labs. One was to check Vitamin D level...anyway...mine came back VERY VERY LOW at 9.7 when the normal range is 30 to 100. I googled this and read that low vitamin D is associated with metastatic breast cancer and/or poor prognosis. Now I'm wondering if it's only a matter of time before it metastasizes or maybe it already has but did not show up on the scans?!?!? I *hate* this disease.

Thanks again, BB! Since I have metal screws and a titanium plate in my neck now, I unfortunately can't see a chiropractor anymore. I used to love mine

Scared - I take 8000IU of vitamin D per day. Some people take 12000. It's a cheap supplement and cheap to have your Vitamin D levels tested periodically. You don't want them too high either. It is good to see a naturopath with cancer experience to advise and monitor on supplements.

>Z<