Just diagnosed with a met in the left femur.

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Meja
Meja Member Posts: 102
edited April 2018 in Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis

Hi,

I am so upset, - so sorry, if this, my first post, is fragmented. 5 weeks ago I had a PET/CT scan, and a hot spot was detected in the proximal part of the left femur, in the bone marrow, - and no where else. I live in Denmark and MO referred me for a biopsy at another Hospital in Copenhagen, specialized in bone tumors (orthopedic surgeons) - and an open biopsy was performed 3 weeks ago. Due to lab work and Easter holidays my appointment was not before today. The biopsy confirmed that I have a BC met in the bone marrow of the left femur. So I am now officially member of the 'stage IV club''. Unfortunately, I did not get a treatment plan or proposal today, simply a referral back to my MO, which I have an appointment with on Tuesday (yet a lousy WE lies ahead). As far as I get it, currently there is no risk of fracture, the orthopedic surgeons are willing to operate (alloplastic resection) if my MO can/will recommend it, and the timing should be coordinated in relation to possible chemotherapy. Last time I spoke to MO she mentioned this option, but we were waiting for the biopsy result.....

I have read many of your posts, and they have brought me much comfort, - thank you.

Wondering if anybody else out there was diagnosed stage IV with a single met in the femur, - from my own research it does not seem to be the usual pattern. And if yes, did you have surgery and/or do you have other comments for me to consider before traveling along this, for me,new 'stage IV' path ?

Thanks for reading,

Meja




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  • DodgersGirl
    DodgersGirl Member Posts: 2,382
    edited April 2018

    Mejia, so sorry to read of your latest Dx. I don’t know if anyone has reached out to you yet??? If not, you may want to repost your question in Stage 4, maybe the bone mets thread?


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  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 12,424
    edited April 2018

    Meja,

    I had/have a single met to my upper left femur, though not the bone marrow. Come July, I will be 7 years with no progression since initial treatment . After my bmx, it was thought that I was stage IIB. A few weeks later, I had my port placed. I then had a PET scan for unrelated reasons and they noticed the spot on my femur. Biopsy later confirmed it was a met. Since I was only 6 weeks post surgery, it's safe to assume that the bone met was there all along. I had radiation to the femur (15 treatments)and have been on first Arimidex and now Femara ever since. Take good care of yourself and feel free to ask me any questions.

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  • Meja
    Meja Member Posts: 102
    edited April 2018

    Hi exbrnxgrl,

    Thank you so much for sharing your story and the information about 7 years without progression.

    I was diagnosed Dec. 15, also stage IIb, but at that point no PET/CT scan was performed, so I will never know whether this met in the femur was visible already at that point in time. In relation to anti hormonal therapy (first Femara followed by Aromasin) I have had lower back pain and my MO wanted to rule out mets in this area. No one was looking for a met in the femur, but like you, a spot was noticed. I am uncertain about the difference/significance of the location in the bone marrow and/or the compacta of the bone. I had no pain in this area of the proximal femur, - that is, not until after the open biopsy, which was performed 3 weeks ago. If it is OK, may I ask you a few questions ?

    Why was radiation to your femur chosen ? Did you have pain ?

    I am asking, because at this point, no one has talked about radiation. I will be talking to MO tomorrow, and I am hoping she can outline options for a treatment plan. All this waiting and uncertainty is/has been so stressful, but fortunately, I have a lot of support from my family and close friends.

    And an additional question, are there any specific threads here at breastcancer.org you can recommend ?

    Thanks,

    - also to Dodgersgirl.

    Meja


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  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 12,424
    edited April 2018

    Hello meja,

    Ask away! I had no pain or other symptoms from the bone met. After getting a second opinion, both doctors agreed that radiation, with intent to kill the little bugger, was a good plan of action. The met is still visible on PET scans but is not metabolically active, so the radiation did it's job. There is a bone mets thread, in the stage IV forum:

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

    Check out the stage IV forum in general. I am not on bco as much as I once was (stage IV and doing well for many years , so not much to say), but this site can be very helpful. I see that your tumour was a grade 1, as was mine. This is a rather lazy, slow growing cancer, which is why I believe I have done so well, in part. Take care.

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  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited April 2018

    Sorry you are dealing with this. You've gotten great advice from exbrnxgrl.

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  • Meja
    Meja Member Posts: 102
    edited April 2018

    Thank you all. Prior to possible surgery a new PET/CT scan was performed Monday, which showed a possible small area (met suspected) on the hip, so the plan is now chemotherapy and targeted therapy for now. This was bit of blow, - on the other hand examinations and discussions back and forth for seven weeks has been mentally exhausting. Now that I started treatment yesterday, I feel OK :-).

    Thanks for the advice on thread, which I will look into.

    Take care,

    Meja

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