Stage 4?

Oh, Sparrow. I am so sorry you are joining the exclusive club that no one wants to join. While I don’t know what treatment options your MO might have up their sleeve, it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to go back on chemo. I was diagnosed stage iv almost a year ago and my life is a lot like it was before. Sure, more scans and more appointments but no one at my work knows or even suspects that I’m dealing with this.

I totally understand the feeling about being done with fighting. Only you can make that decision.. but please at least talk with your MO and see what their plans are.

As you know, there are many amazing people on this site. Chances are, you’ll be able to find someone who has been on any sort of treatment your MO recommends. You can trust that your fellow BC sisters will tell you the good/bad of any proposed treatment so you can make an informed decision.

Wishing you peace no matter what decision you make

Oh Sparrow I'm so sorry to hear that. Nothing I say can console you about the progression, but I do want to share that my cancer also metastasized throughout my brachial plexus nerves into the axilla. If you want to know while considering your decision, I can tell you exactly how bad it can get because my cancer was extremely fast growing and I ended up losing all use of my arm before things got better. I won't say more than that (pain level, etc) unless you want to hear it. The good news is that I had an almost immediate response to chemo with noticeable results after just my first infusion. Each week it got better, and within a month I was doing PT exercises to regain full range of motion. I'd say that my arm is about 97% right now, I only have some limitations with reaching directly overhead that I'll probably never regain.

Please do consider trying the chemo. It sounds like your cancer isn't growing nearly as fast as mine did but losing use of an arm is horrible for quality of life, not to mention the problems before you even reach that point. As hard as chemo can be, it really is worth giving it a try. I don't have kids either (just a wonderful husband), so I understand how that plays into your decision making process.

One other thing - when I was in the hospital the nurses had my arm iced and elevated. My M.O. later suggested I instead try heat to relieve the pain and swelling, and I found heat to be much more effective. I just tucked a heating pad into my armpit.

Hugs!

Will they test those lung spots? Hoping they are unrelated!