Over dozen years since stage 2 A DX and now Mets to lung???

I am so sorry that you now have mets. I’m sure it’s quite a blow. Sadly, not uncommon. The beginning of learning about mbc and living with it is difficult. Give yourself time and learn S much S you can. I am 8 years out from my mbc dx. Never a day goes by when I don’t think about it, but I do what I have to do, in terms of tx, and grab ever bit of happiness that I can. Take care

Hi Barteelis,

I’m so sorry you find yourself on the stage IV thread. Unfortunately it is more common than most realize. There is a wide spread misconception that if you make it to five years you are clear. Generally those numbers, five years and ten years, are related to the length of clinical trials.

Like you, I was diagnosed stage IV as a result of pleural effusion in my right lung. At that point I was almost 16 years from my original diagnosis and had aggressive treatment in 2001 (aggressive chemo, radiation, five years of Tamoxifen followed by three years on an Aromatase inhibitor). The important thing to keep in mind is that a long gap between original diagnosis and stage IV diagnosis is usually predictive of good efficacy of treatment. My MO told me he expected me to do well for a good long time. I’m almost three years from my stage IV diagnosis and going strong.

I know the next few weeks will be hard as you come to grips with this diagnosis. We’re all here if you need a shoulder.

Hugs.

29 years after initial ER+PR+ dx at age 34, sneaky bastard comes back as MBC in July. MO is hopeful that since it sat dormant for so long, it will be slow in progressing.

It IS shocking. This board has been a wonderful resource. Some days are better than others. Praying that you find many better ones

It's very frightening to be diagnosed with MBC, and I'm sorry to hear you are going through this. I was diagnosed with lung mets and malignant pleural effusion 18 years after my early stage diagnosis, and had a VATS procedure that was challenging yet do-able. If you have any pleural effusion, it may be possible for it to be drained and examined to determine the pathology in terms of ER, PR, and HER2 expression in lieu of undergoing surgical biopsy.

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We've all been where you are now, which is admittedly a very challenging time. Once you know your test results and begin a treatment plan, the acute anxiety will diminish and you'll begin to feel better!

With warm wishes.

Barteeellis -

Spent 2weeks in July treating bronchitis which turned out to be a malignant pleural effusion. Have mets in lungs and bone mets in sternum.

ughh so sorry to read this. MBC is one sneaky jerk. I recurred in the lungs about 6 years out roughly. It is a gut punch. I’ve been living with MBC just over two years now.

Have you had the biopsy yet? I ended up getting a biopsy through bronchoscopy as I had lymph nodes that were malignant near my airways as well. My biggest tumor is also accessible via bronchoscopy as its in the center of the lobe.

Hoping for a smooth biopsy procedure for you. Once you get confirmation of ER etc status you’ll have a plan. The first six months I found the hardest after the mets diagnosis.

Deep breaths.
Hugs.

Imagine -- My sorry you're going through this. My wife was diagnosed with MBC in her lungs in April. It was difficult for me not to freak out once I started reading the statistics online; however, what I've discovered is that the online stats are often dated and don't take into account recent advances in treatment. Everyone is different and every cancer is different, but the advances in treatment are real and many women are indeed living years with their MBC. I truly hope you are one of them. Best of luck.