How Many Are We?

stage 4 at dx 10 yrs ago when I was 27

1st occurrence March 2002 - left breast - mastectomy, lymphadenectomy, FEC followed by ET, surgery radiation, reconstruction

2nd occurrence Jan 2018 - mass and lymph node left side above initial radiation zone. PET scan clean. CMF, taxol, radiation.

3rd occurrence March 2019 - MBC diagnosed by CT with mets to liver. Made it to 1 year anniversary!

Hello All!

Just recently diagnosed by biopsy, I was a little over 3 years past my original diagnosis. It is now Stage IV and has spread to the bone in my hip, L2 vertebra and there are multiple nodules in the pleura. What a time it is right now. I am thinking of all of you and hope we can find the moments of calm, laughter, or contentment sometimes in the middle of everything.

Hi

May, 2020

Welcome, Skarasie! We're so sorry you find yourself here, but we hope this community can be a place of support.

The Mods

Hi. December 2016.

diagnosed age 67 12/07 de novo and got port and began treatment that month

ER 85%/PR 15%/ HER+++; big honking tumor laying on chest wall under left breast wi mets to ribs, sternum, lymph nodes under sternum & shoulder cartilage; no involvement of lymph nodes under arm. Considered oligometastatic because mothership tumor and mets confined to upper left quadrant

6 carboplatin, Herceptin & Taxotere chemo infusions (tumor markers down to normal midway thru chemo - side effect of some leg nerve damage); lumpectomy after chemo (had to go in twice because initial margins not wide enough), IMRT radiation 4 weeks plus (IMRT to minimize radiation damage to heart & lungs); Arimidex and then its generic plus herceptin infusions every three weeks. In about August or September or October of 2008 PET scans indicated no evidence of disease which has continued to present time. Continued with Herceptin infusions every 3 weeks. When added Zometa and then Xgeva to infusions changed Herceptin infusions to every 4 weeks to reduce frequency of clinic visits. in early 2019 jaw bone necrosis attributed to Xgeva so stopped. Continue on Herceptin every 4 weeks instead of going back to every 3 weeks. Oncologist says continue until it doesn't work anymore and will be transferred to something else. No problems wi Herceptin infusions based on stability of echo ejection fraction tests.

Apparently some of the stage IV women in the initial clinical trials are still on herceptin with no evidence of disease..

Since Herceptin does not cross the blood-brain barrier, took supplements of curcumin phytosomes, green tea extract, beta-glucans (nutritional yeast and mushrooms), milk thistle, lots of blueberries to reduce the risk of mets in the brain.

Still working. I think that if PET scans were more routinely given at initial state II or particularly stage III diagnoses, more de novo stage IV's would be more timely diagnosed. I was preliminarily diagnosed as stage III before PET scan results came in.

hello

Stage 2: 2018, stage 4: 2020

. Hello. July 2020

Hello, sep 2019 de novo Mets to spinal bones.

Hi -

De novo Stage IV IDC with liver mets, 2020

Diagnosed in 2010. Stage 4 in 2013.

Ellen 10/16/2020

Hi! I am a new member & was just recently diagnosed. Sept. 2020

Don't post much

2002 stage 1

2016 stage 4 mets to bone and liver

Justplaincranky, please feel free to join the de novo mets topic that I started. I’m sorry about your diagnosis.