Let's Talk About... Metastatic Breast Cancer

I have been stuck on what to write for my October post. Do I do a full post on Pinktober or do I dive into the whole Metastatic Breast Cancer world? I decided to look at the Metastatic diagnoses a bit more.
 
Just the facts… About 30% of those diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer will develop stage IV. The most common places for the cancer to spread to is the bones, lungs, brain and liver. The hardest part to get across to people is regardless of the location, the metastatic tumor is still breast cancer, it has just taken up residence in another part of my body. There is no cure for Metastatic Breast Cancer. There are a variety of treatments available that will hopefully keep it under control for several years. Most people use many different treatments, either alone, or in combination with other meds, to achieve no active growth and hopefully shrinkage of the tumors.
 
After the facts were stated, the different bits of info I found started getting into the grey area of life expectancy, how to manage your symptoms, learning about hospice care and organizing your finances. My oldest niece decided that I need to be around for the next 30 years, so I relayed that message to my care team. They have taken her wish very seriously and will do their best to make it come true. I spend my days working with seniors, so I don’t need to learn much more about hospice care. My finances are pretty organized, but I know they could be better. Every time I sit down to sort them out, I find something else that I should do instead. It just makes things seem so final. I know that I just need to get it done cause if I don’t the hubs will be cursing my name.
 
After dabbling in the grey area, I dove in and went for a swim. The water was not at my preferred 88 degrees, so I didn’t stay for very long. This one bit of info stuck with me… Many different drugs and combinations can be used to treat breast cancer. However, each time a cancer progresses during treatment, it becomes less likely that further treatment will have an effect. Well crap! While I appreciate the honesty, that is the last thing I wanted to hear right now.
 
So, I climbed out of the pool and then promptly fell down the rabbit hole of life expectancy. In the US about 30 - 33% of women diagnosed with Metastatic Breast Cancer live 5 or more years. The Susan G. Komen Foundation is saying that some women now can live 10 plus years after diagnosis. Then another site I found decided to break down the 5-year survival rate (based on a 2019 study) by area of the body where the cancer spread to: bone 39.8%, lung 10.94%, liver 7.34% and brain 1.51%. Well, crap-a-doodle-do! I don’t like these numbers at all.
So, I climbed out of the rabbit hole and just sat and pondered all the numbers running rampant throughout my mind. Thinking about the numbers and what they mean had me crying. I tried to find a silver lining, so I did a bit more digging. Ah ha! The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) is investing $70.3 million, the largest amount in the program’s history, to fund breast cancer research in 2024 – 2025. The even better part is that the funding will cover research for the entire spectrum of the disease. This makes me so happy as metastatic breast cancer doesn’t always get the funding that it needs. Hopefully this research will find something that I can use.
 
Whew! Now to recap what is going on with me. I do my third dose of Enhertu on Friday. The first dose went well, the second dose had me on the couch for a week praying I wouldn’t puke, so fingers crossed that dose number 3 is a happy blend of one and two. I’ve joined a support group for people that are on Enhertu and it is a wealth of knowledge. The large majority of people on it in the group are showing great outcomes. I have had a few issues since I started it. Right after the first dose I started running a 102 fever. We then realized that my cellulitis had begun to flare, which is most likely the cause of the fevers, so I started an antibiotic for it. I then developed a cough that I just couldn't shake. First, I did a chest x-ray, and it looked as normal as it could. I blamed it on the hot weather sending my allergies out of control and went on with life. Well, almost a month later and I’m still coughing, so off I went for a Chest CT Scan. Guess who has pneumonia? Yep, I do. I’m on another round of antibiotics that will hopefully send the pneumonia packing and calm this cough down. The plus side is I’m now counting coughing fits as ab exercises. LOL
 
In the middle of all of that I did a Brain MRI. It came back with 2 spots that are just large enough to be treated by radiation. That will be done Thursday, right before chemo. Hopefully after this the Enhertu will keep the brain tumors under control.
 
There is some very vain, but good news to report… I’m growing hair!!!! I had a 50/50 chance of this happening, so I just figured it wouldn’t. The morning that I realized my hair was growing I couldn’t believe it. I made everyone that I saw that day double check to make sure I wasn’t going crazy. My eyebrows are even starting to fill in, and I have little baby eyelashes sprouting. The hair on my head is about 1/8 of an inch long and super soft. It is coming it a dark brown color too. I am so excited about this!!
 
As October comes to an end I hope you receive more treats that tricks and continue to wear pink, with a bit of green and teal mixed in too.