Secondary breast cancer

Feeling kinda bamboozled  :sad: 

let me explain. 

In July 2021 I had a mammogram,  2 weeks later I was recalled for another mammogram where they told me they'd seen a lump and was doing a biopsy but was 100% certain it was breast cancer. 

2 weeks later I went in for the results and it was indeed breast cancer,  a lumpectomy was booked for a month later, I also had  an auxiliary clearance where they removed all the lymph nodes and out of the 18 they removed 13 was cancerous,  5 weeks later I had further surgery to get clear margins which they managed to get .

I was supposed to have undergone chemo and radiotherapy plus start Letrozole (hormone blockers)  and have a CT scan and bone scan,  I turned down treatment,  the bone scan was clear , the CT scan showed a shadow on my lung and kidney,  further investigations showed the kidney shadow was a fatty lump needing no treatment,  

I had to have another CT scan 3 months after the first to check on the lung nodule which I had in March 22 , I received the results over telephone and they told me the nodule had changed and I'd need another CT scan which I had at the end of May 22 , I received those results on the 6th July 22 .

The lung nodule turned out to be 4 tumours on the left lung and 3 tumours on the right lung,  apart from the one which is 13mm and is encroaching on the Airways and making me cough and a bit breathless the others are about 4mm and 5mm .

 

It's breast cancer that as spread to my lungs  :sad: there is no cure only treatment,  they've started me on Letrozole which I've taken 2 so far and will take the third today,  they also want me to take  (name unsure of) a tablet that acts similar to chemo , I'll be on them for life .

 

My problem is I can't tolerate medication very well and even the medication that usually causes no side effects I still get them, I can't tolerate statins , and react to most diabetic medications too , some pain killers also cause an reaction :cry: so with that in mind I'm going to turn down the chemo like drug , I'm trying the Letrozole to see how my body reacts to it .

 

The aim of the Letrozole is to hopefully shrink the tumours or at least stop them growing or spreading .

 

I have no family support apart from my partner and I have only one friend who turns everything into a joke (which isnt always helpful) and starts joking about her catching it or throwing comments at me like she will make her own cup of tea because I have cancer and can't do it .

 

I'm kinda stuck here and alone , I'm not the sort who looks for help from other people and tend to block things and bottle things so this is huge for me to write here .

  • Yes having a sweet tooth is hard but I gave up battling it , purely because I found if for example I fancied a chocolate and thought no thats unhealthy ill grab something else , I'd end up eating loads of other junk then eat the chocolate after all where if I'd just eaten the chocolate I wouldn't have eaten the other junk .

     

    I'm taking it you're in the USA? Because you mention3d bootcamp , we don't have things like that here in the UK. 

     

    My mum and one of my younger brothers also are diabetic but we are the only ones that have it I'm the history that we know .

     

    Avoiding stress is next to impossible,  it's like a magnetic. 

     

    I wish I had the energy to exercise more .

     

    I dont think our G.P's bother trying to find out why you're allergic to different medicines unless you have severe reactions then they'd start looking into it  x

     

     

  • I'm in the UK and it was the pre-diabetes course to change people's habits. It's run by different organisations depending on where you live. My GP did the referral. So not a Boot Camp like in the US, but every time I went I got weighed which felt quite shaming. The exercise elements were not so onerous but I hated doing them. I guess I don't like the smell of resistance bands! 

    Yes, my reactions are severe and include anaphylaxis. 

    I know what you mean about chocolates. I do try to keep a little top-quality chocolate at home so I can eat just one or two to plug a craving and I stopped buying things like biscuits so they aren't in the house where I can get at them. If I have to go out and buy something then I can try and force myself to go for a walk in the park instead. 

    Unfortunately, I still put on a stone. So now I'm trying super super hard. I'm going to cry if the new regime doesn't work because I'll have run out of ideas. Unfortunately with me there is a genetic element too. x

  • Oh right I apologise,  I've not heard of anything like that .

     

    My reactions aren't usually severe thankfully. 

     

    I actually keep a lot of chocolate in the house, my partner takes it too work but I only eat one bar a day if that , in my younger years I'd have eaten the whole lot in one day .

     

    I have biscuits in too but rarely eat them , my downfal is crisps I just love them and can happily eat 4 or more bags a day .

     

    My weight as crept up with the Letrozole and I need to shift a few pounds before next weekend as my son gers married then and the dress I brought is now a tad tight .

     

    I can't walk far which is annoying as in my younger years I used to be very active x

  • Ooh a wedding! Sounds exciting. You'll be exhausted but worth it.

    I used to love crisps. But I gave them up after my lifestyle change course. Not that I ever ate more than one pack a day. I used to find the salt in them helpful as I have low blood pressure.  And of course they were delicious.

    A bar of chocolate a day. That sounds like total luxury. I'm just imagining eating one now...

    I do hope your dress fits on the day. Do you have a spare just in case? Make sure you try it on a couple of days before the wedding. If its still uncomfortable, you might need something in reserve.

    Not being able to walk is very annoying. I've had periods in my life when I've struggled. At my worst I couldn't hold a conversation or walk across a room. And I've had the embarrassment of being overtaken by lots of oldies giving me funny looks. When I had to do a treadmill test I managed 10 minutes walking before seeing stars. The next day I was still so tired I couldn't read a magazine even. It was absolute tiredness worse than anything I'd ever experienced.

    I've been trying to walk my way back to fitness ever since, just not on a treadmill. They're too dangerous (for me)! 

    I do hope you have perfect weather for the Big day, muster as much energy as possible and that the dress fits.

    Maybe try and keep off the crisps and chocolate for a few days. Not easy! Cravings can be super strong. Good luck! x

  • Yes a wedding , only got to travel 150 miles for it haha so yes I will be exhausted but will hopefully enjoy it .

     

    I've always been a freak about crisps but do try to only have one a day , mostly it fails but I try .

     

    I never used to eat much chocolate and don't really eat a lot of it now, it's not every day that I eat chocolate mind .

    Yes I have a spare dress just in case but I brought the other especially for the wedding and do intend to try it on the day before , so fingers crossed it'll fit .

     

    I used to be so very active , you name a sport there may be a chance I did it , my school was actually a sports school so I did most things,  cricket , rounders , hockey , skiing , swimming , netball , football , running , volleyball,  gymnastics,  rock climbing , canoeing,  tug-of-war,  skating and ice skating at a different location , rugby included and yes I participated in them all , my downside was I was born club footed and had a weak leg it didn't stop me then but the years of doing stuff ended up putting pressure on the weight baring leg and needed a knee replacement then I developed osteoarthritis in the weak leg too and foot and ankle and now lower back too so my mobility is limited then add the fact I also have M.E/CFS . So every day is a struggle,  Cancer is the nail on the head . X

     

     

     

  • 150 miles is a fair way to travel especially when it's hot. Won't envy you that journey! Hopefully, a bit of time to recharge and unwind before all the action.

    You certainly did a lot of sports especially with the foot weakness. Wow! 

    Osteoarhritis is a pain, though my GP has told me to use the affected joints and, after a lot of perseverance, I've been lucky to regain mobility without any joint replacement. The X-rays showed some of my osteoarthritis to be severe. Regaining mobility wasn't without a lot of pain. I used to silently scream doing toe exercises in the bath. I still don't take painkillers preferring to know what my body is telling me, ha.

    ME/CFS is just so hard. And cancer on top with added fatigue... You'll really have to pace yourself. I hope you get plenty of chance to rest and catch your breath during the wedding celebrations, all the while having as much of a good time as possible.

    It's good you've got a spare outfit, but I hope you get to wear the one you bought specially. Enjoy! x