After 7 years, I now have mets in my spine… roll eyes
Diagnosed on the 31st in A&E because my back pain was so bad I could just shuffle around - I’m so glad that the A&E doctor sent me for x-rays, then after conversations, got me a MRI right there and then (well, on that day, I mean - I spent almost the whole day there)! No waiting for results, he told me right away (which is exactly what I wanted).
I’d been having back pain for about 2 months, the GP sent me to physio, the guy kept saying that the odds of it being cancer were really tiny… I guess I’m one to beat the odds 
The annoying thing is that I suffered the stupid side effects of tamoxifen for 5 years and just over a year of letrozole for nothing!
Last saturday I had a CT scan, and today I got a call saying I’m seeing the oncologist on Monday (the MDT team meets on fridays).
I’m so glad that my NHS trust is really quick, I had the same experience last time.
The hardest thing is people not knowing what secondary cancer means, they keep saying “you beat the last one, you’ll beat this one too”. At the moment I’m not strong enough to correct/educate them…
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I’m so sorry you are having to deal with this . people have no clue that the spectre of secondaries hangs over us all indefinitely and what it actually means when it happens . Fingers crossed that you get positive results from your scans and that treatment treats you kindly .Best wishes Jill .
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I figure that taking Anastrozole might keep me from having cancer metastasis for the 5 years that I take it. Yes, the side effects are very troubling at times, but the alternative isn’t either.
I decided against radiation so I would have another weapon if it comes back.
I think everyone that has had breast cancer and surgery has that niggling feeling that it will recur.
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I was diagnosed wirh bone mets in February after having physio for 18 months for musculoskeletal problems - which were mets all along
I get the you’ve beaten it before comments along with how’s the chemo going. Scary really
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Gosh, jan, 18 months of physio!!! 
I think it’s not just ‘regular people’ who need educating, the key ones are in the medical profession! The A&E doctor I saw (I can’t stress how great he was) told me immediately that lasting back pain on someone who’s had cancer is a sign of alarm, and he’d have sent me for x-rays after 2 weeks of physio…
And suzz, yes, I suppose that the time taking the hormone therapy prevented the mets from manifesting sooner, I guess…
I say I had a 007 cell, an undercover agent, who managed to escape chemo and the killing hormones all this time haha
I only had chemo at the time (after the mastectomy), I didn’t have radio.
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Yes, I am sick of people asking when I am finishing chemo - even medical professionals!
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It’s amazing how quickly you get used to bad things…
- constant pain
- lots of meds
- having to always think about how to move/sit/stand to minimise pain
And drats: my local hospital trust is great and very quick, but as it’s bone cancer I have to be referred to a different one, I wonder how long I’ll have to wait now 
Latest info:
I saw the Spinal Surgery consultant on Wednesday and I’m off to the hospital later today to get surgery tomorrow!!
He’s going to remove the vertebrae (and part of the tumour stuck to it) and replace it with fake bone and screws… He said at least the incredible pain would go away almost to nothing!
A few weeks after the oncologist can start addressing the actual cancer.
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I had my spinal surgery 2 weeks ago: the horrid pain has gone and now it’s just the normal one related to the surgery (slowly getting better).
They took part of the tumour off while doing it and sent it for biopsy - today I heard from the Breast Cancer consultant, saying she’d referred me to radiotherapy. Apparently there are still more tests ongoing, but for now it’s “continue with examestane and you’ll hear from the hospital for radio”.
Last time I didn’t have that, only surgery and chemo, so I wonder what will happen. I suppose it’s a lot more targeted, aiming the radio at a point in your spine…
Update on Anastrozole, it’s just been a short time since I posted in August, but the knee pain and leg weakness seems to have gotten a lot worse. There are times when I stand up and my right leg just gives out on me.
I’ve been taking this since May of 22, the first 6 months were a breeze, it seems to attack different places in the body. My hand is better now it set up shop in my legs.
I will keep taking it, I know all the AIs have side effects, sometimes knowing your enemy is better than guessing about the next opponent.
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