Hi, im 52 and on the 10th of Feb I was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in bone. Onc said there is a “tiny” amount in my groin/hip and again"tiny" in the rib under the primary cancer. I originally phoned the gp almost two years ago about a rib injury I thought I had done at a stables. He refused me an appt 3 times and told me over the phone that it would go. The pain went and I got on with life but in Sept 2016 went to the gp about a muscle at the top of my ribs. After lots of bad information I was sent for a scan and a biopsy was taken - the doctor said he was 99.9% sure it wasn’t cancer!!!. Got a phone call on the 28th Dec stating it was er+cancer. The cancer was hidden inside the muscle. They were not sure how near the cancer was to the rib so sent me.for a bone scan. I was and still am devastated. I had told my 10 and 13 year old boys about the breast cancer but then had to sit them down and tell them again, it was the terrible. I am now in tears writing this the thought of not being around to see my children become adults is breaking my heart. I try to be positive but it is short lived. I feel so alone and without a future even though I have a fantastic partner. Sueb
Sorry to hear your news , its a very traumatic time , being told its back . I suspected mine had returned over a year ago , I saw various clinical teams , who just ignored me , but I persisted and , nearly a year on was offered a scan which revealed bone mets , the good news is , I had radiotheraphy , and now , no pain what so ever , and I can walk at my old pace again. It is very easy to do this treartment for bone , I still cant believe how quicklty it was sorted. I do have other mets , but just to let you know bone is very treatable.
good luck , it will ease xxx
Thank you so much for your quick response. I luckily feel no pain. When I spoke to the specialist nurse she said that was the reason I could not accept it - feeling normal!. They are putting me through my change so sort of expect it to get worse emotionally etc. I will fight this as I love my life sueb
Hiya sue
Welcome to the forum and you will find a lot of kindness and support here from real people not just internet stats!
Getting a secondary dx is like being hit by a juggernaut as we all think at primary stage we have the treatment and then life goes back to normal but for a few of us unlucky ones …it’s comes back to bite us in the bum !
Mine came back after eleven years just after I had retired and looked forward to growing old disgracefully !! So the travel and all the plans we had just went out the window.
Once u get a treatment plan going you will be able to focus again .
Carolyn xxxx
Hi sue what a shock for you. Please stay strong. I was diognosed three years ago with breast and secondary bone cancer. Like you i had been going to doctors for months with pain in my ribs and back shoulder.
There are a lot of treatments available and this is one of the easier cancers to control. Thats what ive been told.
It is early days for you and i expect your all in shock. There is another thread called “bone mets please join in”. Its under the living with secondary cancer tab.
On here you will see lots of lovely ladies all battling the same as you. They have good advice and its a good place to let off steam if you need to. Many ladies have had this for years and it is classed as a long term illness in some cases. I am sorry no one picked up your post, but move over to the other one it has posts everyday about all sorts. Its not all doom and gloom either but can be sensitive when you need it. I have only been a member since xmas and its really helped me.
I will keep an eye on your thread in case you cant find the bone mets one. Mets is what they call tumors or cancer sites.
You will be around for your boys for a long time. You must keep telling yourself that because state of mind plays a big part in battling this disease.
I have it in every bone, its also in my sternam and liver. Not just specks either parts of me is just solid cancer. Im planning on staying around for years, if i can do it so can you. Ask any questions you want on the threads. Its better to go to one related to your cancer tho as people are going through the same. New ladies join everyday unfortunately. If i can help with anything just ask.
Your not alone now. You have a band of sisters at your side. Keep strong.
Sue xx
Sorry ladies for some reason i couldnt see your replies. I think its because im going via my profile posts.
Sue have you been told you have bc and bone at the same time or have i read it wrong??
I didnt have a primary diognosis when they found it i was already in secondaries.
I think sue was the same ladies its all hit her at once. I might be wrong. Anyway sue these are the lovely ladies i was talking about.
Take care xxx
Thank you do much for your replies. I did not have cancer before, i was not with it all at once. I have to admit I have gone from a strong nothing is going to beat me attitude to a quivering wreck. I expect being forced into my change is not helping. I know there are so many people suffering out there alot worse than me, but sometimes it feels like it’s just me. I will sort myself out and aim to be positive.
Sueb, I’m taking a little mini break from the forum bc if some personal issues and feeling overwhelmed. Today I was feeling calmer and decided to log in and I saw your post! I’m sorry you have to join us! It is very hard to accept and pull yourself together! For me I finally just had to scold myself and say get it together girl. Whatever time you have you need to move on and enjoy! I decided I didn’t want to feel or be miserable all the time. I’m thankful I changed my attitude! My oncologist said it wasn’t an immediate death sentence that I probably had 2 years! I’ve been here 11 1/2 with mets! I could have waste s 11 1/2 years being miserable! My primary was dx fall of 1995, secondary fall if 2005! I am ER +, PR -, and HER2 - I was dx with lung mets. I now have one bone met in spine. ER+ breast cancer is normally very slow growing! You should be here a long time. When I started my journey with my primary my kids were 9, 12, and 18! They were 19, 22, and 28 when I was dx with secondaries. They all have birthdays coming up shortly and will be 31, 34, and 40! I was married 13 years at primary dx, 23 at secondary and will be celebrating 35 in May! I still work PT. I’m 62 very overweight, but have have been working on making changes! I have lost 42 pounds since July, l started doing exercises in August. When I started exercising I couldn’t even do 1 sit up, I now do 25 every day. I also started every week of trying to make small changes EX: no soda before noon, get out of the chair every hour, drinking 8 glasses of water (only way I can drink it is I mix 1oz of pineapple juice/ cup of water). I started making all these changes bc I’m in two drugs for my treatment. One drug makes all my joints hurt, mostly my knees. The other has weakened my musick escort especially my legs and core strength. All the things I’ve done have made me not lose any more strength in my legs, my core strength has improved, I still can’t do steps with out railings to pull myself up with. Friday night my husband and Iwent to an event, andI was able to walk around for 2 hours. Mostly flat but one big hill and I was ank e to do the hill without stopping or gasping for air! I was stoked!! My efforts have paid off! Sorry I was so long winded! I wanted to give you hope, so please go get a wash cloth wipe off your face and start living!! Yes, I still have some cries! It’s, OK! Just don’t waste too much time on it! Big hugs! You can do this! FF
Hi sue,just wanted to say welcome and echo what the others have said.we all know exactly how you feel and how difficult it is to stay positive.like Nicky i’m 3 years into secondaries (skin,pleura and bone) and she sounds more positive than I ever feel but am going to try harder to take on her wise words, hope you start to feel a little better about things soon…just be kind to yourself while you adjust to your situation.Lots of love.x