Bone mets - please join in

[Carolyn52]

Hello Nicky
I was just reading on the other thread that you are joining the spongebobs ...I really hope it works for you. It's always hard to switch treatments as the existing ones become like a pair of old comfy slippers and you get used to living with the side effects.!!
It seems to be a very popular chemo now and so you will get a lot of help and support there from the ladies .
I'm just hoping that letrozole lasts for 7 years for me like Julie...
Xxx☺☺☺

[Rose47]

Carolyn that's just the best news :). .xx

[nicky08]

Hooray Carolyn, a Stable Mabel! Go out and celebrate - oh, I see you have done that already 😉

Avriela - sorry to hear that all was not quite so stable for you but at least your oncologist is on top of things and changing your current treatment. Keep in touch with all of us, we are here for support as well as a place to have a rant and let off steam when you need to.

Nicky x

[Carolyn52]

Jeanette
Ouch ..that hurts when the veins play hide and seek ..did u drink a litre of water and warm them up first ?
No haven't been eating cake or choc as I don't want my teeth going funny again now I'm back on bone juice ..but I've just had a nice Chinese take away and a trifle !! Oink oink🐷🐷.
Stable Mabel signing off with hugs xxxx

[rosie53]

Hi ladies, hope your all feeling well.
Well I've been to get my tumour markers done today and my veins did not want to play out! In the end i had 3 of them ganging up on them, got there in the end though.
While I was there I called in to see my bcn to discuss my denosumab, told her I'm struggling a lot more with pain /aches since being changed to 8 weekly so she has spoken to my onc who said she will have a chat with me about changing it back to 4 weekly next month when I see her for my CT results.
Carolyn, I bet you have overdosed on cake and chocolate celebrating your fantastic "Stable Mabel" news!
Hugs Janette xxx

[funnyface]

Corey that's,a long wait!! You will, need a huge supply of wine, chocolate, candles, and bubble bath! FF

[Stillhere]

Just come back after a break, so pleased for you, Carolyn! Wishing you sunshine and chocolate!! Maybe not together....a gooey mess. Just shows that the hormonals can be so effective on their own. Not sure about the 2 scan types, I've never had a PET scan ( well, several ON my pets but think they were CTs...🐶🐶🐴🐴 ) I think that PET scans are more expensive so we only get the cheap stuff here! Someone better informed will be here soon, I'm sure.

To everyone going through a treatment change, thinking of you and (((((hugs)))) xx

[avrelia]

Hahaha I liked the way you expalin things Carolyn, especially when you mentioned donkey as a pet. And I am sure that CT stands for CaT:) Poor animals they do not need that:) Love you all, thank yoy for your comments after I bursted out. I know that it is not easy for none of us, but you are so helpful. I am not that strong. 

FF, how many rounds of Chemo you had as a whole. I had only one, and it last cycle was last year 10.11. I do not feel like having another one so soon. Not that the previous was bad, do not take me wrong but I am worried of the long term side effects. Hope that letrozole will work. And if needed I may opt for taking ovaries out. Love you ladies

[Carolyn52]

Corey

I've asked this before as I'm a right donut but what's the difference from a ct scan to a pet scan ...does the later mean you have to take your dog ( or donkey in your case!) Too ...
Ha ha xxxxx

[Corey45]

hi everyone scan was ok but needle hurt going in. so now the wait begins 1 month. carolyn really pleased for you .

[funnyface]

Carolyn, Happy you are stable! Thankful that we don't all get bad results at the same time. We can hold each other together better. FF

[funnyface]

Avrelia, I'm sorry your treatment has failed. We go for our scan results with such hopes that all will be OK! When it's not there is fear all over again! This is such an unfair road we travel! Hopefully your next treatment will kick butt! I'm ER + and had always done chemo. The last couple years was my first hormonal. Wondering if you might need chemo for a while. Hugs!!

[PMOL]

Hi girls

carolyn that is great and great encouragement for those of us on Letrozole.  😉

Avrelia, I'm on zoladex (ovary suppresant) with letrozole and zometa (bone strenghtener).  It is do-able, the worse side effects for me have been the back spasms which have left me in bed BUT they happened after the first dose and sinc then it seems to have been better (3 zoladex and 2 zometa).  The other side effect is the hot flushes which have me playing hoke koke with the duvet at 3am 😴 But other than that it's been fine.

hope it's a good week and you aer all enjoying the few rays of sunshine we are having! (At least in Pembrokeshire!!) xxxxx

[avrelia]

Thanks everyone, no i think I have finished my post Carolyn, it is just a bit chaotic though...Anyway, Daisty, I know what you mean about forgetting I am in such a situation, I do not post and read coz i am forgetting, and luckily I do not have any major syptoms, it is just not encouraging at all. A friend of mine has sugessted weed oil. I think I will give it a try as well, but I am not 100% sure. She will be doing a charity walk in order to raise money for me and for another friend of hers who has got cervical cancer. Bless her. My bestie is coming on Friday to visit me, and I am thinking of taking her to a streepteeze bar:) Shortly speaking that is all about me, after two glasses of JB:) God Bless you all

[daisyjane181]

Hi Avrelia

I just came onto the forum tonight after not being on for quite a while (think I've gone into denial about the whole situation and haven't wanted to read much about anything).

Anyway, enough of that.  I just wanted to tell you that I have been on the ovarian suppression injections (zoladex) since May 2016 when I was diagnosed with primary and secondary cancer to the bones from the outset.  The injections are bearable believe me and although the side effects can be a little annoying they are most definitely do-able.  I am also on Tamoxifen as I am oestrogen positive and Ibandronic acid (bisphosphonate) to strengthen the bones.

Just wanted to let you know.  I hope all goes OK for you and will keep you in my prayers.  Debbie x

[Carolyn52]

Thanks Bon
Phew I hope I sleep better tonight ...no one but you ladies here understand the scan results stresses .
Avrelia
It's nice to see you posting but it seems your not finished quite yet but you have done the worst bit ..chemo ...so the next stage should be a bit easier hopefully.

[bonariensis]

Carolyn that's great news! Have been wondering about you all day.

Avrelia. Hope your new treatment will be an improvement on what you have been having. It must feel like a a big step to take.

B xx

[avrelia]

Hi there, have just been back from the appointment with the oncologist. Had my scan last week, and things are not as supposed to obviously, as they are changing treatment. The doctor says that I do not have new metds, exept one new lyph node on my neck, which she would need to biopsy, and as a whole the lump in my breast has not shrunk more,on the contrary it might have got bigger with a milimeter or two, and she was not happy with the bones response. That is why she decided to cahnge Zometa to Denosumab, she would add an ovary supression injection every month,change Tamoxifen to Letrozole and send me to a Gynecology team to check my ovaries. She said that they might decide to have them removed, but I do not know yet. I went there alone and luckily she presented me the news very openly and humanly, but I called my husband and I cried over the phone for several minutes before I could go back and take the first ovaries supression ijection. I feel like starting the batlle AGAIN. Hope that this time it is going to work more. Anyone in the same situation? Did anyone have her ovaries removed. My cancer is Estrogen positive. I am sorry but my English today is not the best one. I shall try and keep my head above water

[Barton]

Corey, I hope your scan went OK? And the trip to Plymouth. Do let us know how you get on when you get the results.

Hugs. Barton.x

[Barton]

So pleased for you, Carolyn (or should I call you Mabel?)- excellent news! Long,may it continue! Good old Letrozole. Actually - I take it your teeth have drastically improved, Carolyn, if you had the Denosumab jab? I do hope it is good news there, too.

Hugs. Barton.x

[rosie53]

Just brilliant Carolyn!! 😆😆
Hugs Janette xxx

[kirky_68]

Woohoo, fantastic news.

[Carolyn52]

Hello ladies
Just call me Stable Mabel ..my scan results show no progress or change from last scan June 2016 ..so really pleased ..phew clinic was running an hour late so stress got worse and worse.
So ..I love you letrozole and denosumab and thank you . Xxxx

[Srilata03]

Corey, Hi I am from India. I live in Calcutta. Did you know someone of the same name in Somerset. All the best for your pet/ct scan result.

[funnyface]

Carolyn, Good luck tomorrow!! Wishing you the best! 

Girls, I agree, we were just unlucky FF!!!

[bonariensis]

Hi Carolyn

Will be thinking about you tomorrow, hope it's good news. Big hug B xx

Corey, hope it's not too unpleasant, keep your mind on the coffee and cake   xx

[Corey45]

hi carolyn i shall be at plymouth as im having a pet ct scan and i have it done in a mobile unit 

[Carolyn52]

Thanks Jeanette
Been trying to keep busy this week but now I must put on my big girls pants ( only m and s ones!) .....and face it .
Corey ..I shall be at hospital tomorrow but different end of hospital than you ..maybe we might just bump into each other ..I prefer the coffee and cake in oncology rather than oasis . Hope Jamal is doing ok ...
Hugs xx

[rosie53]

Hi Carolyn, sending you good luck (((((vibes)))))) for your ct results tomorrow.....not that you need them!
Hi Barton, I agree with you, I think most cancers are just down to pure bad luck too!
Hugs Janette xx

[Corey45]

Hi everyone its lovely and sunny again here nr bude. im getting myself into a state as im off to have my pet/ct scan tomorrow and i still hate needles.i will be thinking of the cake and coffee after as i am not allowed to eat anything 6 hours before.i am confused as before i had radiotherapy to my sacrum for the bone met i didnt have any pain now i do . has anybody else had this ? hi to srilata am i right that you live in somerset . i lived there nr yeovil until we moved to devon 11years ago. 

[rosie53]

Hi Chris, nice to hear from you, I also have my treatment /scans at The Christie, last time I chose the orange flavour drink and it wasn't too bad, had the blackcurrant the time before but you could still really taste the strong aniseed flavour and wasn't very nice.
Good luck with her results, please let us know how she gets on.
Hugs Janette x

[Carolyn52]

Hello Barton
I read sonewhere that breast cancer often starts in the hip and can be there having a party before a breast lump is found .
Surely it would be hip cancer that has metasized to the breast then?
But like you say its mostly bad luck really . We all got dealt the unlucky card.
Hugs xxx

[Barton]

Hello Nicky and ff, I read an article a couple of weeks ago that said they have found that breast cancer cells travel around the body much earlier than first thought - even before you know you have breast cancer, or is detectable, in the first place! I have come to the conclusion that it is just bad luck.

Hugs. Barton.x

[Srilata03]

☺good suggestion.

[Carolyn52]

Hello Chris
I'm so glad u are checking in on the thread as although I usually create a load of worthless banter ..there is a lot of info here too from real people !!
I'm waiting scan results too but in my hospital I don't have the drink before the scan just the iodine injection ..maybe your wife could ask for a bit of gin or vodka mixed with the drink to make it a bit more appetizing !!! Ha ha ..

[Ladybird]

Hi ladies Ladybird checking in! Reading this thread is so very informative, we've learnt so much more on here than from other sources. My wife Ladybird goes for her ct scan this week at Christie to see if the Letrazole is still working. She's not looking forward to the flavoured drink beforehand! What's your favourite flavour? Her main problem is leg pain but she has suffered with sciatica for years so the cause is blurred. Interesting that Letrozole causes tiredness as we both suffer from this and thought it was our age (72)! Thanks again for the opportunity to chat. Chris

[ramade]

Hi all, funnyface, I just want to say that I never had tamoxifen either, I was very young when I had the primary but I now know young women are put on it, I don't know why we weren't. Anyway maybe that's one that could be added to the list now. I'll ask next time I'm in.

hugs

ramade

[nicky08]

Hi ladies

Sorry to hear about your results FF but it looks like you have a plan A! I'm also changing treatments soon and just jumping through all the hoops here to get on a targeted trial at one of our main cancer hospitals. As to whether your BC would have come back if you had been given tamoxifen after your primary, who knows? I was grade 2 (nearer grade 1), no node involvement, early detection etc etc and put on Tamoxifen but it still came back. It may have been protocol in general (to go onto tamoxifen), and possibly delayed the onset of secondaries, but this is such a clever disease it finds its way around all obstacles when it wants to! I'm only saying this as we'll never know the 'what if's and it's tough enough anyway without wondering if we should have taken or been given a different route. Sorry if I'm saying something out of line but I respect your positivity about all of this cr@p but know how progression, especially if not expecting it, can knock us back. Been here, done that, several times! Hope you get on well with the new regime when it starts and it's easier on the aches and pains than letrozole has been.

Hi to all other mets ladies, hope treatments are going well and side effects kept to a minimum. Although I've not been posting so much lately (due to trying to sort out my own situation and change of treatment) I do read every day so am with you all in spirit 😊

Nicky x

[Carolyn52]

Well FF ..that explains it but protocol is changing all the time now with primary ..I think they do ten years on hormones now ..and a special test on tumour is done to assess the risk reaccurence.
In 2003 ..it was lumpectomy, rads,chemo and five years hormones ..then discharged from system ..no scans just on your bike ..your fine !!
All we need is the magic bullet now.
Xxxxx

[funnyface]

Glad to hear these other hormonal sound easier than letrozole. Truly having hope to get rid of some pain. Will be on it til May 8th. Then the new drugs.

Girls, I wasn't offered tamoxifen after my primary. I went in for one of my yearly check-ups (7 years out) and asked why I wasn't getting it. Oncologist said it wasn't protocol for my age, at the time and no node involvement and I had done chemo and a bilatelal mastectomy. He said, since it had been 7 years no sense in starting it then. He said with the knew knowledge of 7 years later if I was just going through this he would have probably given it to me, but felt it wouldn't do anything for me to start it after the fact!! I think he screwed up!!! I went to my surgeon to have my port placed and she was going over my records and said I shouldn't be in her office!! She said with no nodes involved and my type of cancer and the use of tamoxifen it shouldn't have come back! When I told her I hadn't been given tamoxiifen she slammed her fist on the table! I told her what the oncologist said and she rolled her eyes!! She said, "Well there is no use in crying over spilt milk!" This then made me know I should have had it, nd maybe I wouldn't be in these shoes! FF

[Carolyn52]

Jeanette
I'm the same but today I'm pain free and dashing around doing washing like you ..where does it all come from?
It's hard to know whether the bone pains are progression , letrozole or just old age ? Guess that's why we have scans ...
Better get the ironing board ready ..yes I'm old fashioned like things ironed ..not like my kids that don't bother that much ...
Hugs xxx

[rosie53]

Carolyn, I also had no problems at with tamoxifen, it was a breeze compared with letrozole, I feel 100 years old with that! but it's keeping me stable so it's a case of shut up and put up, a small price to pay me thinks!
Beautiful day here today, lots of washing going on!
Hugs Janette xxx

[Carolyn52]

Nurse just arrived ..vein first time and oodles of blood ..a bit different to last time when it was only a dribble !!
So the hot water bottle and lots of water thing does work .
Hugs xx

[Carolyn52]

Well I'm sat here waiting for my nurse to arrive to do my blood test ( yes I'm spoilt getting it done at home) I've drunk my body weight in water and warmed up my veins ready ..but no nurse ..she's late !!
Hope everyone is ok today ..
Interesting FF ..that after all your years of treatment ..you have never had tamoxifen ..think most of us have had that one at primary stage ! Not showing off but I took it and had no.problems with it.
Hugs xxxx

[ramade]

hi barton, yes exemestacine is much easier than letrozole because i felt like a 90 year old woman and now feel my age is rapidly dropping back to normal.

thanks for your reply, this site is wonderful!!

ramade

[ramade]

thanks neighbour, interesting about everolimus being withdrawn because that is what i've tol will be added in one month. i'll check that out when i see the prof and come back with details.

ramade

[ramade]

funnyface, thankyou so much for taking the time to write this, it is so useful and you have made me see i should not take no for an answer. thanks to you i am booking an appointment with a professor of oncology for a second opinion as i have been refused palbociclib because it is expensive! my husband had read all about this drug and thought it sounds really good. thanks again, your encouragement has maybe extended my life. i shall keep you informed. hope you're feeling well.

dinosaur hunt was great but now i have to up my game with the garden easter egg hunt on easter Sunday!

ramade

[funnyface]

Hi Ramade, My oncologist said because I was on a combo treatment that just failed that a single agent would not work as well now. I don't know why! I've always only been on single agents of chemo. for almost 9 1/2 years. Then when it was decided to do ibrance (palbociclib) it is given with letrozole, I had my first combo. I never really had hormonals before that. In the beginning of this second�ry journey my old oncologist had given me 4 months of lupron injections to shut down my ovaries. It didn't work. My tumors grew.  He put me on chemo right away. He told me if the lupron hadn't worked that no hormonals would ever work. I went for a second opinion and that oncologist said he agreed I needed chemo. He said that he wasn't convinced that hormonals would never work. He said that he felt my oncologist didn't do anything wrong, but thought he went to light with treatment. He said that lupron would shut down the ovaries, but he would have also given me something to shut down my adrenal glands because they produce hormones. He said that if I ever wanted to try hormonals and my oncologist refused to come see him He would try them on me. When I saw that palbociclib was approved and I had just had  a toxic reaction to gemcitibine I felt my body needed a break from chemo. In the almost 9 1/2 years I was given one little break from chemo. All my chemo was back to back! I told my oncologist I wanted to try palbociclib/letrozole. He said no at first, but I sat there dug my heels in and argued. He finally agreed. Well it worked!! I got the average time out of it! He retired after I was on it for 4 months! I so wish I could tell him he was wrong, that it worked! I had wanted to try tamoxifen this time because I've never had it. That is when my new oncologist said no, that a single agent wouldn't work as well. She said maybe down the road if we get this new growth stopped. Sorry this was so long but thought having the whole picture kind of helps explain what her thinking might be. 

I was excited to see that you aren't as tired on the exemastane. I have been very tired and in extreme joint pain in the knees from the letrozole. The pain started within 2 weeks of taking it. I started it 2 weeks before the palbociclib, so we know it's the culprit for the pain. Then the palbociclib has made my legs weak. I have a friend who was on this combo and it recently failed for her too. Her leg strength has been comining back! I have hopes of being in less pain, legs stronger, and more energetic! Time will tell!

What are you doing for your dinosair egg hunt? You have my curiosity! It sounds like it will be a good time! FF

[Barton]

Hello, ramade, and welcome, although sorry you have had to join us. I can't help with the combo thing, as, apart from my original IV chemo (FEC-T), I haven't had a combination of anything. I have, however, been on Exemestane for a little while and I found it really easy - far easier than my previous hormone therapy which was Anastrozole. Good luck, anyway.

Also, another Devonian checking in! By the way, I'm jealous of your dinosaur easter egg hunt - that sounds amazing!

Hugs. Barton.x

Edited to add: I should have said that I am no longer on Exemestane, as it was found that I was very weakly hormonal, so was taken off it. It was used as a break between cycles of Capecitabine anyway, which I have now returned to. Am currently on Cycle 27 of Cape, but have had a couple of short breaks and one long one between some of the cycles.