This blog started as a place to recap my races, which I did for a while, and then strayed away from it. With my newest life development, I debated whether to start a new blog or use this one. I decided to continue with this one because I'm choosing to believe I have many miles to run.
I was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer February 25th, 2016. I underwent a lumpectomy followed by radiation, and I have been on tamoxifen the past six years. My tumor was fairly small and there was no node involvement. In other words, I had a great prognosis.
With my hormone receptor status of ER/PR+, I've known the five-year mark wasn't as magical as people made it out to be. I knew I could have a recurrence 20, 30 years down the road. I was also aware of the stat that 30% of early stagers end up stage 4. So, while I have lived my life optimistically, I have known there was the chance the other shoe would drop.
The other shoe dropped on August 24th, 2022, and I'm now part of the 30% of early stagers that find themselves dealing with metastatic breast cancer. It's terrifying. When I read my bone biopsy report, I thought I was going to pass out. Never in a million years did I think I would ever have stage 4 breast cancer, especially in my 30s. A stage 4 cancer diagnosis leaves a wake of devastation in its path.
A week and a half later, I still sit here and think, "How the hell did this happen? How am I stage 4?" I am angry beyond belief. I am devastated. I am scared. I am in disbelief.
So, what led to this diagnosis? I had SI joint pain back in March (or so we thought), and it went away after a month of stretching and adjustments. Fast forward to end of June, and the pain was back. Back to the ortho I went, and an SI joint injection was scheduled for end of July. While waiting on the injection, a nuclear medicine bone scan for unrelated pain had been ordered by my oncologist. It was negative - I will never trust a bone scan after that. Jason ordered a pelvic and abdomen MRI to check more things out, and unfortunately, the radiologist saw a lesion on my right iliac bone. His wording really bothered me (consider it a metastatic lesion until proven otherwise) because it seemed so harsh. He recommended a bone biopsy, which was performed August 19th, 2022.
What do you do when the other shoe drops? Well, me - I have cried - a lot. I have tried to convince myself the diagnosis was incorrect. I'm wondering when I will wake up from this nightmare. I pray, pray, pray. I'm praying to be healed. I'm praying for a miracle. I'm praying God gives me peace. And I pray for my family and friends. It's not just me who has been rocked by this diagnosis. It's also those who love me. I thank God for them every single day.
What's next? I met with Dr. Prophet at SCOA on September 1st, 2022, and will have more imaging (Pet/CT, brain MRI). I may have to have another bone biopsy. Unfortunately, the lab didn't test my hormone receptor status, and we need that to determine treatment. If my HR status is the same as my initial diagnosis, I will be on Ibrance, Zometa or Prolia, Lupron, and letrozole.
What can you do to help me? Pray - pray for an amazing response to my treatment; pray I am on this first line for an unbelievable amount of time; pray I don't feel like crap on it; pray for peace in my heart; pray for my family and friends. Donate to Metavivor. I have posted about them on my Facebook page over the years, and donations to them can literally help extend my life.
