Month: March 2015

Mets Monday: Sharon

For this week’s Mets Monday story, please meet Sharon. Before her diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer, she already had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She reached out to me after my friends Carolyn and Susanne posted messages on their Twitters and Facebook asking others for more Mets Monday stories.

What was your age and diagnosis (er+, etc.)? How was it discovered?

I went for my yearly mammogram on October 22, 2013. The tech asked me why my left breast was hard. I told her I’d noticed it too and thought I pulled something at the gym. The radiologist looked at the films and saw a “shadow.” They scheduled me for a diagnostic mammogram with the teeny-tiny paddle and LOTS of pressure and an ultrasound on October 28, 2013. I was told it looked like something was pulling my breast tissue and they wanted to do a core biopsy to be safe, but were sure it was “nothing to worry about.” On November 14, 2013, an ultrasound guided core biopsy was performed. On November 6, 2013, my primary care doctor called and told me the biopsy showed infiltrating lobular carcinoma. She wanted me to see a breast surgeon to discuss the results further and plan the next steps. The breast surgeon told me the tumor was er/pr+, her2-, grade 3. She then scheduled me for a breast MRI on November 10, 2013 and gave me the name of the one and only plastic surgeon that worked with the hospital so I could set up a consultation. She also told me she’d like to work with my old oncologist to discuss treatment options. I told her I was not keen on seeing her since I had been seeing her every three months for follow-up for my lymphoma and she totally missed this, as well as ignoring my complaints of increased fatigue and bone pain in my lumbar and cervical spine. She told me the fatigue was a lasting side effect of chemo and that I was getting old and the pains were just arthritis. She also did a thorough exam of my breasts and abdomen every time I saw her. I didn’t do well on the MRI. The machine was malfunctioning and was very hot and my chest was killing me pressed against the plastic stand with holes for my breasts. The heat and pain was so bad, I asked them to stop the MRI because I was going to be ill. They told me no. I said, OK, you can clean the vomit out of the machine. They shot me out of there like a cannon and ran in with a pan which I proceeded to fill. End of MRI. By this time, I’m noticing that my left nipple is starting to invert. I’m thinking, “This is not good.” The breast surgeon schedules me for yet another core biopsy – same results. I’m thinking about the definition of insanity that I learned long ago. Meanwhile, I’m waiting for my previous oncologist’s office to call me for consultation. The breast surgeon called her after the MRI and I was discussed on a “tumor” board. It took a full two weeks for the oncologists office to call (on November 25, 2013) and they wanted me to wait another week and go to see her in an office not where I work, but 120 miles round trip from my home. I had a bad feeling about the progression I was seeing, I could now feel a large mass in my breast. I also did a self exam in front of the mirror (all my self exams were done in the shower like I’d been taught). When I lifted my left arm the entire outside of the left breast caved in. I called Cancer Treatment Centers of America. My first contact wanted to wait a couple of weeks to get me in for a second opinion so they would have time to get all the tissue and reports from the breast as well as the lymphoma. I told him I was certain it was in my best interests to see someone sooner rather than later. My husband and I saw the intake oncologist on November 29, 2013, the Friday after Thanksgiving. The rest of the appointments were not scheduled until Monday and Tuesday. He asked why they had put me through two biopsies when it was evident that the tumor was aggressive. I told him is guess was as good as mine. He told us he wanted us to have a PET scan the next day. My husband and I had intended to go home and stay overnight on Sunday, we had no clothes. He agreed to schedule the PET scan for Sunday. On Monday, I got the results. Stage IV infiltrating lobular carcinoma with “innumerable” mets to the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine and “a few” mets to the sternum. I was 54 years old, post menopausal due to early onset menopause from chemo in 2009.
 Sharon

 

What is life like a metser?

At first, it was overwhelming and way too much to process. The person at CTCA who gave me the diagnosis was a surgeon, not a medical oncologist and he did everything CTCA doesn’t stand for. He showed no respect or compassion and was very blunt. I almost left in search of another breast center, but my hubby prevailed and asked me to give the medical oncologist a chance. I’m glad I did, I couldn’t have a better oncologist. But, I was so upset I vomited through all my appointments on Monday and cancelled the Tuesday appointments. I didn’t stop until Wednesday. While I was there, the MO gave me a shot of Xgeva, and a prescription for Anastrozole. The naturopath recommended supplements and gave written instructions to my husband. I scheduled an appointment for March. Now I’m living with a chronic disease. I don’t know how long I’ll be here, but I do know women are starting to survive 10 years or more. I’m hoping to be one of them. The Anastrozole is taking a toll on me, but it’s also kicking the cancer’s butt. At diagnosis, my breast tumor measured 8 centimeters. In March, 2014, it was 1 centimeter. I had a PET scan in July and NONE of the mets were active. My December PET showed one “hot spot” – L4, where I also have some of my arthritis. I do what many of us do: work to educate myself, to be my own advocate, find others who have shared experiences and seek their counsel, give support and hugs when I can and learn to accept them back. I have the standard “Mom” bucket list…I have one son and I want to see him with someone he loves with all his heart who loves him back. Checked that off, he’s marrying a wonderful person in November of this year. Now I want to see my first grandchild. Who knows, if people start spending money on research, I may see that grandchild grow.

Before your diagnosis, would you say you knew anything about breast cancer?

I have dense breasts, so this wasn’t my first rodeo with a biopsy. I had a stereotactic biopsy of my right breast when I was 40. It was pre-cancer (hyperplasia) and has never progressed. I got mammograms every year, did self exams every month. I wish I would have known to hunt for lumps in the shower but look for dimples in front of the mirror. After diagnosis, I did a little experiment. I asked close friends with large breasts if a) they did monthly breast exams (they did), and b) if they ever stood in front of a mirror and held up their arm and looked at the corresponding breast (they did not, but you bet they do now!). The only person that might have seen this sooner was my oncologist. My arms were over my head every three months, I complained about increased fatigue and pain in my cervical and lumbar spine, but she never connected anything. I broke two ribs doing nothing, the oncologist said I fell I just didn’t remember (I didn’t). My primary care doctor took me at my word and sent me for a bone scan (lymphoma loves bone marrow), but it only showed the broken ribs. I remember my oncology nurse well. She told me at the first infusion when I had an allergic reaction to one of the chemo drugs that if I had to have cancer, large B cell non-hodgkins lymphoma was the one to get. Fast growing, so chemo is perfect for it, but not too aggressive so there is no time to put it in check. She then said, “At least you don’t have breast cancer. You are never cured of that.” How prophetic. So I still have my breasts, I will probably never have chemo and I’ll just run through the list of Aromatise inhibitors until they no longer work, hopefully far into my future. So no, nothing prepared me for this, but nothing will stop me from fighting it as long as I have the strength either.

What do you wish other people knew about metastatic breast cancer?

Women with metastatic breast cancer are some of the strongest, most giving people I know. Breast cancer, especially lobular, is very sneaky. One minute you’re fine or “cured” when actually you may be one circulating tumor cell away from a death sentence. Breast cancer is serious stuff, it’s not all pink ribbons. Being permanently disfigured and devastated by side effects doesn’t give you a pass either. What does “prevention” and early detection do? How many lives does it truly save? I watched 60 Minutes last night. One of the segments was about clinical trials to treat neuroblastoma by injecting modified polio virus into the center of the tumor. Where are the trials to CURE stage IV breast cancer? They have made great strides in palliative treatment, that’s a long way from a cure.

What makes you happy?

My family, including my dogs, and the courageous women I’ve gotten to know. I joined a closed Facebook breast cancer group before realizing that most of the women were just starting the fight. I did however meet a couple of women who were where I am or further along in the struggle. When I went to visit a friend in Jacksonville, Fla., we drove down to Cocoa Beach so I could meet one of the women I met in the group. She has rods in her spine and femur and a smile on her face and a big hug and an amazing kinship with other woman, I felt like I knew her forever. We will always be connected.

What advice would you give to someone who really wants to help those with metastatic breast cancer? (This either be for a friend, stranger or someone who had early stage breast cancer.)

Don’t write us off, we’re not done yet. We don’t know our expiration date, but neither do you. Don’t define us by our diagnosis, we’re the same people we always were, but maybe a little better…stronger, more compassionate, more hopeful, more contemplative. Don’t throw pink ribbons and butterflies in our face, there but for the grace of God go you. Fight for a cure, not “awareness” or “early diagnosis” — the life saved by that cure may be your own.

Mets Monday: Susanne

For today’s Mets Monday, let me introduce you to Susanne.  This is her Facebook page and her GoFundMe page.

When were you diagnosed (initially and then at stage 4, that is, if you were not stage 4 off the bat) and at what age?  What type of breast cancer (i.e., er+ or triple neg)?

I got the call that the biopsy came back positive for cancer on November 19, 2013. A couple weeks later, a PET scan and a second biopsy confirmed it was already metastatic to the liver. I’m ER/PR+, Her2-, invasive ductal carcinoma.

I was 39 years old.

What is life like as a metser? 

Not easy. Coping with this for me is a weird dichotomy of knowing I’m going to die, and hoping I’m going to live. I wrote a blog post a while back comparing it to a Hail Mary pass in a football game. You’ve got four seconds left on the clock, and you know you’re going to lose the game, but you still keep your butt parked on the bleachers because those Hail Mary passes can and do sometimes happen in those last few seconds.

I spend time getting things ready for my funeral, arranging a pre-pay insurance, writing the obituary, figuring out what hospice I want to use, that sort of thing. It feels like the more I plan and get out of the way, the freer I am to live my life and not worry about the details. I plan for my death so I can live.

I don’t want to die. Last night I had a sobbing, screaming panic about reality. I don’t want to die. I want to be able to stay here forever, I want to grow old with my wife, I want to see the first humans on Mars, I want to be a little old lady in a nursing home someday weirding out the CNAs and decorating my room with print outs of cat macros. I don’t want to die. It’s not fair. I have so much I wanted to do, so much I still want to do. It’s not fair.


Would you say the general public as a whole knows a lot about breast cancer?

No. They know it exists, but not much beyond that. There is awareness, but pink has normalized breast cancer to the extent that we no longer think of the dying. People are aware that breast cancer is a thing that happens, but nothing more. It’s assumed that people don’t die from breast cancer anymore, that there’s a cure now, it’s just an easy rite of passage of womanhood and it’s nothing to worry about anymore.

It’s not even a chronic, treatable disease. It’s killing us and it’s not slowed down in decades. It’s not a pink, pretty, sexy, easy disease with a free boob job. We’re dying. And the general public doesn’t really know nor care.

 What does “breast cancer awareness” mean to you?

It means making the public aware that pink ribbons don’t save lives, early detection doesn’t “cure” breast cancer, and that if you have breast cancer, you’re at a risk of metastasis, period. It’s not a disease that strikes older women; young women can get it too. It’s not even a woman’s disease, men get breast cancer, and the general public isn’t aware of this. There’s awareness of a generic concept of breast cancer, what we need now is awareness of the reality of this disease. That’s seriously lacking.


What type of misconceptions about breast cancer have you encountered?  Has anyone ever said something ignorant to you, obviously not knowing what stage 4 breast cancer is?

I’ve been told that breast cancer is a ‘rite of passage’. Someone expressed relief when they found out I had breast cancer, because it’s one of the “good ones”. I was told “your hair’s growing back, though. That’s good, right?” when I was trying to explain that I was never going to be out of treatment for metastatic breast cancer.

What makes you happy?

My wife, primarily. This has been incredibly hard on her, and we have so many regrets and fears and anger about having our years together robbed by this. She is everything to me. I fight so hard against this disease because I want to stay with her forever.

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What advice would you give someone who truly does want to help the breast cancer community, especially those with metastatic breast cancer?

Pay attention to where the money goes. Don’t assume that because it’s a pink ribbon, it helps anyone. There’s a multi-million dollar merchandising industry being built on the backs of the dead and the dying. Be aware of how little goes to metastatic research. Be aware that you’re not “in the clear” at any magical point. A cure for metastasis is a cure for you too. Be aware that breast cancer is being normalized and sexualized and turned into a profit machine. You are worth more than your breasts. Be aware that mammograms are not perfect. For younger women, they’re often ineffectual due to the density of breast tissue. Even for older women, they might not always show up on scans.

We deserve more, we deserve better treatment, better awareness, better research into a valid, viable cure which will benefit all stages. The death rate from metastasis has not changed over the last 40 years. Early detection isn’t saving lives. We need funding into research, and we need people to be more aware of what their dollars support.

But perhaps the most important thing is to let us have our voice. Don’t hush us up or put us in the corner and give us bare bones acknowledgment because we’re your worst nightmare. We’re dying. Don’t begrudge us our remaining time to have a voice to speak out against this disease. Don’t tell us we’re wrong when we point out the stats and the funding. Don’t defend those who want us to be quiet. You might find yourself walking in our shoes. If you don’t want to be where we are, let us try to make history and give us enough awareness for a shot at finding a cure.

We’ll be quiet enough when we’re dead.

Please visit METAvivor and Live from Stage IV for more information.

I need your help, Get Up Swinging readers!

I am currently fundraising for the 2015 Pittsburgh Half Marathon for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  My cousin’s son, Andrew, was born with Cystic Fibrosis, and he’s my inspiration for wanting to raise money for this foundation.  My cousin Kathryn created a Facebook page for Andrew’s supporters, which you can find here.

CFF

This is Andrew

 

 

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Can you guess which one is Andrew’s grandfather? The other kiddo in the pic is my dad.

What is Cystic Fibrosis?

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease characterized by the buildup of thick, sticky mucus that can damage many of the body’s organs. The disorder’s most common signs and symptoms include progressive damage to the respiratory system and chronic digestive system problems. The features of the disorder and their severity varies among affected individuals.

Mucus is a slippery substance that lubricates and protects the linings of the airways, digestive system, reproductive system, and other organs and tissues. In people with cystic fibrosis, the body produces mucus that is abnormally thick and sticky. This abnormal mucus can clog the airways, leading to severe problems with breathing and bacterial infections in the lungs. These infections cause chronic coughing, wheezing, and inflammation. Over time, mucus buildup and infections result in permanent lung damage, including the formation of scar tissue (fibrosis) and cysts in the lungs.

Source

I have to raise $500 pages before the Pittsburgh Half, and I’m very short of my goal.  I need your help – either a donation or a share on Facebook or Twitter would be great appreciated.  I mean, come on. Look at his face.  Here’s the link to my crowdrise page, or my Booster page.  If you buy a Get Up Swinging T-shirts, all proceeds go to the CFF.  I don’t make a single penny in profit.

So please help!

 

 

 

 

Mets Monday: Carolyn

Everyone, please meet my friend, Carolyn.

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When were you diagnosed and at what age?  What type of breast cancer (i.e., er+ or triple neg)?

On May 1st, 2009, I was diagnosed with stage III, er+ pr+ HER2+ (or triple positive), breast cancer at the age of 48, a few days before my youngest son turned sixteen. Due to the extreme growth of the breast tumour and other symptoms prior to the mastectomy it was speculated that I had inflammatory breast cancer but it was not noted as such.

On July 29th, 2012, at the age of 51, I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer (stage IV) after it was finally determined that the pain I had been in for many months was due to a breast cancer tumour destroying my C6 vertebra. This fact was missed by radiologist(s) in two CT scans until a neurologist found it while reviewing my older scans.

Inflammatory breast cancer hit my remaining breast in October, 2013. While the pathology remains triple positive, it can’t be said with certainty that it was due to metastasize or a new occurrence.

What is life like as a metser?

Difficult, joyful, exhausting, uncertain, some days more painful than others, some weeks I can’t manage the dishes or get off the couch, some days I can dance. For each person living with MBC there is a unique combination of conditions, variables, treatments, response, and progression of disease. I’ve yet to embrace the term “new normal.” There is nothing normal about life with metastatic cancer, new or otherwise.

For me, life happens in the spaces between my examinations, blood work, and IV infusions. Every three months I have CT scans to head, neck, chest and abdomen, which includes IV contrast injections. Every two months I have an echocardiogram to determine how my heart is coping with my infusions of Herceptin, which is much preferable over the many muga scans I had during my first year with that drug. Full body bone scans, MRI’s, and x-rays are intermittent.

While life happens I’m plagued with constant neck spasms which cause my head to move to the side repeatedly during the day, a distended, firm carotid artery, painful cramping in my chest, neck and esophagus, and an uncomfortable, often painful, upper spine due to spine surgery and the titanium cage, rods and screws. When I yawn, I can’t swallow or breathe well until I massage a neck cramp away.

The treatments and surgeries I’ve undergone over the last seven years have taken a toll. I have peripheral neuropathy, my extremities are numb full time. I’m prone to trip as I can’t feel my toes. My hands wear invisible gloves that I can’t remove. Fibrosis (scarring) and adhesions are also a pain in the neck, chest, ribs, back, shoulders, etc. Two of my bottom teeth are hanging on by a thread, and some of my upper middle gum came off during my neck radiation. There are other ongoing and permanent side effects as well, including cognitive decline.

My favourite moments: Reclining in my lazy boy to relieve symptoms while chatting with my youngest son and listening to his favourite music. When my two older sons and daughter-in-law come to call. Tea with my systir and niece. Laughing with my family during our visits, dinners and events. Tending and loving my eight month old grandson, a joy I didn’t think I’d experience once diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Walking with my friend and her dog.

When my sister, brother, sister-in-law, and I get together with our children and our Mom, breast cancer is no longer so very present in my mind. It took me almost six years to get to this point.

The most disconcerting issue I find is the uncertainty. We just don’t know how long we have left to live after a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis, when we will progress, what – or if – treatments will be available when we do, nor what type of death we can expect. We could live the median of two to three years, or we could be an outlier, that infinitesimal percentage of people who live 8, 10 years, or longer. It messes with your mind, your sleep, your resolve.

What type of misconceptions about breast cancer have you encountered?  Has anyone ever said something ignorant to you, obviously not knowing what stage 4 breast cancer is?

When you have breast cancer, you are never cured, no matter what stage you were originally diagnosed. There is no cure. If you were not diagnosed with MBC from the start, Metastatic (aka stage IV) breast cancer can become your reality at any time; a year, a few years, or many years after your original early stage diagnosis. I have learned that many people, with or without breast cancer, are not aware of this fact.

I’m continually told, “you beat it once, you’ll beat it this time!” No. I will not. Nor did I beat it the first time. It is not under my control. We manage it, while it grows in our bodies and attacks our bones, our other organs, our brains, until we can’t manage it any longer.

I find it is an innate human desire, for most people, to comfort and somewhat coddle those who are going through early stage breast cancer. While encouragement, support, and hope is most certainly warranted and necessary, I feel that the hard truths must be given as well. The misconception being, that we need to be coddled. I don’t believe we do.

One day at the grocery store a young man at the check out asked me how I was. I said that I was fine, that particular day I was telling the truth even though I was in pain. He then went on to inform me that he had a cold, his girlfriend left him, and he hated work. I don’t know what possessed me, but I asked him, are you dying? He looked a little stunned, and didn’t respond, no doubt thinking I was off my rocker. I couldn’t believe I had asked that, perhaps it was due to large pink sign above his till, and the many products with pink ribbons that surrounded me. I then explained that I had metastatic breast cancer, stage IV, and that it was terminal, it will kill me.

He said, “No one dies of breast cancer anymore, my Mom died of it, but they fixed it.”

My heart sank, for more than one reason.

How do you think the Pink Ribbon culture has harmed those with stage 4?

The Pink Ribbon culture has overwhelmed us with profit minded individuals and corporations who claim to be altruistic in their goals. I’m sure most people are quite sick of pink and zone out when pink is shoved in their face, not just during Pinktober, but all year long. I know I am. Quite sick of it. But breast cancers association with pink is ingrained in our lives and I doubt it will be going anywhere soon, and I’d like to see the focus on donations and fundraising shift almost fully towards research and education.

Mainstream media could help change direction, but I’m afraid that with the pink, comes the desire to show the happy survivor, the hope and the dreams, rather than the approximate 30% of us with breast cancer who will become metastatic and die. This attitude has been slightly changing of late, let’s hope the momentum continues.

The pink ribbon, originally salmon coloured, was introduced to create a much needed awareness of breast cancer. And while breast cancer awareness is still important in many countries, awareness of metastatic breast cancer is sorely lacking in all. The messages from these awareness campaigns have sanitized our disease, not to mention partially obliterated the reason behind the original intent of the pink ribbon movement. Pink ribbon campaigns in the marketplace are quite lucrative, a great way to bring in consumer dollars for any end product, from toiletries and pink hammers to pornography. But where are those funds going? We need donations to count, research is key.

Recently the Susan G. Komen corporation put out a new campaign using a woman with stage IV breast cancer as their highlighted warrior. I’m encouraged that they are no longer hiding stage IV in the back room, however, the message is wrong. Again.

“Don’t let breast cancer win.”

No one living with metastatic breast cancer has a choice in the matter, we aren’t losers, but breast cancer WILL kill us. The statement on Komen’s stage IV survivor ad, as well as others I’ve read in various promotions, place the blame directly at those of us living with this disease. It’s our fault if we die, we didn’t fight hard enough. That’s the message. It’s insulting, insensitive, inappropriate, and complete bullshit.

In the US the message that seems most prevalent in the pink ribbon campaigns is that early detection saves lives. The truth is, early detection does not prevent metastases. Plain and simple. If you have early stage breast cancer, it can come back, metastasize, turn your life upside down and eventually cause death. The market seems saturated with misguided information and greed, the focus has been corrupted, change is needed.

I personally stay away from anything that says “Komen.” Their message, their million dollar plus legal fights to keep “for the cure” to themselves, and the questionably high salary that the their founder takes home, are all concerning. It is my personal opinion that they are the bully foundation for what is known as the bully cancer. And why are we known as the bully cancer? Probably due to the pink ribbon culture.

There are other organizations that direct a much greater percentage of funds towards research verses awareness. The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation is one of those organizations, and is transparent regarding fund allocation.

METAvivor‘s mission is quite clear, 100% of all donations goes towards metastatic research. Please check them out if you want more information.

Breast cancer doesn’t kill you until it metastasizes, yet stage IV seems mostly ignored within the Pink Ribbon culture. At least that’s how I felt a few years ago and I don’t feel all that differently right now. I wrote about my views in two posts, starting with Fifty Shades of Pink, back in 2013. That post will link to the next, my rant. At that time, I did not think I’d still be alive come 2015.

No amount of positive thinking is going to change the outcome of metastatic breast cancer. Research will.

What advice would you give someone who truly does want to help the breast cancer community, especially those with metastatic breast cancer?

Educate yourself, share the reality of breast cancer, share the truth of metastatic breast cancer, and don’t be afraid to talk with those of us living with MBC.

Be mindful that many of us, especially those with mets, don’t care about saving the ta-ta’s, boobie’s, the girls. Many of us don’t even have breasts. We care about saving lives. Life goes on after your breasts are amputated. We want parents to raise their children and watch their children grow, couples to enjoy the years together that they hoped for. We want to enjoy our lives and live without debilitating side effects, no matter our ages.

Many of us are insulted by the facebook games and various campaigns that go around claiming they are spreading awareness of breast cancer. One example was the popular no-bra day. I feel those games are trivializing our condition, and continuing to sexualize our disease. Every day is no-bra for some of us. This type of activity is not helpful. Those who play the games, and those who see them, are most assuredly fully aware of breast cancer.

Please visit these organizations for information on breast cancer and MBC:

Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation
Breast Cancer Consortium
BCSM (Breast Cancer Social Media) Community
LBBC (Living Beyond Breast Cancer)
MBCN (Metastatic Breast Cancer Network)
METAvivor

How can someone diagnosed with early stage breast cancer be a good ally to those with stage 4?

Once immersed in life with metastatic breast cancer I quickly became knowledgable with respect to it’s randomness and ultimate end. I then realized that when I was diagnosed and dealing with stage III breast cancer I didn’t have a clue about metastatic breast cancer. I had pamphlets, and one book that my original oncologist contributed to, which I read, though I’m not sure the very real possibility of becoming metastatic sunk in. I’m going to be just fine! I’ve had my surgery and treatments, I’m outta here!

I’d like to think that landscape is changing, people with early stage disease are better informed, personally informed, in your face informed, and not just handed a few things to read. But, it’s probably more likely that because I’m now fully immersed, I am fully aware, and because those I write and talk with are fully aware, I often assume others are as well.

We have work to do. Education is so important. The reality is hard to swallow but necessary to accept. That’s how change happens.

Keep in mind that those of us who were not diagnosed with stage IV from the start, once walked in your shoes. Living with stage IV, metastatic breast cancer, is in some ways similar to going through the various treatments for early stage breast cancer, two differences being that our treatments are forever, and our condition worsens until breast cancer kills us. There are obviously other differences, but hopefully my point makes sense.

Please remember that your breast cancer can come back at any time, I’m not trying to be a fear monger and certainly don’t wish you to live with constant dread, but I feel it’s important to remain realistic and vigilant.

Metastatic breast cancer is a widespread global killer of both sexes, young, old, and in between. In 2012, 524865 women and 3324 men died of metastatic breast cancer. Many MBC deaths go unreported as such, therefore the true numbers are higher.

If you wish to help us be heard, educate yourself about Metastatic Breast Cancer (stage IV), don’t pretend it doesn’t exist, and help us spread it’s reality.

Change is on the horizon! I might even live to see some of it. That’d be cool.

I’d like to thank Lara Huffman for allowing me this opportunity to share my views and concerns with respect to metastatic breast cancer.

You can read my story, rants, and musings at Art of Breast Cancer and if you are so inclined, follow me on Facebook, twitter, google+, and pinterest.

Fare thee well, Lisa

A prominent voice in the breast cancer community, Lisa Bonchek Adams, died of metastatic breast cancer last week.  I followed her on Twitter and Facebook, and I read as much of her writing as I could.   She was initially diagnosed with early stage breast cancer.  She underwent all the treatment for early stage breast cancer, including having an oopherectomy.    Lisa writes about that here.   She did everything she was supposed to do treatment-wise, yet she still fell into the 30 percent category of those whose breast cancer recurred stage 4.

As someone with early stage breast cancer, her story is bone-chilling, frightening to me.   My biggest fear used to be developing breast cancer like my mom, and that’s happened.  My biggest fear now: my breast cancer coming back stage 4, and I die at a young age just like her.  Stage 4 is the nightmare.  It’s my nightmare, and at the same time, it’s made me beyond appreciative for my current good bill of health.  I feel a heightened sense of panic and anxiety every time I visit with my oncologist and that won’t ever change.

I won’t turn my back and pretend that metastatic breast cancer doesn’t exist because for so many, my nightmare is their reality.  I have come to accept that this may happen to me, but I won’t ignore the fact that approximately 40,000 die of this disease every year.   I won’t ignore those like Lisa, and so many others who died of a disease packaged up in a prettysexycool pink exterior.

Lisa did not subscribe to the Pink Ribbon Culture.  She was critical of Komen.  She railed against the Pink Ribbon Culture with open, honest talk about the disease, and its effects.  She talked openly with her three children about her disease and its ultimate outcome.  Since I barely remember my mother because my parents shielded me from the last six months of her life, I appreciated Lisa’s honesty with her children.  I wished my parents hadn’t shielded me so much, then perhaps I would have a memory of my own mother.

Lisa also didn’t subscribe to the cancer pep talks, and in a May 2013 Salon article, she commented:

“I don’t need to be told to fight the good fight to beat it or the key is to just stay strong or that it’s mind over matter.  You force me to assert my knowledge, insist upon my diagnosis, explain the desperate nature of my disease, spend my time defending my sentence.”

After her death, a friend of mine with Stage 4 breast cancer posted something Lisa wrote entitled “When I Die” on Facebook.  Here’s a snippet from that post:

Don’t try to comfort my children by telling them I’m an angel watching over them from heaven or that I’m in a better place:

There is no better place to me than being here with them.

They have learned about grief and they will learn more.

That is part of it all.

(For all those who believe that a positive attitude is all you need to beat breast cancer, how would a positive attitude ever trump a parent’s desire to see their children grow up?  Riddle me that, Batman.)

While I often refer to my mother as my guardian angel, the second line really punched me in the gut: “There is no better place to me than being here with them.”  Oh my heart, it hurts.  As a woman whose had breast cancer and the daughter of a woman who died of the same disease, I gained insight into what my mom had to have been feeling as she knew her time was limited.

If you, dear Get Up Swinging readers, want to help those with metastatic breast cancer and honor Lisa’s memory, then you can do so here.

Lisa didn’t lose her battle or a years-long fight.  She died of metastatic breast cancer at the age of 45.  The metastatic breast cancer community lost a powerful voice and advocate, but her words will live on.

Mets Monday: Susan

Susan

When were you diagnosed and at what age?  What type of breast cancer ?

I was diagnosed in August 28th 2013 after a PET/CT scan. I had just turned 43 years.  My cancer is ER/PR+ HER2-. I don’t have the BRCA mutation.20150223315713253

What is life like as a metser?  

My life in a nutshell is all about managing my pain. It’s a full-time job. I take Exemestane, it causes joint pain. However, for me, that pain has caused inflammation in my joints so I’ve had to be on steroids for my knees and I just had injections in the Bursa’s of my hips. Then there is the radiation damage to my right ribs. The lesion caused pain and I had it radiated. In doing that I now have nerve damage and take Cymbalta to help with that. To further complicate things, I have now fractured that particular rib and the pain of that coupled with nerve pain makes it much more than a fractured rib. The pain makes it difficult to breath and move in certain ways. I also take morphine – long and short acting and Tylenol.

Aside from the pain, I try to concentrate on making memories for and with my son so when he looks back he can recall happy times and events and not a ‘sick’ mom.

What type of misconceptions about breast cancer have you encountered? 

I’ve encountered many misconceptions when it comes to breast cancer. The biggest one is that it’s the better” cancer to have and its curable. Curable, it is most definitely not and there is NO such thing as ‘good’ cancer. It all sucks. Personally, the biggest misconception I’ve had to deal with is people saying to me: “You look great!  You don’t look sick at all!!”  I’m not your stereotypical cancer patient. I’ve not lost my hair and I’ve gained weight from meds, not lost as some do. To look at me, you would never know I was dealing with a terminal illness. But on the inside I’m a wreck. Riddled with pain and exhaustion.

The Pink Ribbon has done such a disservice to the entire Breast Cancer community. Instead of educating everyone on the fact that metastatic breast cancer is possible for 30% of those diagnosed early. By cloaking breast cancer in a cloud of “check your breasts, have a mammogram, get your cancer diagnosed early, make it to 5 years and you have been cured forever.” That is simply untrue and some women have a false sense of hope and are very defensive when the metastatic community comes around. Stage 4 people are breast cancer’s dirty little secret. Which is why there is such a lack in funding for research. If you don’t acknowledge it and continue to deny then it’s not happening.

What advice would you give someone who truly does want to help the breast cancer community, especially those with metastatic breast cancer?

For anyone that wants to help the breast cancer community, I would recommend getting educated by other groups aside from Komen. Organizations like: Deadline 2020, METAvivor and LBBC have good information and are pro-research. Understanding that research is the key to a cure and not running races is a huge step in the right direction.

How can someone diagnosed with early stage breast cancer be a good ally to those with stage 4?

Being an ally to metastatic patients means understanding and educating yourself about ALL the breast cancers out there. Everyone’s breast cancer is individual. It’s not like getting the flu and everyone basically has the same symptoms. My ER/PR+ HER2- cancer will be different from someone else’s triple negative. Everyone has different treatment. It’s not one size fits all. No matter what kind of breast cancer someone has everyone should support and get behind research. Research helps us all.

Breast cancer is NOT a game

I generally don’t participate in these BUT… Haha, you should not have liked or commented. Now you have to pick from one of these below and post it as your status. This is THE 2015 BREAST CANCER AWARENESS game. Don’t be a spoil sport, pick your poison from one of these and change your status, 1) Damn diarrhea 2) Just used my boobs to get out of a speeding ticket 3) How do you get rid of foot fungus 4) No toilet paper, goodbye socks. 5) I think I’m in love with someone, what should I do? 6) I’ve decided to stop wearing underwear 7) it’s confirmed, I’m going to be a Mommy/Daddy! 8)Just won $900 on a scratch card. 9) Its final, we’re moving to Mexico to be beach bums! Post with no explanations.

Oh dear goodness.  Not this bullshit again.  Why is this still a thing?   Why hasn’t this “game” been killed in a fire? You know what I want to do whenever I see this form of slactivism in my social media news feeds.

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Breast cancer is not a game.  Repeat after me: it is not a game.  It certainly is not a shitty game which tells you absolutely nothing about breast cancer.  For real, what does that game above tell you about breast cancer?  After reading that, did you learn anything about breast cancer that you didn’t know before?  I mean, it’s telling you there’s awareness going on.  What are you aware of now that you weren’t before?  If you didn’t know that breast cancer existed before coming across the 2015 BREAST CANCER AWARENESS GAME, then please give me the address of the rock you were living under.  Were you living in a land free of pink ribbons?  (Take me there!)

You know what I think whenever I see this pop up in any of my news feed: you could care less about breast cancer, and I need to unfriend you right the hell now.  I’m not even kidding.  If anyone who knows me  and what I have gone through (i.e., lumpectomy, chemo, radiation and double mastectomy) can participate in such a game and not realize how demeaning and offensive this is to anyone going through breast cancer treatment.  I never saw what I went through as some cutesy game, and I certainly don’t view my mother’s death from this disease as LOL.

Lisa Bonchek Adams, who has stage 4 breast cancer, wrote this spot-on piece entitled “Breast cancer is (still) not a Facebook game”:

The above instructions are not awareness. This is offensive. Breast cancer is not a joke, awareness does not come from sharing the color of your underwear or your marital status (the whole “tee-hee, wink-wink” attitude adds to my disgust). Even if it ended up on TV, that still would not be educating people about breast cancer they didn’t know before. All it does is show the world that lots of people are willing to post silly things as their status updates.

She also wrote:

Education underlies awareness. To even call something a game and honestly believe it’s doing anything to help any aspect of this disease is delusional.

While you’re playing games, (mostly) women are dying of metastatic breast cancer.   We have been running and racing for a cure that has not happened.   Where’s the cure?  The below infographic is proof of how little most people know, despite all this awareness.

Metastatic_Breast_Cancer__Infographic

50 FREAKING PERCENT believe that breast cancer progresses because patients either did not take the “right” treatment or preventative treatments.  Are you kidding me?   That is unacceptable.  Is this why we treat those living and dying of metastatic breast cancer as some dirty little secret nobody should talk about because most people think they brought it upon themselves?   That is so far from the truth that it should be filed under fiction.

Did you know that 30 percent of those diagnosed with early stage breast cancer have a metastatic breast cancer, i.e., the breast cancer that kills?  WAS THAT FACT RELAYED TO YOU WHILE YOU’RE PLAYING THE GAME?

Awareness does not save lives.  It doesn’t.  Despite recent media articles telling you that breast cancer rates have dropped, don’t believe the screaming headlines.

Frankly, I’m tired breast cancer being portrayed as the feel good cancer and being held up as a shining example for early detection which works sometimes or most times but not all the time and that part of the messaging is conveniently left out of every discussion about early detection. It’s buzzkill, it detracts from the message that mammograms are helping save lives. Mammograms are detecting cancer earlier and earlier thanks to the constant improvements being made in the imagine, but early detection is just that. Early Detection. Early detection is not a guarantee.

If you or anyone really want to help, tell these Facebook game players to sign this petition.   “I ask that Komen commit at least 50% of total donations to medical research and innovation rather than to awareness and education. I request all other breast cancer non-profits do the same.”  Donate to Metavivor.  Do something meaningful.

Just don’t play these games.  Please.  Can you really play a game making light of the deaths of so many?

Mom10