My husband and I went to see my oncologist on Tuesday to get the biopsy results on my rib. He told us that the results were positive, that there are several cells of cancer located on my rib, and that the mass as a whole is 2.9cm and is located about 1 inch from my spine. I do not have bone cancer; the cancer is not inside my rib. I had absolutely no idea that it was there until a “spot” showed up both on the nuclear bone scan and the PET scan, hence getting the biopsy last week. The cancer cells are similar to the cancer I had before, so it is the same type, breast cancer, so I am diagnosed with Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer. It is metastatic breast cancer because my originating cancer was breast cancer, and it has now spread from the breast to another part of my body.
Once the biopsy results were in, my oncologist and my radiation oncologist spoke and determined that putting me through radiation would not only be challenging to treat but also a waste of time. It is difficult to treat me because I have cancer in two very different areas of my body, my neck, and back. They decided it would be a waste of time because they are convinced that I most likely have cancer elsewhere in my body that is too small to show up in scans. So they decided that we should treat my entire body instead of just the areas where we know I have cancer. Surgery is not an option because there is no point in opening me up when I most likely have cancer elsewhere. Plus, surgery in both areas is quite risky due to major blood vessels, arteries, and the spot on my rib being so close to my spine. So with all of those facts in place, I will be starting medication on Monday.
Stage 4 cancer has no cure. As odd as it sounds, I am lucky that we are dealing with breast cancer because there are many drug choices for treatment, and the medical world is always coming out with new and improved drugs. Why is that? Because breast cancer is the leading cancer in the US, with over 2.26 million cases per year, followed very closely by lung cancer at 2.21 million cases per year. Stage 4 breast cancer ads constantly barrage us on TV, and that is why. Not all stage 4 metastatic breast cancer meds are chemotherapy drugs, but I will be on a chemotherapy drug called iBrance. No, I will not lose my hair while on iBrance, even though it is chemotherapy which I am very thankful for. What is sad about iBrance is that it is $18,000 a month; no one can afford that, so thankfully, there is an aid to apply for to get it free for a year. I will also have a new inhibitor in an injection called Faslodex. These two medications are often paired together with favorable results in killing cancer, keeping it from coming back, and extending life.
It is hoped that iBrance being chemotherapy will kill the cancer in my body, and Faslodex with replace the current inhibitor that I am taking, which is Anastrozole because it didn’t work. The Anastrozole might have kept my cancer from spreading and growing more, but it did not keep cancer from coming back by lowering the estrogen in my system, which is its primary job. I have estrogen-driven breast cancer, so I have to take an inhibitor. I took Anastrozole for two years out of 10 before my cancer returned. My treatment plan is as follows…I will be taking iBrance for 21 days, and then I will stop taking it for seven days, then that cycle will repeat. On Monday, I will start my Faslodex injections, with the first three injections being one injection every two weeks and then once a month after that. In about three months, I will have a PET scan to see if there is any change in the size of my tumors. If the medications are working, my tumors should be smaller; if there is no change, my medication will most likely be changed. If my tumors are persistent, I may have to undergo infusion chemotherapy again, but we will try to avoid that. I don’t have any details about how long I will be on the medications, but I suspect it will be at the very least until having a clear PET scan; but I will find out for sure when I see my oncologist on Monday.
I will post again when I have more information about the length of my treatment and how my first injection appointment went. Take care, everyone!