2020....in with a big bang

I had predicted 2020 would not be boring for us for long, I just didn’t expect it to happen before mid-January. And I would take boring over the news we got last week any day.

It seems as if cancer isn’t done with me.....my tumor marker (Ca 27-29) has been in normal range since I finished chemo in January. Normal being anything under 38. In August it was actually 24. This lab is not the best lab to be used for recurrence, but it’s all breast cancer patients have.
Well, in November my Ca 27-29 was elevated at 54. And I moderately freaked out as I had been fighting all the lung/cough/asthma stuff for 5 months by then. But the cancer center was convinced it was elevated because I had shingles a couple weeks prior to having it drawn and they suspected that had caused it to be up. So the plan was re-draw a month later. A month later was December 26th and it was again elevated. Only this time it was 74 and clearly showed no signs of being a false positive.
So we decided to start with a CT of my chest, abdomen and pelvis, which would basically cover any areas in question.
The results are not good, as it appears my breast cancer has spread to my bones. To my spine and pelvis/hip area to be specific.
My upper back-thoracic area has 3 vertebra with lesions at T4, T7 and T9. And my in my pelvis my ischial tuberosity (think of the bony part of your butt cheek) has a pretty good size lesion that is 5x2 cm. Which explains why my hip has been hurting for several weeks. I felt like I had strained it doing some workouts and so I kept doing some stretching and yoga thinking that would help-little did I know!?

I haven’t seen the Oncologist yet, but she called me and we briefly talked about my options;
because I have significant pain in my hip that is not going to go away since it’s being eaten up with cancer, we are going to do some radiation treatments to help control the pain. Hopefully as early as next week with meeting the Radiation Oncologist and getting that started.

The drugs I’ll be starting are
Xgeva- a shot which is to help prevent fractures in patients with bone cancer and bone diseases.
Faslodex-also an injection used in estrogen positive breast cancers, also to help bony spread.
Kisqali-a pill used in conjunction with the Faslodex for metastatic breast cancer.

That’s what we know so far. I’m working and kind of holding it together. Dr Sheehan is trying to come up with something that I can take for the hip pain that’s not narcotic-so I can work.

I’m sorry if this is how some of you are finding out-I needed to tell my kids and family and that took everything in me to do it without crying.
Which I did anyway.
I’m mad and angry and in disbelief and pissed and want to scream and throw things.
Which I plan to do.

So for now ‘it is what it is’.....
Our familiar motto.
Much love to you all, we will keep you updated as we find out more in the days to come.
I might be down, but don’t count me out, people with breast cancer bony mets can live for years, and I assured my husband he can’t get rid of me that easy. There are lots of great drugs on the market and new advances being made all the time to stop this terrible disease.

And I plan to continue to be a survivor.