We have the ATM mutation in my family. It is a germline mutation similar to BRCA and includes breast and other types of hormonally driven cancers. I don't fully understand the details of how it works, but we have seen in my family that the mutation seems to have a more aggressive affect in each … Continue reading Breast Cancer Facts, 10/27 →

The first time I saw this statistic, I was floored. I'm not a medical person, but the sheer number of factors that could lead to a breast cancer diagnosis is overwhelming. I know a lot of people who stay in this space, who search and search and search for the why behind their diagnosis. I'm … Continue reading Breast Cancer Facts, 10/26 →

This information demonstrates why we need more funding and more organizations involved in raising funding for research. The government is still a large source of funding for many trials, with Big Pharma a major contender. I'm a pretty big fan of capitalism and the freedom for people to work hard and succeed outside of the … Continue reading Breast Cancer Facts, 10/25 →

The amount of money and time that are necessary to get a drug to market is astounding. I'm well aware these numbers may be a little old since the cost of everything increases over time. Yet, this is our system, this is how it works in the US.

Trials are complicated. There are many hurdles that patients have to get over before they can participate. Not everyone is a perfect fit for a trial but the fact that people are willing to participate and put their own lives and quality of life on the line is truly amazing.

I didn't get this until I started researching and reading everything I could get my hands on. I wrote a blog post about this concept: here. People who participate in clinical trials are amazing and they help all of us.

One of the most prevalent statements/responses I've heard after I tell people that I'm terminal is "but you look so good." I get the surprise. Sometimes I look in the mirror and marvel that I don't see that many long term changes. That wasn't always the case.

Another way to say this is that when one is early stage, then carpet bombing chemotherapy techniques are used. Many of these techniques are based on the mustard gas used in World War II and decimates both the cancer cells and fast growing normal cells. This is why you lose hair, taste, the lining of … Continue reading Breast Cancer Facts, 10/20 →

I've been metastatic for over 2 years and I've never gotten to No Evidence of Disease (NED). That is partially because my cancer is sneaky and aggressive. It's also because I have bone Mets. When breast cancer spreads to the bone, it literally eats the bone cells. This means that once those Mets are nuked … Continue reading Breast Cancer Facts, 10/19 →

I spent some time writing a full blog post on this issue, which you can read here. Scanxiety is a real thing and it arises when the worst thing that's ever happened to you came about because of a scan and could happen again, after another scan. It's about knowing what could happen and knowing … Continue reading Breast Cancer Facts, 10/18 →