I was pretty excited when I graduated to 6 month scans in early 2019 after a stable year of being on Ibrance. Excited because that meant I was doing well and didn't have to deal with the scanxiety every 3 months. I learned to hold my breath and only plan for the time between scans. … Continue reading Breast Cancer Facts, 10/17 →

This is also where the art and science of medicine comes in. I've learned to tell my doctor all of my symptoms, whether or not I think they are important. For my most recent progression, I had no new physical symptoms, but the sneaky bastards were proliferating merrily. This is why my doctor scans me … Continue reading Breast Cancer Facts, 10/16 →

In 2018, I went to the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium for the first time. It was overwhelming and I felt in over my head at many of the lectures. One statistic stuck out like a sore thumb .... lung cancer has been the leading cause of death by cancer in women for many years. … Continue reading Breast Cancer Facts, 10/15 →

Men do get breast cancer. The men active in social media remind me, when I start to rail against the "awareness" campaigns, that they do still need awareness. Most people don't understand that because men have mammary glands, while not usually as developed as women's mammary glands, they can develop cancer in the same ducts. … Continue reading Breast Cancer Facts, 10/14 →

Out of the entire month of Breast cancer awareness, those of us who are Stage IV get one day. ONE.FREAKING.DAY. Someone was having a laugh at our expense when we were assigned the 13th day of the month. Most people are so superstitious about the 13th that most buildings don't have a 13th floor. And … Continue reading Breast Cancer Facts, 10/13 →

There is controversy about how to figure out which research studies are actually focused on metastatic patients. I've read the titles of research studies that contained the word "metastatic," but once you look at the purpose of the study, it is clearly not for stage IV patients. Reading research studies and discovering that the title … Continue reading Breast Cancer Facts, 10/12 →

A chronic disease is one that can be managed such that a person's life expectancy is not changed. I was 38 when I was told that my life expectancy had just shrunk to 2-3 years. Think about that, for just a second, rather than looking at another 40 to 50 years based on the longevity … Continue reading Breast Cancer Facts, 10/11 →

The numbers we use to attempt to give some shape to the astonishing amount of people literally dying of this disease are estimates. We don't have real numbers because we're not being counted. Think about that ... we count all the early stagers, somewhat obsessively. But those of us who are actively dying, there is … Continue reading Breast Cancer Facts, 10/10 →

This particular statistic is a little old. In 2019, it is estimated to be over 45,000 men and women. That divides into 116 men and women in the US who die EVERY SINGLE DAY. WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE!!?

The variety amongst breast cancer subtypes are myriad. Two people may even have the same subtype but at different concentrations and their cancer may behave very differently. Understanding your own subtype is extremely important. Each person is an expert of their own body and brings a huge part of the equation to the table.