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 →

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 →