Nina, diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer at 34, shares her experience of navigating the complexities of her illness and advocating for her health. She initially noticed a hardening under her left armpit. A year later, the lump grew and her breast showed signs of dimpling. A mammogram and ultrasound finally revealed an abnormal lump and a biopsy confirmed stage 3 breast cancer. Shortly after, scans showed the cancer had spread to her spine, escalating her diagnosis to stage 4.
Nina quickly shifted into a problem-solving mode, managing her treatment plan, scheduling appointments, and staying organized amidst the overwhelming process. She expressed how emotionally challenging it was to balance her feelings while supporting the emotions of those around her.
Her treatment plan included chemotherapy, followed by a lumpectomy, and radiation on both her breast and spine. She continues to undergo regular infusions and medications to keep the cancer at bay. While the chemotherapy caused a lot of side effects, including hair loss, neuropathy, mouth sores, fatigue, and brain fog, she found strength in adapting to these challenges. Despite needing to remain in treatment indefinitely, her current scans show no evidence of disease.
One of the most challenging aspects of her cancer experience was induced menopause, which affected her physically and emotionally, particularly the loss of her ability to carry children. The lifestyle changes brought about by cancer were also difficult for Nina. However, she found solace in documenting her experience online, helping others understand the realities of living with cancer, especially young women and women of color.
Sharing her story became a way to raise awareness and a form of therapy. Nina’s advice to others is to advocate for themselves and to practice radical acceptance of the life changes that cancer brings. She emphasizes the importance of self-love and reevaluating what truly matters during difficult times.
Name: Nina M.
Diagnosis:
Breast Cancer
Staging:
Stage 4
Symptoms:
Hardening under the armpit
Lump & dimpling in the left breast
Treatments:
Chemotherapy
Surgery: lumpectomy
Radiotherapy
Hormone-blocking medication
Targeted therapy
This interview has been edited for clarity. This is not medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider for treatment decisions.
Interviewed by: Taylor Scheib Edited by: Chris Sanchez
Francina is a breast cancer survivor, a mother of 2, and a grandmother of 4. She enjoys traveling, going on cruises, and spending time with family and friends. Francina is an advocate for cancer awareness, working with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and the Sister to Sister Alliance to educate communities on cancer prevention and the importance of early detection.
Francina discovered her breast cancer during a routine mammogram. After further tests, she was informed that the mass was cancerous. Despite the shock, she remained calm and turned to her faith, vowing to use her journey to bring glory to God. Her treatment journey included two surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation, and thanks to biomarker testing, she received a treatment tailored to her specific cancer type. After going through these challenges, she is now cancer-free, and has been so for 6 and a half years.
Throughout her journey, Francina relied on her faith, support from family, and her church community. She credits her strength and positive mindset for helping her fight cancer, as well as the help of a close friend who accompanied her through treatment and recovery. She emphasizes the importance of self-breast exams, early detection, and knowing one’s family medical history.
Name: Francina B.
Diagnosis:
Breast Cancer
Staging:
Stage 2B
Initial Symptoms:
None
Treatments:
Surgery: lumpectomy; removal of cancerous sentinel nodes
Thank you to Abbvie, Genmab, and Karyopharm for their support of our patient education program! The Patient Story retains full editorial control over all content.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length. This is not medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider for treatment decisions.
You know, God has given me another chance and the opportunities afforded me not only enable me to use my voice, but also to enjoy life.
And that’s exactly what I’m doing.
Introduction
My name is Francina. I’m a breast cancer survivor. I am a mother of two, a daughter and a son and a Nana of 4. 2 boys and 2 girls. I am one who loves to travel. I love going on cruises. And I also love spending time with my family and friends.
I’m enjoying life. You know, God has given me another chance and the opportunities afforded me enable me not only to use my voice, but also to enjoy life. And that’s exactly what I’m doing.
Pre-diagnosis
Initial Symptoms
Well, I didn’t experience any symptoms. It was my annual routine mammogram, and maybe about a few days, maybe a week later, I got a phone call from my doctor.
They needed to do another mammogram and also ultrasound because they had seen a mass.
They wasn’t really sure what it was, but they were concerned.
Diagnosis
So I went and I got my mammogram done. I got my ultrasound done, and I was on my way to the gym.
As soon as I get to the gym, I get a phone call from my doctor that the mass was cancerous.
And she said, I’m going to set you up with other doctors, you pick what you want and go from there.
… you don’t hear everything that’s being said because you’re still trying to figure out them 3 words. “I have cancer.”
Reaction to the Diagnosis
And so I’m sitting in my car and so I call my pastor and I call her aunt.
And after that I said, you know what, God? Because I never questioned Him. I never asked Him why. I said, If I’m going to carry this, it’s going to be to Your glory.
I said, I’m not going to call my children yet because I know they’re going to have many questions. So let me go, wait and see and talk to my doctor, you know, get information so that I can share with them.
My concern was having to go home and tell my husband. So I went into the gym and I worked out. I went home and my husband was in the bedroom, and I went and told him, and immediately it was negativity. You know, you go there thinking the worst. And so I had to throw my hand up and said, I don’t receive that. And I walked out the room. And so it was a process.
I had a friend that I went to talk to. I used to take care of her son for 2 and a half years, and he had passed away. So I went to her, you know, and let her know what was going on. And she’s a godsend.
I thought that her son was my reason. No, it was her because she went with me through my whole cancer journey from day 1: treatments, surgery, changing my bandages. I mean, the whole bit. And even took notes that I didn’t even know she had taken.
Because, you know, when you go to see your doctor and they tell you that you have cancer, you know, your mind is all over the place. And you don’t hear everything that’s being said because you’re still trying to figure out them 3 words: I have cancer.
Treatment
Options
So my surgeon was very compassionate. He explained everything to me until I understood. He gave me options.
Then he said, you go home and you pray about it, and you come back and let me know what your decision is.
And in the process of having the lumpectomy done they found in my sentinel nodes that I had 3 cancerous cells. That means it was outside of the mass.
And so 2 weeks later, I had to have another surgery where they had to go into my armpit. And you have 3 tiers where they took out 2 tiers of cancers.
And it was clear. Clear margin. So the cancer had not spread. So that was a blessing.
So then I had to have a biopsy done so they would know what type of cancer I had.
Chemotherapy and radiation
So in the process of finding out what type of cancer I had, I was able to get a treatment that was tailor-made for my specific cancer. So I had the first round.
I had 4 rounds of chemo every 2 weeks, and then I had to have 12 rounds of another chemo.
The first chemo was doxorubicin, what we call Red Devil. That’s really a powerful, potent treatment.
And then I had paclitaxel, which was for 3 months.
After that, I had either 32 or 33 rounds of radiation.
And from there I was cancer-free. That was 6 and a half years ago.
Being Cancer-Free
And it was due to biomarker testing that at the time I did not know I had it done. I just found out the early part of this year. And it was that that contributed to the type of treatment that I needed for my specific cancer, which worked.
And like I said, to God be all the glory because I am cancer-free. I am healed.
And the moment when the doctor pulled me in and said, hey, your scans are clear. Oh, I mean, I was ecstatic, but I already knew because I had a conversation with God, you know, and he gave me 3 words as well. And his 3 words was: I got you. And when God said he got you, he got you.
So I never was stressed or worried about my cancer journey at all.
“I had people”
You know, everybody says something different, but it was just the stress mentally, you know, physically and emotionally of going through and the challenges that I had because of it.
I had to stop working, I was no longer able to work. And so in the process, I exhausted my savings. And so I had no health, no health care.
And so I applied for assistance, but I didn’t qualify, and I had no income.
But I had people.
My social worker was awesome. And she connected me to organizations as well as my niece, because I had a sister that passed away from breast cancer in 2015. So she wasn’t as fortunate.
So I used my voice on behalf of her as well as those that are next to me, but also coming behind me.
Advice Francina Wants to Share
Get tested
So based on my experience, I now advocate testing.
You know, we have to advocate. We have to stop being silent, being quiet, and to let people know cancer does not have to be a death sentence.
Early detection is key. And so, you know, you want to make a point of people to go ahead and get their screenings done. And those that are not old enough to have mammograms to do self-breast exams monthly.
So I’m about educating and giving information, you know, sharing my story, my journey so that I can help others along the way.
And my advocacy has also extended to me urging my daughter to get tested too. And she does get tested, every 6 months. And I also have a sister on my father’s side who also gets tested.
My niece also gets tested because it was her mother that passed away, and I’m her aunt. So, you know, you got to look at that connection. So they all are proactive in getting their screenings. They get MRIs and do self-breast exams as well. I have 2 granddaughters I’m trying to teach about doing self-breast checks.
When we go to health fairs, there are a lot of young adults that are not old enough to get mammograms, don’t know how to do self-breast exams, don’t even know about it. So I’ve asked them, you know, when you go get your physicals, do you talk to your physician? They say, no.
I said, when you go, you ask them to not only perform it, but to show you how to do it yourself, because a lot of times people find those lumps themselves. Also, they’ll be the first to see a change in their body.
So they need to know what to look for. So we like to educate and give information so they are aware.
Link with support groups
Connecting with support groups helped, surrounding myself with positive people. And also learning from them about people who beat cancer. Not just seeing the success, but gathering information from them.
But it was also inspiring to see patients who are now 5 years, 10 years, 20 years cancer free. You know, that was the stuff that gave me something to push forward to.
That can help you through your journey, because there are a lot of people that have already been through what we’re going through so they can help us.
You know, they can be an encouragement and inspiration to us and also be there to support us.
Cancer doesn’t have me.
I’m going to be in control.
It’s not going to take me.
Develop a positive mindset
And also having a positive mindset was so important.
Cancer doesn’t have me. I’m going to be in control. It’s not going to take me.
I’m going to enjoy my life, you know, and do some of the things that maybe I wouldn’t have normally do.
But, you know, just to be an inspiration and encouragement to other people that listen, you can fight this, you can beat this, you can overcome this. You can still have quality of life.
Put your mind to do the things that you want to do, and surround yourself with positive people. Get connected to support groups.
Lean on family and friends
It was so amazing to be supported by my church family, their prayers, having them rally around you and cheer you on.
Plus the support from my family was so heartening. Because when I did finally tell my children, my daughter looked at me. Mom, she said, you know, you’re a strong woman, you’re going to beat this.
My son wanted to run and come to his mama. You know, but they all know that their mama is a fighter.
I’m not one to give up. I’m not one to quit. So I’m going to push. I’m going to press.
But my daughter, every time I look around, she was leaving Maryland, coming to see about her mama. If I didn’t sound right on the phone, she was there.
So, like I said, my family means a lot, because they see me doing my journey. But it also helps them too, as we’re creating memories and also leaving legacies that they can follow and continue with.
Be aware of any family history
Another key thing that I tell people is, know your family history.
See, when I was growing up you didn’t ask questions as a child. So now all your matriarchs and the patriarchs are no longer here.
You know, you don’t have the information. So it has to start from me with educating my children and my grandkids.
And I’m seeing me when I’m going through and understanding what I do and why I do it.
So with their support and the support of my friends, you know, I’m I believe I’m making a difference.
Learn about biomarkers and why they matter
I also wanted to talk a little bit about biomarkers and their importance. Basically, they get a sample from your tumor and they test it, you know, and then and it determines the type of cancer that you have.
Well, I’m still learning about biomarker testing, but what it did for me was it was able to target the type of cancer that I had. So a lot of people are not aware that they’ve had it done because, you know, you didn’t hear of it. Even my doctors, they didn’t tell me anything about biomarker testing.
It was my advocacy group that was discussing it because it’s something that we’re trying to get out there trying to talk with our lawmakers. Making that a policy. We’re not there yet. So we’re trying to get petitions and we’re educating, you know, our lawmakers. With personal stories.
That’s something that we could bring to the table when it comes to insurance companies, because right now, a lot of insurance companies will not pay for it because they feel that it’s experimental. But when you got these positive outcomes from people who have had it done to me, you know that makes it makes a difference.
So now they can go back and see, okay, what treatment would be best to combat this type of cancer. And so for me, that’s what they did.
So the regimen that I was on, even though it was hard, it was something that did what it needed to do. And that’s why I am cancer-free because it was targeted for my specific cancer.
It’s cost effective because, if you really don’t know what you what you’re dealing with, you don’t really know what type of treatment is best for that. You’re trying different regimens and it puts a lot of stress and strain on the patient.
But if you’re a doctor and you know something is targeted that this is going to work for this type of cancer, if you use this type of treatment, this medication, then, okay, you’re saving your patient, but you’re also giving that that person quality of life and also extending their life.
I want everybody to be advocates for themselves.
Because who knows your body better than you do?
Advocate for others—and yourself
Let me finish by sharing the most important efforts in the work I’m doing with the American Cancer Society when it comes to the black and African American community.
Bringing about awareness, equipping them, empowering them to get out there and to do what they need to do for themselves. Leading by example. Sharing my story with them and letting them know.
Again, cancer is not a death sentence. Early detection is key. We must get out there and do our screenings, and also do our monthly breast exams, and not allow fear to keep you from getting the care.
Because everybody deserves to have some type of quality care.
I want everybody to be advocates for themselves. Because who knows your body better than you do?
And sometimes you go to doctors and you tell them things are going on and they push you off. And my thing is, if you go to a doctor and they cannot do what you’re asking or requiring them to do, go somewhere else where somebody will.
Because there are people that have been diagnosed and they’re already stage 3. Stage 4. Whereas if they would have had it done initially, they may have caught it earlier.
So we have to also be advocates for ourselves. We deserve to have care. We deserve to be listened to and to be understood.
Special thanks again to Abbvie, Genmab, and Karyopharm for their support of our patient education program! The Patient Story retains full editorial control over all content.
Samantha’s Stage 4 ER+ PR+ HER2+ IDC Breast Cancer Story
Interviewed by: Taylor Scheib Edited by: Katrina Villareal
Samantha’s journey with stage 4 breast cancer began in March 2019 when she was 22. Living in Virginia with her husband and young daughter, she first noticed a lump in her breast. Initially dismissed by her primary care physician and an ultrasound tech as an infection, a biopsy eventually confirmed her cancer diagnosis. Despite the initial belief that her cancer was at stage 1, further tests revealed it had spread, making it stage 4 breast cancer.
Her treatment plan involved chemotherapy, which she had to stop early due to severe neuropathy, followed by a lumpectomy, radiation, hormone therapy, and targeted therapy. Despite significant side effects, she managed to maintain no evidence of disease (NED) for some time. After two years of hormone therapy, Samantha decided to take a break to try for a baby, which led to a successful pregnancy in April 2022.
However, during her pregnancy, she and her family moved to Alaska. While there, Samantha’s cancer recurred, causing severe back pain due to lesions in her spine and pelvis. Unable to travel back to Virginia without stabilizing her spine, she underwent surgery and later radiation before returning to her oncologist for a new treatment plan. She joined a clinical trial involving a new radium drug for bone metastases but had to leave it due to mixed results.
Samantha then resumed hormone therapy and targeted therapy with different drugs than before. Throughout her treatment, she emphasized the importance of careful decision-making, the support of her family, and maintaining a positive outlook.
Name: Samantha L.
Diagnosis:
Breast Cancer
Invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC)
ER+
PR+
HER2+
Staging:
Stage 4
Initial Symptom:
Lump in breast
Treatment:
Chemotherapy
Surgeries: Surgery: lumpectomy, spinal surgery (fractured vertebrae)
Radiation
Hormone therapy: anastrozole & letrozole
Targeted therapy: abemaciclib & ribociclib
This interview has been edited for clarity. This is not medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider for treatment decisions.
I went to my regular doctor who said it was nothing. I was so young that it couldn’t be breast cancer.
Introduction
My husband and I live in Virginia and have a 1-½-year old daughter. I was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer at 22 in March 2019.
Pre-diagnosis
Initial Symptoms
It was the day after Valentine’s Day. My husband and I weren’t married yet. He was my boyfriend at the time. My mom loves to celebrate Valentine’s with the family. The celebration had ended and we were watching TV. He hugged me from behind and squeezed me tight. When he did, I felt some pain in my left breast. I realized there was a lump.
PCP Appointment
I went to my regular doctor who said it was nothing. I was so young that it couldn’t be breast cancer. They told me to put a warm compress on it, but that didn’t do anything. They put me on antibiotics thinking it was an infection and, of course, that didn’t help.
They finally sent me for an ultrasound and the ultrasound tech looked at it and said, “This looks like an infection. You’re 22 and I’ve never seen breast cancer in a 22-year-old, so that’s not what it is. But just in case, you can get a biopsy if you want.”
Getting a Biopsy
I almost left the hospital and went home without doing anything about it. He said it wasn’t urgent, but there was an opening so I got the biopsy done.
When you’re 22 and recently graduated college, cancer is not on your mind at all.
Diagnosis
Biopsy Results
The results revealed abnormal cells, so I had to go in for a second biopsy. That was the one that told us that I had breast cancer.
Reaction to the Diagnosis
When you’re 22 and recently graduated college, cancer is not on your mind at all.
My breast surgeon called me on the day the abnormal cells came back and said, “You need to come in again.” I went in and that’s when she started to prepare me that it could be cancer. She ended up calling me when she found out that it was.
She told me she cleared out an appointment for me at the end of the day and that we should get more information about the hormone receptors at that point. She scheduled an appointment so that I could talk to my family and get all of our questions written down before the appointment.
Treatment
Discussing the Treatment Plan
I didn’t know anything. I thought it was stage 1. I went through it in stages, always thinking that it was the least concerning thing. I don’t think there’s a big shock. It came about over time as we had more questions and learned more about it.
She was suspicious right when I walked in. She wanted to check the lymph nodes under my arm because that’s the first place cancer spreads. My boyfriend, my parents, and a friend who’s a doctor came to the appointment with me. They all had questions and wanted to help me and know everything. They went into a separate room and she took me back and did the biopsy under my arm.
When we went back, she laid out a plan. It was March and she said we should be done with all active treatment by Christmas. She said the standard is chemotherapy and then surgery, which was going to be a lumpectomy or a mastectomy, and then radiation. Since my cancer was hormone-positive, I would be on hormone therapy for some years after.
The spot was more contained. They said it was probably cancer because the chemo shrunk it. Then we realized I was stage 4 breast cancer.
Chemotherapy
There were a few hiccups. I had to stop chemo early because Taxol (paclitaxel) was causing neuropathy in my fingers. It got too bad and my oncologist didn’t want permanent nerve damage to happen. I was a little bummed about stopping Taxol early because it made me feel like I wasn’t doing everything that I could, but it’s what happens when your side effects get too bad.
Originally, all of my doctors wanted me to do a double mastectomy because I was young. Younger women tend to choose a double mastectomy because it gives people peace of mind to make sure all of the breast tissue is removed and there’s no place for cancer to grow.
I had a scan where they saw a spot in one of my ribs. They weren’t positive it was cancer and it was in a weird location that they wouldn’t be able to biopsy it. We talked to neurosurgeons about removing it, but we weren’t sure if it was cancer.
When I had chemo and scans again, the spot was more contained. They said it was probably cancer because the chemo shrunk it. Then we realized I was stage 4 breast cancer.
Lumpectomy
At this point, mastectomy isn’t going to matter too much because the cancer has already spread past the breasts. If I do a lumpectomy, the recovery time is shorter so I could get started with radiation immediately after. They wanted to do radiation on the rib to target the spot that was seen in the scan since it couldn’t be removed with surgery.
I ended up doing a lumpectomy, which is weird because when you think about cancer when you don’t have it, you think you’d do the most drastic option possible. But when you’re faced with your options, you’re not always picking that for yourself and your situation.
Radiation
After the lumpectomy, I did radiation and finished that in November.
My case wasn’t as bad of a stage 4 breast cancer case, so we were hopeful that I was cured at that point and that getting pregnant would be fine.
Hormone Therapy & Targeted Therapy
I started hormone therapy and targeted therapy after radiation and did that for two years. Since I had radiation on that tiny spot on my rib, I had no evidence of disease (NED) on scans.
I was having a lot of side effects with hormone therapy and targeted therapy. Being NED for so long, I didn’t even know if these therapies were doing anything or just making me miserable. It was causing a lot of physical and mental side effects that were the hardest time in my life so far. Way harder than chemo, radiation, and the rest of it.
I wanted to stop early. My oncologist wanted me to get to three years, but I could only make it two.
Fertility Post-Treatment
I wanted to try having a baby so I asked him. He cited some recent studies about women who had breast cancer, stopped hormone therapy after two years, took a break, got pregnant, and then went back on treatment. The chances of their cancer reoccurring didn’t increase. Some people had their cancer come back and some people didn’t, but getting pregnant didn’t affect that.
However, the study was for stage 3 and below and not stage 4 breast cancer. Since I only had a tiny spot of cancer and it wasn’t in multiple places throughout my body, my case wasn’t as bad of a stage 4 breast cancer case, so we were hopeful that I was cured at that point and that getting pregnant would be fine.
I got off hormone therapy and targeted therapy. I started in November 2019 and ended in October 2021. I wasn’t having periods the whole time and then my cycles returned to normal. I felt amazing. I think it was because I wasn’t on hormones anymore. Then I got pregnant in April 2022.
You can’t let the fear of cancer coming back control your life. You can’t make every decision based on whether your cancer comes back or not.
Pregnancy was great. I still had all of the same pregnancy side effects, like nausea, but I was so used to being nauseous from treatment that it didn’t affect me. I just felt good that I wasn’t on medication. There were lingering side effects from both chemotherapy and targeted therapy. I still have hot and cold sensitivity in my fingers, toes, ears, and teeth. I have dry eyes.
It can be difficult because people don’t want their cancer to come back. They don’t want their child to be left without a mother. That’s the main worry people have. My philosophy on it is that you’re not a statistic. You don’t know what could happen in your life and you can’t let the fear of cancer coming back control your life. You can’t make every decision based on whether your cancer comes back or not.
If I can, then I will. If I feel good, then I’m going to do this or that. It’s not a decision that I made easily. My husband and I talked through it and we spoke to our doctor about it. We did what was best for him and what was best for our family specifically. It’s not for everybody. You have to figure it out for yourself.
There are all these medical questions that you need to ask your doctor, but it can be a good thing and possible. There’s a lot of new research coming out. You don’t have to be afraid of having hormones in your body after having hormone-positive cancer.
Moving to Alaska
In the middle of my pregnancy, we moved to Alaska, so we were away from my oncologist for a while. I was still keeping in touch with him, but we were hopeful that I was cured since I had scans that showed no evidence of disease for so long after my daughter was born. I was breastfeeding, so we didn’t do a lot of monitoring because I was still feeling good and there were no new symptoms.
Several lesions throughout my spine and pelvis were found on the MRI.
Cancer Recurs
We were on a mountain one day taking family photos when I collapsed to the ground. My back hurt so bad that I couldn’t get up. Five guys had to carry me to the car. I went to the ER that day and eventually had a scan. The results showed a fracture in my spine because there was cancer growing in it, crushing the vertebrae, and causing the pain. Several lesions throughout my spine and pelvis were found on the MRI as well.
I couldn’t get on a plane to fly back to Virginia because they were worried that if something shifted, I could be paralyzed, so I needed to have surgery to stabilize my spine before moving back. We couldn’t even think about treating the cancer until that happened. It was scary because we weren’t doing anything to address the cancer.
I had surgery in the middle of August followed by a very painful recovery. I was already in a lot of pain beforehand, but I needed two weeks of recovery. When we got to Virginia, I met with my oncologist and came up with a new plan.
New Treatment Plan
They thought I needed radiation on the vertebra that had the fracture because there were other spots throughout my spine and pelvis, but that was the biggest and causing the most problems. We did three rounds of radiation on that first.
My oncologist knew that hormone therapy and targeted therapy made me miserable, so he gave me three options. He said I could go on hormone-targeted therapy, I could take a chemo pill called Xeloda (capecitabine), or I could get on a clinical trial.
I couldn’t start the trial until 14 days after my last radiation, so for two weeks, I wasn’t doing anything and I could feel things getting worse.
Joining the Clinical Trial
He was excited about the clinical trial because it used a new radium drug targeting bone metastases. It was already an approved treatment for prostate cancer with lots of success and this trial was testing it on metastatic breast cancer patients. We went with that because he said it could eliminate what’s in my bones.
The problem was that I didn’t know which group I would be in. They were going to tell me, but I was either going to be in the group getting chemo or in the group getting chemo and the radium drug.
That was a stressful time because there was a period when I had to wait to get approved for the trial. I couldn’t start the trial until 14 days after my last radiation, so for two weeks, I wasn’t doing anything and I could feel things getting worse.
I ended up in the radium arm of the trial, which was good, and I did that for a while. It helped with my pain a lot and decreased some of the markers in my body.
I ended up having to go off the trial because my scan showed mixed results. Some areas were better, but some areas were worse. I think it’s because my original scan was in September and not right before I started the trial. There was that two-week period when things got worse, but there’s no way of knowing if that was it or not.
Hormone Therapy & Targeted Therapy
After the trial, I talked with my husband and my family and decided that I was going to give hormone therapy and targeted therapy another try. My oncologist recommended trying a different drug than what I was on before, so that’s what I’m doing now. I’m on anastrozole and abemaciclib, which is slightly different from the letrozole and ribociclib that I did in 2019.
The whole point of stage 4 treatment is to find a treatment that you can tolerate for the rest of your life.
Treatment Decision-Making
People don’t realize how much thought is put into treatment-decision making. You think about it for days, weeks, and months, talking it through and talking to doctors. I think that experience was good because it led me to my decision and made me realize that I’m exactly where I should be.
Having a Strong Support System
I have a supportive husband and family who help talk through things with me. I think about things a lot, pray all the time, and try to get the wisdom to make all these decisions in a way that’s going to be the best for myself, my husband, and my daughter.
It’s not just about patience. It takes a lot of work and it’s not something that you make a split-second decision about. There’s a lot of thinking and praying.
The whole point of stage 4 breast cancer treatment is to find a treatment that you can tolerate for the rest of your life. When we went to a new center, found out all the information, and talked with my oncologist more about whether this was realistically going to be the best option for me, that’s what made us think that this is what’s going to be good.
It wasn’t just me. My husband was so afraid of me being on it again. He knew how much I suffered when I was on it. It affects both of us. Going on it for the second time around was nice. It was working better. I don’t know if it’s because I went through a pregnancy, I’m older, it’s a different drug than before, or if I have a different mental attitude towards it.
If I didn’t have a baby who was so dependent on me, I don’t think I would’ve even considered going back on hormone therapy.
Everything happens for a reason. Some people thought it was a dumb decision for me to get pregnant, but having her is what made me do this treatment in the first place. If I didn’t have a baby who was so dependent on me, I don’t think I would’ve even considered going back on hormone therapy. I would’ve done the chemo pill. It could have worked, but it could not have worked. Having her around gave me this huge drive to live for as long as possible. It’s what made me even try it again in the first place. I wouldn’t have even known that it would be better this time around.
A cancer diagnosis is harder on the family than on the person going through it. Your family loves you. A lot of family members feel like they’re being pushed away and that they’re not wanted. My instinct is to do that because I don’t want to put a burden on them. But at the end of the day, it’s important that they’re there. The best thing that a family member can do is be there and listen. What to say and do is going to be different for everybody, but being there is a good place to start.
Words of Advice
Don’t wait. If you want to do something, do it. You never know when your life is going to dramatically change. I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed picking up my baby and rocking her to sleep then all of a sudden, it’s taken away from me.
When we moved to Alaska, people asked why we were going. We had an opportunity, so we’re going to move to Alaska for a year. We probably could never do that again because now I need all this treatment so I’m back in Virginia where my original team is.
If you want to do something, do it while you can because you never know when you’re physically not going to be able to do it.
Don’t wait. If you want to do something, do it. You never know when your life is going to dramatically change.
