I soooo need to blog!

Hi Celeste,

Where do you live? It seems to me that you need a real hug from one of your supportive sisters! I'm in Melbourne.

Regarding your questions regarding the bone scan lighting up, it was explained to me that most of these hot spots were normal bodily functions excreting the drug injected. I couldn't work out why my nether region was glowing in the kidney, bladder areas and the results did not show any involvement in these areas.

Bone mets are treated with a supportive IV, tablet or injection regime. I have a monthly IV of Bondronat, another drug used is Zometa. Bondronat comes in tablet form and there is a recently PBS approved drug that is a monthly injection, can't remember its name at the moment, blame Chemo Brain! Bone health is something you can support through diet, calcium and Vitamin D. I try to get my calcium through foods, but as the Vitamin D is in the fat foods we have eliminated through our diet I take Vitamin D supplements as there is some evidence that high Vitamin D levels (over 100) can help in the healing of bone mets. You also need sunlight to potentiate the Vitamin D in your body so I don't feel guilty when I sit in the early morning or late afternoon sun with my arms exposed doing a crossword or reading. I consider this part of my treatment.

Your lung mets will probably be treated by a drug regime, then scans to confirm if it is working until they find a regime that works for you and reduces or even gets rid of the tumours. There are many different drugs and combinations available, there will be one that works for you!

Living with metastatic breast cancer is not a choice that any of us would have made, I now look on it as my chronic disease. I am still engaged in LIVING although I have to plan it around treatments and those few days when I know I will be feeling a bit off. I've even come to believe that it is a better chronic disese to have than some others eg. congestive heart disease, Parkinsons etc.

Wit love and lots of cyber hugs,

Joy K