hi, I recently been diagnosed stage 4 breast cancer and the cancer cells already spread to several spots in the bones.The surgeon and oncologist advise that surgery and chemo are not suitable for my case as I'm HER2-, ER+ & PR+So oncologist gave me the Zoladex injection monthly and Letrozole tablet daily. He said that it might help to control the cancer not to growth or spread any further, but no way to fully cure.Jut wonder anyone have the similar case as me or having the same treatment? Would this hormonal therapy work? Anyone can share the experience? many thanks

@LinLin Hi! I can see this is your first post so welcome and we are all here to help you through. I am on zoladex injections every 4 weeks x 26 and I take Tamoxifen daily which I was told would be for 10 years. Aches and pains are part of the side effects however we all react differently. Only time will tell and be assured there is a lot of research behind the treatments we are given and they will monitor you very closely. As you settle into here ask any questions or use the search with keywords and you may find more information that will assist in your thought process. Have you received your My Journey Kit as this will help as well as! There are lots of opportunities to help us with our demeanour along the way and one is the Look Good Feel Better program, it is free!I am sure others will come on and hopefully someone is on your exact regime.Take care

@"wendy h 67" @pacwood @Cate64 are you able to help LinLin out. @LinLin you may like to join our private group (Living with metastatic breast cancer ). I have also sent you a message.

@LinLin I have bone mets, ER/PR+, I am not sure why chemo is not suitable for you as I had AC Chemo x 6 cycles when I was diagnosed stage 4, though surgery was not suitable, your specialists must have their reasons. I had Zoladex injections monthly for 3 months post chemo to shut down my ovaries until they could be removed.

Hi LinLin sorry you have joined our group but hopefully we will be able to give you some suppoort along the way. I have stage 4 breast cancer with spread in numerous bones. I was diagnosed 5yrs ago and have had a few different treatments in that time. I have never been on Letrozole but was on a hormone drug called Aromison which worked quite well for me for quite some time. I have not been on zoladex injections either. Everyones treatment plan is different but at least there are many treatments available to keep our cancer stable and be able to get on with , and enjoy life. Hopefully you will find some help and support from the girls in this group

hi Cate64,Are you HER2+? Mine is HER2-, maybe that's why my oncologist get me the hormonal therapy instead of Chemo. how is your situation now? Cancer cells reduced or gone yet? What is your tumor market level?

Is anyone taking Zoladex injection and Letrozole tablet?

brightspace
Member
9 years ago
Hi lin lin
To relax is the best type of healing .we must breathe deeply to find joy in the moment ..
the new post here for metastatic and fear of cancer progression has good video from doctors and mbc patient

Visit the smiling mind website for relaxation hintts

Treat yourself......new pillow new pillow case..candle..and listen to the smiling mind app
Huggs Bright
LinLin
Member
9 years ago
hi brightspace, thanks for the explanation, now I understand why I have been given this treatment.

Since I've been diagnosed in late December 2016, I've been given Zoladex, plus Letrazole in the second month, but I've been told that I can't be completely cured.

I'm always thinking of find a better treatment to completely cure the cancer.
Perhaps I should change my mind and tell myself to relax abit, just wait for the drug to response.
LinLin
Member
9 years ago
hi Anne, I haven't gone through menopause yet, but my period stopped after my second injection of Zoladex.
But my oncologist didn't check my hormone level, so I don't know if it works or not.
Anyway, I'm getting more bone pain daily since I started Zoladex, I'm not sure if this is caused by the drug or cancer.
brightspace
Member
9 years ago
Hi lin lin
There are are a number of treatment options for our type of metastatic breast cancer

Treatment protocols for us usually do not start with chemo but with a drug group called AI

. You will need to have afamily member/ breast care nurse or friend who understands medical terms go carefuully over tbe reasons for you understand this

The best AI drug for us to start for our hormone positive cancer is Leterzole

.if leterzole works the cancer with slow its growth

My first CT scan after three months on leterzole showed that the cancer had stpped growing has become smaller
Sadly Doctors cannot make our type of cancer dissapper completely .

I hope that the drug will work for you
We have to wait and see if the drug continues to work,

For our treatment
It will help us hopefully to stay well.

Please continue to ask questions
It would be best if you write your q uestions out before and post one or two questions at a time.

Our treatment is a slow one and often very different to our first breast cancer diagnosis.

Have you had treatment for breast cancer before?

XX Met sister Bright
Anne94
Member
9 years ago
Hi @LinLin
yes, I would think it would be standard. You said you were only 41 and having zolodex, so I would assume you haven't gone through menopause yet. I'm 44 and not menopausal and my ovaries are refusing to switch off whilst on zolodex. You want your hormone levels to be at menopausal levels.
i feel pretty good at the moment. My bony mets are not giving me too much trouble - just my femur (it's a load bearing long bone)which has a lesion. So after working it feels sore. I'm having a femur nail done on Tuesday and the Hysterectomy 4 weeks after.
I was offered radiotherapy but because I have no pain in the bone, it was suggested that I save this for later. It's my rainy day
kind regards
anne
LinLin
Member
9 years ago
hi Share, thanks for your advice.
I have seen a radiologist who told me that radiotherapy won't help my bony mets, it only help to reduce a bit of the pain, so they suggest not to do it unless I really want to do it.
LinLin
Member
9 years ago
hi Anne,
how is your health status at the moment? Are you well enough to have the surgery? e.g. are less/gain weight? any bone pain, etc.
Hope you all the best for the upcoming surgery.

BTW, is this a standard procedure to check the hormone level? My oncologist didn't mention about this.
LinLin
Member
9 years ago
many thanks iserbrown and Ann-Marie for the helpful information 8)
Share
Member
9 years ago
Hi @LinLin - welcome to the online forum !
As you can see from all the responses it is a great place to ask questions (lots if you need to) and to get various updates on how everybody can react differently even though we may be taking identical treatment. You will quickly understand that even though the medication may be the same, just like our bodies, reactions and side effects can differ from one person to the next.
I agree with some of the other ladies that one of the first steps is to get in contact with a breast care nurse. Whichever hospital or cancer care centre you are seeing your specialist at may have a breast care nurse situated onsite or perhaps you could find out online if there is a centre close by. Maybe one of our great admin members like @Ann-Marie_BCNA could direct you to a link to find one near you.
I would also ask some questions regarding radiotherapy for the bony mets (you mentioned several spots in the bones) perhaps this is also an option for you ? As @Cate64 mentioned above, her last bone scan revealed that her bone mets are stable with no new tumours (my last bone scan also showed a similar result although I am having a 6 monthly check-up bone scan this Friday as my tumour markers have been rising).
Next time you have an appointment scheduled with your oncologist take a list of questions that you could ask - perhaps after seeing some of the responses from our fab forum ladies !!
Best wishes xxx
Anne94
Member
9 years ago
Hi @LinLin

I was diagnosed September 2016 with stage 4. I am oestrogen & progesterone +ve receptors, her2 negative with bone mets only(numerous places)
I have been having zolodex injections for the past 7 months & I'm only going to have one more. I've been booked into surgery for a hysterectomy & ovary removal in 5 weeks.
My oncologist had my hormone levels checked to make sure I was going through menopause. Unfortunately, my ovaries don't want to switch off, which I then had a gynae referral.
I was also in the beginning on exemestane but I still had a period and was switched to tamoxifen.
The first 2 injections of Zolodex made me feel like I was getting the flu., but don't feel like that anymore.
wishing you all the best
Anne