That is terrific, @iserbrown that your Onc is being so proactive in your ongoing treatment. I hope my 'new' medical Onc is as on the ball like yours, as my original medical Onc didn't give a stuff! :(
@Romla - good questions & good on you for getting that elbow checked out. I have 3 close friends with mets - one from BC, one Prostate & one Bowel Cancer. One has it in her ribs, the other two, in spine and/or liver.
BCNA has good info sheets here:
https://www.bcna.org.au/metastatic-breast-cancer/what-is-metastatic-breast-cancer/and
https://www.bcna.org.au/metastatic-breast-cancer/living-well/ ;
I thought as I didn’t have it at diagnosis it was a bullet I had dodged . Here am I doing my best to prevent recurrence and I didn’t even consider this down the track.
And this is why I put the thread up - as an 'awareness' thing. I was made aware of it last year by a forum member, even tho mine was 'found early, removed, not spread, and had rads & tabs'. It was a wake up call for me.
What are the signs of Mets?
Prior to being diagnosed with Mets, they experienced unexplained, persistent pain in their back & ribs (for years in one case) prompting X-rays, CT & PET scans. Sadly, there is no cure, yet. But there
is ongoing treatment that helps relieve the symptoms.
What exactly does Mets BC mean ?
Mets BC is when Breast Cancer cells move to other areas of the body & grow (e.g. lungs, liver, bones & brain) - so even tho it is 'in the lung' - it is treated as Breast Cancer, not 'Lung Cancer'.
What treatment is available for Mets ?
As I understand it, Treatment is usually chemo and/or radiation (less so) and pain control. The plan is to stabilise the Mets or shrink them.
I read above someone has Mets but they are stable - What does that mean for our ( bad choice of words) longevity ?
People can lead productive lives with Mets for 10 years +. Every advance in research hopes to extend this.
Leaving the thread here would be the way to go, I reckon. About 1000 have read it already.
