So I don’t have the PIK3CA gene which takes one treatment option off the table. He has suggested, and I agree, that for now I’ll stay on Ibrance because it’s still working. Granted, it’s on it’s last legs, tumour markers are still rising and CT is starting to show minimal growth, but it’s still working. We don’t know if the next treatment line will work as well. Appointments will be every 2 months now instead of every 3.
Next treatment may be Tamoxifen. He wants to keep trying hormone suppressants and is leaving chemo as a last resort for which I’m grateful. I so don’t want chemo.
He doesn’t want me to stop treatment to get the COVID vaccine, 2 weeks off the drugs may be just long enough for the cancer to grab ahold again.
Just to add to my already interesting life, I pulled a muscle, cracked a rib or something. Again. In the same area as last time, same area as I apparently have a tumour. I rolled over in bed last night and heard it pop. It was loud enough to gross me out ☹️ It doesn’t hurt as much as last time, but hurts enough to limit me. Again. Dr wasn’t too concerned. Guess I’ll be getting used to this happening.
Connie's Breast Cancer Journey 
Connie it feels like we’re in the same sort of boat but my current cancer pick up in liver mets was caused by a cure itself. The radiation I so feared would cause me more harm than good, did. So now there’s a choice. I’m hesitant to “waste” life extending meds like Piqray on extermination of mets – so since I’ve been on iv chemo before and did fairly well with few side effects – paclitaxil/ taxol and a hormone inhibitor I’m going to suggest to my oncologist that immediately I get on the taxol and since I had a forced break to take my vaccine anyway it created a perfect storm of timing to do so. I’ll be as good as it gets in terms of my CBC and I’m doing as much around the house in preparation for whatever will come my way but I say as always we know in our hearts what will work for us. I don’t believe coming to cancer with a severance of mind and body is necessarily our best platform and I can not say it all began that way six years ago Thursday. It’s through learning what our body’s needs are and responding to those with our minds focused on the healing of our bodies when we can achieve the maximum possible results at that time. Perhaps as we go along the cures worse than the disease. I don’t know. So much is a big ❓but that’s okay too. It’s a lot of uncertainty and in these times of so much isolation and perhaps even not seeing as much of our health care teams as we had become accustomed it’s just crazy to think they even know us well anymore because seeing us for an hour every eight weeks certainly is not quite enough – after a chart review, perhaps a bloodwork result or a scan result to go by or if your oncologist believes in cancer numbers then those too, but I honestly believe had we waited to see if the bone met shrunk with my Verzenio which did nothing for me close to ibrance and fulvestrant but that’s another story as to how that got screwed up by insurance company bs and a missed fax to Pfizer by a nurse practitioner I’d not have nearly died in early 2019. Whatever comes comes at this point six years in just now finding out I have the PIK3CA mutation because my new oncologist asked for a review given 40% of lobular MBC patients have that mutation im immediately dumbstruck as to how Stanford missed it and how Foundation One missed it and how the heck the genetics counselors missed it. I’m scratching my head but maybe all things in time. I hope everything works out and I’m here in your corner as I know you’re in mine. From a state of insomnia,
Much love,
Ilene
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