Ibrance (Palbociclib)
Comments
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So glad my comments were helpful ☺️.
Please don't torment yourself with expectations set by others. Looking at your history, you have been fighting MBC for 13+ years! You are already a warrior woman IMHO. Your body has been jumping high hurdles for a long time and now just wants a little more time to deal with this latest issue. I think you should feel entitled to take the slow and scenic route this time.
Please keep us updated.
Hugs
Eleanora
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Thank you all for your kind words. It has been brutally cold here today. Barely made it to the 20s. We had a couple inches of snow.
Met with my therapist who will be seeing me for the next two weeks. She was extremely helpful in focusing on techniques to reduce pain and swelling. She said my knee was to swollen to even start exercises. I have been doing what she recommended and I am down a ½ inch. I also realize I don't have the stamina I used to have. This year has been super hard with everything that has happened. The one thing I do know is that having the surgery was truly not an option. The Dr told my husband and I that my knee was so bad in one spot that he was surprised I was still walking and I probably would not be in the next few months without the surgery. That is a scary thought.
I am keep thinking that maybe it is time to start a conversation but I am not sure where. As new cancer meds are approved an more women live longer with stage 4 cancer, quality of life issues are going to become more prevalent. No one really knows how we are going to respond because it hasn't happened very often. I asked the hospitalist for orthopedics if he ever had a stage 4 cancer patient have a joint replacement from a non cancerous issue and he said no and only a few hips because of damage from cancer in the 10 years he has been doing hospital work. Not ready to do anything with that thought. I have other things to focus on unordered to get back to living.
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Thank goodness the swelling is going down. Prayers for continued healing and recovery.
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So glad there's improvement. I can "hear" the hope in your post ☺️.
I agree that a new thread might be a good idea. My 2019 hip replacement was due to arthritis, but my other hip is also painful from arthritis, although not enough to warrant surgery, and it has several currently stable mets to the femoral neck. My MO told me last July that if I needed a joint replacement she would be encouraging me to have it now.
While I am very grateful for the chance to grow older, even with this dreaded disease, aging means issues not related to cancer will keep popping up and requiring intervention. Just got clear bone and ct scan results and so looking forward to another 6 months of living.
Looking forward to reading posts about your continued progress.
Eleanora
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Eleonora-Congrats on your good scans!
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Thanks Chicagoan!
To celebrate, I booked a cruise and reserved a house at the beach for a week for my kids and grandkids to visit.
I am fortunate that cancer didn't show up until after retirement. I worked hard and pinched pennies for decades and want to enjoy things for whatever short time remains.
Eleanora
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@eleanora congrats on a good scan. No sense sitting around enjoy each day that you can and make memories.
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Eleanora, congratulations on good scans ! I love that you have a cruise to look forward to as well as a beach house vacation with your family .
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Congratulations. Honestly, at our age a 1/2 inch reduction in swelling after recent surgery is good news. The added challenge of dealing with age related health issues while managing Stage 4 Cancer is a lot. You're a star!! You've given me courage to consider my knee replacement surgery. Please keep us posted. This week I was overwhelmed by it all and fed up. But, next morning I realised its my luggage to carry...!! So here I am
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@eleanora i don't think we've interacted before (altho my memory does mislead me sometimes). Congratulations on your good scan. And do enjoy the cruise plus the holiday with kids and grandkids. Stage 4 Cancer isnt going to give us a break to enjoy, we just grab as much fun as we can while dealing with all the treatment and side effects. Blessings....
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@divinemrsm thanks for sharing your post-surgery experience. And congratulations for the full recovery despite the Stage 4 Cancer diagnosis so soon after. When I read stories like yours, the fear in me is replaced with hope.
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@brutersmom @april8@aprilgirl1 and @Rosebessie
Thanks for the good wishes! I remember reading a book about 20 years ago written by a famous ballerina about the brutality of ballet training and the permanent damage it does to a dancers body and sometimes their mind. It was titled "I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can" and that's how I feel now. The music will stop sooner than I want it to so I'm packing in as much as I can for as long as I can☺️.
Rosebessie
Your memory is good. We have not been in touch before. I am on Kisqali, not Ibrance, but stop by this thread to check on my buddies who also post in Mel's Living room.
Look forward to chatting again.
Eleanora
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Hello Ladies!
I am on Ibrance and Fluvestrant. I am going to post this in the Fluvestrant thread also. If I should post somewhere else please let me know.
I had a scan on Monday and there showed some progression of tumors in my liver. So since I had the scan three months ago compared to the one on Monday….Two tumors grew about one cm. One tumor is new that is less than a cm. Another tumor complete disappeared. I also had mets in lung. Lung is NED. These results are all from Mondays scan. I am not sure what to make of it. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I have been on this combo of therapy since Nov 2022. Is it possible to have tumor flairs on this combo? Are tumor flairs only for chemo?
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@eleanora I'm happy to connect with you. Indeed, let's just keep dancing as much as we can before the music stops. I like that analogy. Hugs and blessings 🤗🙏
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Hello @luvdbyhim
I am on Verzenio but was on Ibrance so I do check back on this board once in a while. I can't answer your question about the tumor flairs. I can only tell you what my MO told me. She said that if I had any progression in my liver, then my treatment would change to IV chemo. If there was progression elsewhere, she would change to other targeted therapy. That is just her plan and I can't speak for any other oncologist. I do wonder if they determine chemo treatment based on how much progression, even in liver.
That's great your lung is NED. Do you have any symptoms from the cancer? Best wishes. I hope it all works out and you get clarification soon.
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@luvdbyhim
Apologies. I misunderstood your question, mainly because I have never heard of a "tumor flare". I did a little research and found it very interesting! Yes, hormonal therapies can cause a tumor flare in breast cancer.
This is so interesting! I've never heard of this. Off to do more research!
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@dulcea Thanks for the response. Didnt know hormonal therapy cause flares! The tumors that grew in the liver are original tumors. They progressed half a centimeter. I do not think that is earth shattering. I am not sure if she will switch me to another oral med or add something to current regime. I guess I will find out in 2 months. :)
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Hi everyone. I just wanted to pop in and let you know I am still here. I am 19 days post op from my knee replacement and I am walking without a cane or walker. I still have a lot of discomfort but the sever pain is gone. Sometimes, I wonder why I did this with stage 4 cancer but I see so many people living for many years that I had to take the chance. Hope everyone has a great weekend.
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Congratulations Brutersmom. Seems like you are making great progress. Glad that the severe pain in gone.
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Hi fellow Ibrance folks. Just wondering if anyone has rec'd their new RX for Jan. 2024 that is on patient assistance? I'm about a week away from reordering and have not rec'd notification that I have been reapproved from last year. Nervous nelly here.
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Irishlove-I had to switch specialty pharmacies due to an insurance change. My new pharmacy is great. They did all the paperwork so that I am on some type of assistance or grant. I already got my January prescription with no co-pay. Hope yours goes smoothly.
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bruters, that seemed to go fast, already 19 days since your surgery! Hopefully the worst of the pain is over and it only continues improving from here!
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I had the MAKO robotic surgery where they don't use a tourniquet, no muscles are cut, and the joint is AI assist measurement. My replacement is made from tritanium which is a porous type of titanium to more replicate the bone and the weight of the bone. My knee feels very natural. If it wouldn't have been for the issues managing my pain meds, I might be a little further along with bending. Other than that I am right where I should be with this surgery.
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@brutersmom , so happy that the severe pain is gone and you have made so much progress . I can't believe you are already walking without a cane ? I'm sure your fitness level and weight lifting has been helpful in your recovery . I also can't believe it's been 19 days from your surgery. January has flown by .
@sf-cakes in your pocket for your surgery tomorrow . Sending prayers and good energy for an easy surgery and relief from the pain you've had to endure .
I worked this am but now I'm making Chili and watching football :) 🏈
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As I think I mentioned in Nov. I was hospitalized for severe colitis. Very painful. Two weeks ago it started again, but not as painful so no hospital. I've never had colitis before November. My question is does anyone here have this situation and do you believe Ibrance could be the culprit?
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@brutersmom so glad to hear your recovery is going well 19 days later. Wishing you the very best at you get on. 🫂
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@irishlove coliitis does not sound like fun. Hope they figure out the cause. I have no idea if Ibrance could be the cause. Dr google says it is possible from Ibrance or letrozole. I didn't google the other CDK4. What does your Dr. think.
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Thanks for the well wishes everyone. I am coming along. I think I overdid the walking yesterday. The goal was to be able to walk 30 minutes by the end of this week. Last night it took two pain pills and Tylenol to get comfortable. This morning I am still sore and ache, but my movement is better. One muscles is much looser. YEA. I guess this is where the adage comes from "no pain, no gain". That philosophy is not used at the gym. They tell me pain is bad. Achyness is ok but not pain.
I had my oncology appointment yesterday and it is right next to the museum walking trail so I went for a 15 minute walk. The sun 🌞 had come out and I was dress warm. I hadn't been here since the flooding last July. It was sad to see that the meditation garden was gone and a few of the bridges were still damaged.
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I wanted to share an update from my oncology appointment. I met with my new oncologist and I think I am going to like him. Both my daughter and I felt much more comfortable with him this time then the first time we met him. He was well prepared this time. We talked about surgery and starting back on Ibrance. My red counts dropped with surgery and they are not coming back up quickly. He plans to monitor them and treat them accordingly instead of the orthopedic Dr. He is concerned about how ibrance will effect them going forward. I made the comment about how I just hope all the pain I have been through was worth it because of how unpredictable cancer is. He took time to explain in detail my initial cancer diagnosis. He told me that even though I had a large pleural effusion it was caused by one tiny little tumor that responded well to treatment and is now gone. He really encouraged me. He feels my prognosis is good. No guarantees of course. It was just so encouraging to hear. Now it's time to get this knee moving and get back to life.
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