Diagnosed with bone mets
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Hi Benisse, sorry that you find yourself here. We have a bone mets thread with a wealth of resources & support https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/8/topics/...
Like your oncologist says, if your biopsy shows HR+ again, you will likely be prescribed something like Ibrance in combination with hormonal therapy. Ibrance is not chemo - it is a CDK4/6 inhibitor so it has a different mechanism.
Lymph nodes don't really change things from what I've seen in the literature. I've seen some studies on lymph nodes only but if lymph nodes are lighting up in addition to something else, the 'something else' takes priority, kwim?
mets in the skull are different than mets on the brain - so definitely no reason to think one means the other
again, sorry you find yourself here
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benisse, I do have skull mets but no brain mets. I also have extensive bone marrow involvement but have not had any broken bones. I was on Ibrance for two years before switching to Xeloda. I also have mets to my stomach. I have the lesions from my skull to my femurs. I was a missed diagnosis for six years with no treatment, and I’m doing pretty well. I hope you get a treatment plan soon and can get your pain under control.
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Benisse, I am also sorry you find yourself joining the club that none of us wanted to belong to. You are in such a difficult place right now and so, first, I am sending a virtual hug. Try to stay grounded while you work towards a treatment plan.
I can’t answer all of your questions but can say that skull mets and brain mets are two very separate things. I have extensive bone mets which turned up in my skull, base of the skull and c-spine. I also had symptoms (culminated in severe headaches and some issues with numbness and tingling in my face, jaw and other areas) which were resolved by radiation treatments. It’s very scary to think that the cancer is so close to the brain but it seems it’s not an obvious path from the skull to the brain, thank god!
Know that we are here for you and ask as many questions as you want. This is a very supportive bunch.
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Thank you for answering my questions, moth, kbl and sadiesservant! I've read a lot on the bone mets thread and am learning lots of information that I can't find anywhere else. I'll post on there to introduce myself soon.
The MRI didn't show any fractures, so my oncologist said no radiation for now.
I have a bone biopsy on 4/18 and then will meet with her to get my treatment plan. Two questions about that:
I am supposed to travel on Wednesday after the Monday bone biopsy which the scheduler said is a needle biopsy. Should that be fine?
I am hoping to get a 2nd opinion from MD Anderson (I'm treated at Texas Oncology in Dallas). Is the biopsy specimen made available for the 2nd opinion in case they want to perform their own pathology? Or do I need to request that? The scheduler didn't know the answer to that.
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Sorry that you find yourself here again. I can answer your bone biopsy question. I had a biopsy of my upper femur and it was a non-event. A friend drove me there and after a wonderful combination of drugs, pain killer and Versed, I had no worries. It was quite painless and thanks to the amnesiac properties of Versed, my memory is quite fuzzy. I was starving afterwards and was given a turkey sandwich which I devoured in record time. By the time the drugs wore off I was ready to be discharged and my dd arrived to drive me home. I had no pain and did not need anyone to spend the night with me. The location of the met being biopsied may change the experience but you should be fine shortly after the procedure. Take care.
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Thank you, exbrnxgrl. That's very helpful! Take care!
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Benisse, I had a second opinion after I had an endoscopy that found my cancer. I think the slides were provided to their pathologist, but I don't remember how they got there. I would tell the 2nd opinion doc you had a biopsy, and see if they can order the slides to be sent to them.
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