Any Stage 4s on Semiglutides?
I have lately thought about possibly going on a semiglutide to help lose weight. I have been dealing with breast cancer since 2010 (since 2019 at Stage 4). My weight has continued to creep up and I have struggled trying to the lose weight and I have lymphedema from cancer treatment. My MO told me about a year ago that he was fine if I wanted to try one but I have been reluctant until now. There seems to be a lot of positives from these medications and also some risks. Anyway, I currently take Ibrance and Faslodex. I was on XGEVA also until December 2025 when I was diagnosed with ONJ and had to stop taking it.
Are any Stage 4 people on any of these semiglutides (GLP 1s)? If so, what has your experience been?
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I took it for a few months and did lose weight, but it has side effects, and I had side effects from my other medication; it didn't help with the joint pain from the arthritis or have any effect on my mild lymphoedema, so I decided to stop taking as I was only losing weight but not getting any other benefits, and it's expensive.
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I’m planning to start in July when the Medicare Bridge Program makes it available for a $50 co-pay. My oncologist is all for it and told me about the studies that show a possible benefit for cancer patients.
I’m hoping my side effects won’t be too severe, I was lucky not to have suffered terribly with chemo and Herceptin - hoping Zepbound will be kind to me as well.
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Hi all, I was on semaglutide the year before I was diagnosed (Jan, 2025) and had lost 30 lbs. by that time. My sugar and cholesterol stats went to normal range and I felt great! I was diagnosed with bc when being checked for pneumonia-other than that, I had no symptoms at all. When I met my MO, I told him I did not want to stop taking the shots as long as they didn’t interfere with bc meds effectiveness. He was fine with me continuing as long as I wasn’t blind sided by side effects. In fact, he also was on the shots at that time! Big fan. For bc, I was put on Kisqali, Letrozole and xgeva. I was lucky to be able to manage semaglutide and the meds with really very little side effects. Burping was my biggest peeve but I was intent on getting/staying a healthy weight. The bc meds I tolerated well and I was on the full 600 mg of Kisqali!
I kept on them for most of the first year but not consistently due to two bouts of diverticulitis. Once I was stable again, late last summer I decided to try tirzepetide (zepbound) since that is thought to be more effective and I want to lose the last 5 lbs and then go on maintenance. Interestingly, I had bad side effects from Tirzepetide - the most distressing was dizzyness and bad abdominal pain along with diarrhea. I even tried taking the shots every 2-3 weeks instead and still those same se’s. I had to stop those shots. I have been off the shots for about 5 months now and have not gained any weight. I learned just how little I needed to eat to maintain my weight so I do what I can for portion control and I make sure I am keeping active.
I am now about to start new treatment because of progression found on my March PET scan ( pleural effusion and 2 smalls spots in my brain). I am on my 1st month of Faslodex and prob will be starting Verzenio in early July. Just finished 3 rounds of radiation (SRS) this week and feel good! I will wait to see how I tolerate the new meds before even thinking of going back on semaglutide for maintenance. I’m back to having food noises again and during this little med vacation (unwanted) I can see myself having less willpower these days. But, Verzenio may be all I need to keep weight off - I’m pretty scared of it’s reputation - praying I can tolerate it!!
That’s my story for now! I wish everyone an easy road - keep calm and carry on!! xo juliana0 -
Thank you all for responding and sharing your information. I have continued to research on it and it and I plan to contact my primary care doctor this week to see what all I need to do to get started. I am pretty sure he will approve it. I read online that going through your doctor, you need to get prior authorization from insurance and I don't know how long that takes but I would like to try to start it the last week of June or first week of July, so Olma61, we may be starting pretty close together if all goes well.
Sunnidays - I think they have been lowering the price on some of these recently.
cskinner - I just kept finding that for a lot of the side effects I have picked up from cancer treatment, including an autoimmune disease that was likely activated from my first bout with breast cancer treatment in 2010 have potential to be improved with a semiglutide. Hopefully, I get approved, it works and I have minor if any side effects.
eddiej - Good luck moving over to Verzenio. May it be affective and very tolerable for you!
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