Beginning treatment for cancer in my bones

I saw my oncologist two days ago to find out the results of the CT-guided needle biopsy I had last week. She said it was indeed breast cancer (no surprise there). I was wondering which breast cancer as I've had two different ones.

The first one was "almost" a triple negative one. That was in 2011.

But nope, that's not the one that went to my bones. The culprit was the one that showed up in a mammogram in 2022, an estrogen-positive, HER2 negative one. I chose a double mastectomy then.

The interesting thing is that when you have breast cancer, if it shows up later—no matter where— it's still breast cancer. Mine happens to have shown up in my bones.

The treatment path is two oral medications. I started one the same day I saw my oncologist. That's letrosol, which I could get at my regular pharmacy. The other one, Kisqali (which I've heard advertised on TV), comes from a specialty pharmacy in Nashville. They'll send that to a clinic near me, and I'll pick it up Tuesday there. It took at little longer because it needed insurance approval.

Our hope is that these two meds will keep the cancer in check, no spreading. And maybe even diminishing.

These meds can be rough on the body so I'll have regular blood work and EKGs. I went ahead and got the baseline EKG the day of my oncologist appointment since her office is in a hospital. I'll see my oncologist every three weeks as we monitor the meds' effects. And I'll have PET or CT scans every three months.

My oncologist is also having me try a different pain med to see if we can get the pain under control. The pain hasn't been awful, but I do have pain in various places. Especially my lumbar area, which is where the biopsy was taken because it's an obvious place where there is cancer. Though I've only been on that med for a couple of days, it's working well.

But being on pain meds means no driving. While my sister is here, she's my driver. But when she goes home I'll be calling on others to be my uber.

I've been using a walker for a few weeks now. If I could go to a cane, that would make life a lot easier. I'm hoping to start improving, and my oncologist has said at both appointments so far, "Let's get you feeling better." So I'm encouraged.

I was pretty tired after Wednesday's appointment and EKG and the extra walking all of that involved. Plus I got a flu shot. So it was nice to get to bed that evening.

It's pretty weird to be creeping around on a walker and not driving anywhere. I was used to going when I wanted and being able to get around pretty well. Now I'm a bent-over old lady using a walker, having trouble getting in and out of cars and generally being very slow-moving.

I may be odd in that I'm choosing not to look closely at the PET scan to see where the cancer is. When I got the first breast cancer diagnosis in 2011, I chose not to know the stage. For me the not-knowing keeps me from dwelling on the negatives as much. AND keeps me from doing online sleuthing that scares me silly! I choose to keep a positive outlook and believe that meds will work really well and that my body will respond in the best way possible.

So far I'm doing well overall emotionally and spiritually. I've surprised myself in that I'm so much less scared than I'd have thought I'd be.

But then I've been working on myself for over a decade, trying to turn more and more over to God/higher power (whatever terminology or name you want to use). I know the more I let go, the better my life is.

I've always taken a spiritual approach to life. I had a solid spiritual foundation as a child, and spirituality has always been a major focus in my life. For that I'm very grateful.

And I have so much support from so many people. First is my sister, who is the best caretaker I could ask for. And her linear mind and bountiful energy are perfect in so many ways for me. And then there are so many others who have helped me so far and have volunteered to help in the future. I have great neighbors on each side of my house. They've already done a lot. And there are other folks I have called on and will be calling on as well.

I feel very blessed to have such an abundance of support. I believe we are all connected in a huge web of relationships, and at different times of life different parts of the web are stronger as we need them. But it's all connected.

This next week I have no cancer-related appointments. So my sister and I can focus on her getting my house set up better for me. And getting rid of things I don't need. And on spending time with each other, enjoying the fall weather and the beauty in this area of NW Georgia and Chattanooga.

Even with this diagnosis, this is my favorite time of year.

I went out on my back deck to watch the sun rise over the ridges to the east this morning. The photos above are ones I took then. My sister and I had lunch on the deck. I can't enjoy things like this for very long because pain kicks in, but I enjoy them for a bit.

And then I go back to my comfy recliner. And maybe nap, Maybe write a blog post. Or browse the internet. Or watch TV. Or read about or watch the World Series (which will end either tonight or tomorrow night with Toronto or LA as champs). Or add to and sort some of my sports trading cards. Or read a book or magazine. I'm never bored. One of my cats is usually in my lap.

So overall my life is pretty darn good.

Even in the midst of another cancer journey, I feel blessed. And grateful.