Dear Kimberly G.,
Thank you so much for your thoughful response that meant so much to me. I have never joined a support group or even talked with another woman who has gone through treatment for breast cancer. This is the first time that I looked for a message board on-line or even looked anything up. I thought that no one was going to answer my question...so I was so happy and tearful to see your response. I am 54 years old now and was 51 when this treatment started. They took 13 lymph nodes and three of them had cancer..so I worry. My doctor says it will be four more years on Femera unless something else comes up. Other than the joint pain and hair loss the Femera is easier to take than Tamoxifin...for me anyway I felt like I was taken off of mild chemo. I participated in a drug study during chemo treatment with Xeloda, a drug only approved for advanced breast cancer. They want to see if it helps earlier breast cancer patients. It was a very difficult treatment because I took it in addition to all the other chemo drugs(Adriamnycin, Cytoxan, and Taxotere...Yuk! Have you taken Xeloda before? Have you ever suffered from nerve damage in your hands and feet? I got a severe case and have to take a drug called neurotin to manage the pain. It works pretty well as long as we can keep the dose down...on a higher dose it kills my creativity and I am an artist..so that is not good. I am thankful for the the non-narcotic help with pain management, though.
I hope and pray for you that your new treatment will keep you safe. Your kind words and your incredible courage have helped me especially right now. I too will call Femera my miricle drug. (I started in Feb. too.) The study they stopped early so we can take it sure looks promising. Sorry for all the questions. It is obvious that I haven't really talked to another woman going through treatment accept just hello and so forth in the treatment room. I am lucky to have supportive family. Just one more question...if you don't mind answering; how did you learn that the cancer had spread to your bones? I have bone pain as it is and I don't think I would be able to tell the difference.
Thanks again for your kindness. I greatly admire your courage.
Linda Lou