I'd like to chat with any breast cancer estrogen postive person who was initially diagonosed with stage 4.

Hi Lynn....I was not dx'd at stage 4 but have known many ladies in my 4 yrs since my dx that were. Many are going on for years....many metz are being controlled with Tamoxifen or Aromatase inhibitors following chemo and/or radiation treatments. It depends on where your metz are...your age..etc. If you're HER2 you've got an edge with Herceptin. I know it's hard because I have worked with a number of stage 4 ladies. There are some that will give into the dx and then there are others determined not to let it make a difference. The latter are the ones that do the best and thrive. Take a good look at your life style. I know in the shock of the situation it's easier to say "screw it" but diet and life style can make a big difference. Will it cure you? No one knows. I choose to do whatever it takes to keep the beast at bay. The fact of the matter is that no matter what stage you are dx'd we all have an easy route to stage 4. Estrogen feeds your cancer. I would research ways to reduce the environmental estrogens. I maintain a strick diet and exercise regularly. Even if you start out walking every day you will be doing something to help your body fight this. I'm sorry you are going thru this. This is my first time here but Cure Magazine has given me tons of information and comfort over the past 4 years. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Post again and give a bit more info on your metz and treatment plan....take care and God bless my sister....JO

I was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer in June - it is in my bones. I had some surgery to relieve spinal pain and now get monthly Zometa shots and Faslodex infusions. My original dx with breast cancer was in Sept '06 and, after mastectomy, chemo, and radiation was hoping to be out of the woods. I am teaching full time in a 3rd grade and count my blessings each day. This is not easy but the alternatives are worse...I consider myself to be doing fine! Take care!

Forgot - I was/am estrogen positive.

Well, I wasn't INITIALLY diagnosed with stage IV, but close enough. I was diagnosed with stage II in Feb 2009 and had a double mastectomy/reconstruction in March. Only one lymph node had cancer. I was then supposed to start chemo, and had a PET/CAT scan as a baseline scan. The scan indicated a lesion on my sternum (confirmed by biopsy to be malignant, the same estrogen positive cancer as my breast cancer.) So, the diagnosis was changed to stage IV, I did NOT have chemo, I had my ovaries out in May and started on Femara (daily) and Zometa (a monthly infusion.) A PET scan in August showed that the cancer is completely in remission! Amazing what a lack of estrogen can do. The hot flashes are definitely worth it. I feel incredibly lucky. I know this is not a cure, and the cancer will come back eventually, but hopefully with some lifestyle changes and a positive attitude, that day is far off. Good luck to you.

I was first diagnosed stage I In April 2006. After a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy, I was supposed to have chemo and radiation and move on with my life. I had a PET and CT scan and they found the cancer in my liver 2 months later. I was estrogen positive, so I was put on hormone therapy, (Aromasin) for a year and a half when it quit working. I then went on to chemo and have been there ever since. Yes, it's a pain to have to go for treatment and scans all the time, but it sure beats the alternative!! I live my life pretty normal and try to not let the cancer get too much in my way. So many people are living great lives being stage IV and I want to continue to be one of those people!! Good luck to you!!

Hi, Lynn... I was diagnosed stage 4 estrogen-positive 4 years ago August. Even with a tumor over 3 cm., it never showed up on a mammogram. (Women with lumpy breasts should be encouraged to ask for MRIs; every woman at my oncology group who had the same diagnosis as I said their tumors never turned up on a mammogram.). The initial diagnosis included a spot on my liver, and possible bone metastasis (but it wasn't cancer, just a strange spot on my rib that never grew or changed). I had 6 weeks of chemo, then a double mastectomy with reconstruction, then 6 months of Xeloda, then radiation. I hammered that puppy and I don't think it's coming back. I've even had a strange bright gland in my chest that wasn't cancer, just a strange bright gland. I think we're all different, so no matter what the statistics indicate, our individual bodies won't necessarily comply - and that can be a good thing. I do drink a special tea and add 8 drops of iodine to my juice every morning, but other than that, I exercise, eat whatever I want, and if I didn't have such awful knees, I can honestly say I've never felt better in my life. And I'm 70! Go figure.

I really believe that fear works against us. I was never afraid, but I was furious at that thing that thought it could kill me. So I killed it. And if it dares to come back, I will kill it again.

Forgot to mention, I'm on tamoxifen because I couldn't take the aromatase drugs, they crippled me. And the tamoxifen has had a bad effect on my uterus (I started spotting), so I'm about to have a uterine biopsy. Nobody really thinks it's cancer - it's pretty uncommon, although it does happen with tamoxifen, but if it is cancer - and even if it isn't, I'm opting for a complete hysterectomy. It will eliminate the possibility of uterine cancer, and remove the ovaries which can still be producing estrogen. I'm happy to say goodbye to any body part that can get cancer, if I can live without it.

Hi Lynn,

I was diagnosed in July 2008 with Metastatic Breast cancer ER Postive/HER2 negagive at age 49. I don't have ANY of the traditional risk factors, no family history. Yearly exams were clear. Mammos were clear. I found the lump myself through self-examination. The cancer had metastasized to a vertebrate in my neck. My initial treatment was a mastectomy, complete lymph node dissection (two nodes positive), and radiation to my vertebrate. I now take Tamoxifen daily (which stops the hormone production and gives me other menopausal symptoms-Yippee!), have monthly labs and a monthly IV infusion of Zometa, every 4 months I see my oncologist, and every six months I have a PET-CT Scan. My doctor says I am too healthy to participate in any clinical trials which is a good thing, so we treat it as any other chronic disease, you treat it and when the treatment doesn't work any longer, you find another treatment. So for me it's a wait and see game. I eat right, get enough rest and exercise and most of all enjoy my life:) I am incredibly blessed with a wonderful husband, a 21 year old son who is a college senior, and a 5 year old daughter who is a kindergartener. My husband and I made the decision for me to stop teaching this year so that I could concentrate on my family and my health. I have never been afraid because I know that there is a good reason for everything, and honestly there have been some incredible blessings in my life that have happened as a result of my cancer. However, I do have major concerns having to do with my daughter because she is only 5. I know that there are people living incredible lives with Stage IV cancer, and I intend to be one of them for her sake. I am concentrating on creating lasting memories for my daughter and making the most of my life with my family. My advice is don't get mad or scared, just get down to the business of fighting the cancer and living your life to the fullest.

I would love to continue a conversation with others living with Stage IV because we are, in my opinion, the forgotten group in the majority of breast cancer conversations.

Blessings to you all

Forgot my name - it's Jane :-)