Bridget Hopkins on Living with Metastatic Breast Cancer: Hope and Planning

For Bridget Hopkins, a nurse with a background in palliative care and hospice, the transition from caregiver to patient was a profound shock. Diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer (MBC), Hopkins found herself navigating the very sorts of conversations she once facilitated for others.

However, in a recent interview with CURE, Hopkins shared how she has balanced the clinical reality of her diagnosis with a fierce commitment to "living life to the fullest."

Planning as an act of love

Despite her medical background, Hopkins admits that discussing living wills and resuscitation was difficult to digest at her age. Yet, she emphasizes that advanced care planning is essential for everyone, regardless of health status. For Hopkins, the decision-making process was deeply personal. To spare her mother the emotional burden of making impossible choices, she appointed a best friend as her healthcare power of attorney.

"It’s not a decision [for them], it’s my decision," Hopkins explained. By documenting her wishes, she ensures her family can focus on presence rather than guilt during challenging times.

Navigating treatment and second opinions

The journey to her current treatment plan underscores the importance of patient advocacy. Hopkins sought four different medical opinions before settling on her current regimen. During one consultation, a physician told her that her chosen path—a PARP inhibitor, Lynparza (olaparib) combined with monthly injections and bone-strengthening therapy, Xgeva (denosumab) — would leave her with a life expectancy of only 15 to 24 months.

Now in her 16th month, Hopkins is not just surviving; she is thriving. Her PET scans show a "progression-free state," with lesions remaining stable or shrinking. "Those are just numbers," she says of the initial prognosis. She credits her success to her trust in her oncologist and her willingness to listen to her body.

The "YOLO" philosophy

Life with stage 4 cancer is a marathon of "good days and bad days." Hopkins is candid about the physical toll: the "shot weekends" that leave her couch-bound with fatigue and the chronic bone pain from lesions in her spine and sternum. Because she can no longer work, she has shifted her energy toward her "YOLO" (You Only Live Once) philosophy.

Hopkins recently returned from a "girls' trip" to Charleston and proudly displays a YOLO tattoo on her ankle — a symbol shared with her best friend. Whether it’s traveling or looking forward to her niece’s wedding, she focuses on monumental milestones.

Advice for the MBC community

Hopkins offers three key pillars of advice for those living with a metastatic diagnosis:

1. Build a network: Surround yourself with advocates who can speak for you when you are too exhausted to lift your head off the pillow.
2. Seek multiple opinions: Don’t be afraid to challenge a prognosis or explore different therapeutic paths.
3. Listen to your body: Accept the days when you are "down for the count" so you can fully embrace the days when you feel 100%.

"Life’s not over," Hopkins insists. By balancing the "hard pill to swallow" of a terminal diagnosis with the joy of being present for her nieces and nephew, Bridget Hopkins serves as a powerful reminder that a diagnosis is not a life sentence, but a call to live more intentionally.

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