(C) Virginia Mercury This story was originally published by Virginia Mercury and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . We’re dying for a cure and we’re younger than you think [1] ['More From Author', 'October', 'Frazier Fulton'] Date: 2023-10-18 The sun has not appeared yet, and it finally feels like that sweet feel of fall weather is here to stay. I’m on my couch with my pumpkin spice latte scrolling through Instagram and I see that a friend has died. She’s one of 115 who will die today of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) in the United States. She’s not even close to 40; it feels overwhelmingly unfair. It also jolts me to the stark reality that without a cure for MBC, eventually this disease will also end my life all too soon. At 33 I was diagnosed with stage III triple negative breast cancer, with no family history, and as a healthy and active young woman – I was dumbfounded. It’s the most common subtype in younger women and tends to be the most aggressive and deadly. But I did the steps and put in the grueling work of 16 rounds of chemo, surgery, 25 rounds of radiation, another 16 rounds of oral chemo, and targeted immunotherapy infusions, all while working full-time. I was deemed “No Evidence of Disease” but continued maintenance treatments in hopes I would continue to be cancer-free. When a nagging pain in my hip flexor started to twinge in late fall of 2022, I marked it up to the hiking and Pure Barre classes. I was determined to make 2023 the year I built my strength back from cancer. I was dead wrong. In January, I learned after a bone scan and MRI – that I insisted on from my doctor – that the cancer was back and had already deteriorated over 50% of my hip. It was also growing along my spine, pelvis, hips, shoulder, jaw and skull. There was talk of a total hip replacement, of never hiking again, of potentially always having difficulty walking. Treatment started again, fast and furious. Only three weeks after my last cycle of oral chemo, I was back on an infusion to help rebuild my bones while we awaited the bone biopsy results to determine which treatment might be the most effective. Breast cancer is tricky, though. It’s a series of different subtypes of disease. About 30% of people who are diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer will have their cancer metastasize, or spread to another organ like bones, liver, lungs, or brain. Roughly four percent of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients are stage 4 at initial diagnosis, according to METAvivor, one of the only nonprofits dedicated to those living with stage 4 breast cancer. I am lucky to be one of these survivors, for now. My first line of treatment for my metastatic disease is working and the cancer is currently contained to only my bones. I continue to work full-time, and I am back to hiking and Pure Barre classes. I spent my summer traveling to my bucket list destinations like Italy and Iceland with my incredible partner. I’m planning a full future ahead with the caveat that there is no waiting for the special occasion to do the things you have always wanted to do. No one is promised a future. It’s just less of a promise for me. Although treatments are working, I will have to undergo chemotherapy forever. To keep the cancer stable I must undergo an eight- to ten-hour treatment once every three weeks and a series of scans every six weeks. Eventually, the cancer will outsmart the treatments and I will have to try another treatment line. This will go on until treatments no longer work or my body just cannot withstand the treatments’ side effects and impacts. As a 35-year-old living with metastatic breast cancer I want the community to know that cancer feels and looks different than you would imagine. Rapid scientific progress is almost magically keeping our side effects at bay and even our cancer from growing. The treatment I am on now gained approval just last year! I’m also able to keep my hair growing in through the Bon Secours Foundation’s Cold Cap program, where I freeze my scalp during every treatment to prevent the chemotherapy from making my hair shed. Meeting me, talking with me and working with me you would never know I have MBC. We still have so far to go. Despite breast cancer being the most funded and researched cancer, only two to five percent of funds are focused on research for the already metastasized patient. As someone begging for a future, in desperate need of a cure, it’s discouraging to know that so little is going to finding what I need to stay alive. I refuse to accept the statistics. I will continue to live for the hope of it all – meaning the hope of a cure, and the hope that a treatment will be created that will allow me to live my best and fullest life while eradicating this cancer. Learning more and familiarizing yourself with organizations like METAvivor and what people with metastatic breast cancer are facing will benefit us all as a community. And don’t forget to perform your self-checks to know your normal. You hold your life in your hands. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.virginiamercury.com/2023/10/18/were-dying-for-a-cure-and-were-younger-than-you-think/ Published and (C) by Virginia Mercury Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/virginiamercury/