All is well! No changes! Yea!

Admittedly, I haven't kept up on my blogging.  For those possibly wondering, there's been no changes in my condition.  That's the really good news!  No new lesions, no growth as my condition is stable.

As far the psychopath that was in my life 6 years ago, I'm sure there's been no changes.  He's likely just as focused on himself as he ever was and his current victim is likely quite miserable.  That's her problem.  These people never change as their brains are hardwired wrong.  He's as big a phony as he ever was.  I don't keep up on him,  nor do have I any interest in doing so.

At 71+, the old devil is surely not long for this world with his diabetes and cardiovascular disease, but even if he was, it's of no consequence to me.  My life is full with love and family.

His flying monkey minions are welcome to him!  Have a great day!

The Journey Begins

It is true!  Most people who have not experienced cancer themselves or don't have a loved one with it, know very little about cancer.  Why should we?  We feel no need to know when we're ok.

My journey with cancer began when I'd bought some new bras, and was trying them on after I got home.  Smoothing the bra down around my breasts, I was suddenly struck by something unusual - I felt a small hardness about the size of a pea on the right outer lower quadrant of my right breast.  I panicked!  Did I really feel that?  Yes, I did!  Fortunately, despite my denial of this reality I had an annual exam coming up soon, and an appointment for it was already made.

Quickly, it became the size of a grape, and then a walnut, then a golf ball.  It turned out to be  NON-cancerous papilloma.  https://www.breastcancercare.org.uk/information-support/have-i-got-breast-cancer/benign-breast-conditions/intraductal-papilloma.

But it flagged me as potentially having breast cancer since it is often a companion to it.  The first needle core biopsy was negative, the second biopsy confirmed my cancer, as invasive ductal carcinoma, stage 1 at 8mm (about the size of a dime or your thumbnail).

They got it all they said.  No spread!  Yea!  Nodes negative.  I was in the clear or so I was told!  5+ years later, it had spread to my left iliac wing - stage 4 Advanced bone mets cancer.  Who knew? Not me!  Very little pain, and most of the time, I'm okay.;  But for how long?  The journey continues!

How Much Longer Do I Have?

My how life changes and can turn on a dime! I used to read blogs and books on narcissism and psychopathy. These days, its blogs and forums on cancer. I'm learning so much. One of early mags I came across is located at:http://www.curetoday.com/. Tons of useful information!

It's hard not to wonder at times with Stage 4 bone mets (breast) cancer how much longer do I have? The answer is nobody knows! As long as it stays confined to my bones, I could last years and years with a high quality of life.

I've just been reading of long term survivors who have been living with it for 17, 12 and 23 years respectively. http://www.curetoday.com/…/hope-in-the-face-of-death-living…

That's pretty darn good IMO. I could live to the age of 90! Cool! I'm just ornery enough to do it too! LOL.

When my cancer journey began in 2010, I thought, well, let's whack that breast off, and get on with the business of living! Caught very early, (primary site was only about the size of a dime or your thumbnail @ 8mm.) All went well, and everything seemed very promising.

Then 5 years later, I found out nature was saying "Not so fast there! You're not done yet!" Okay. So let's see how it goes! I am intrigued by this new journey of bone mets (breast) cancer.

There are times now I could almost forget having cancer (Stage 4 Bone Mets)

It's an amazing thing when it comes to my prognosis. There are times now I could almost forget having cancer (Stage 4 Bone Mets)... with my pain meds and the radiation therapy, I'm happy to say that most of the pain I earlier experienced is gone! I'm increasingly enjoying a normal life doing much as I did before all this.

I'm getting in and out of vehicles, off and on my bed with just a little discomfort here and there. I take care of myself on all my personal needs, going shopping, and enjoying the absence of pain! That's the big thing!

No longer relying on things like my walker, or cane, or my step stool quite as heavily as I used to do. Oh sometimes, yes, the cane and stool comes in handy, and I admit I rather like using the motorized carts in the grocery store to get around... but life is feeling rather good these days. For now, things seem to be stabilized and under control.

I do take comfort that I'm considered relatively low risk in the positive aspects of my having cancer...slow growing, localized, all vital organs still healthy and normal...but a great indicator of longevity is that there was a LONG period between my original breast cancer diagnosis at 5+ years and the diagnosis of bone mets cancer. Outstanding!

Not much to tell, and that's a very good thing! Hope all is well with you too!

Life Can turn on a Dime! From Good Health To Dealing With Cancer!

No time or energy to be wasting either thinking about the ever shallow and boring Psycho Boy, especially with a much better man in my life and a family to care for.  Or dealing with one of those unexpected curve balls life has a way of throwing your way when you least expect it.

Recently hospitalized and diagnosed with stage 4 bone cancer - you come face to face with your own mortality and realize how fast life can turn on a dime.  But sometimes good things happen too!

GOOD NEWS!   Now that all the tests have been completed and analyzed, there are some very good aspects of it that leave something to smile about and even celebrate!

First and foremost:  The Tumor is SLOW-GROWING AND LOCALIZED. No vital organs are involved, all are healthy and functioning!  Outlook looks good.

It is a metastasized breast cancer lesion that has NOT SPREAD!  What it is, a failure of the arimidex (anastrozole) I was on for 5 years.  I developed an immunity to the drug, so the mets (metastasized) breast cancer cells grew undetected for 5 years.  New meds, and there will be radiation treatments but NO CHEMO!

The radiation treatments will be to shrink the tumor and restore mobility to me as well as reducing pain. So, it looks like at this writing, I'll be around for quite a while yet.  Cheers Everybody!