#dontignorestageiv

[nohalfmeasuresamj]

Merry Christmas Eve from the Johnstons and these goofballs!! #bcsm #metastaticbreastcancer #boymom #mbcgrief #mbc #thisismbc #stage4cancer #stage4needsmore #dontignorestageiv (at Baldwin Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cmjusf0OBzP/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[shaysharpespinkwishes]

Update from our Doll @lindsaylouslew. ::::: For who could ever learn to love a beast?” 🥀 Cancer and treatment can truly strip you of your confidence. Grateful for my life, but feeling so bad about my appearance now that my hair is falling out from chemo. With metastatic breast cancer, treatment is for life. I will be on chemotherapy for the rest of my life. Will I always look and feel this badly? ~ WGL :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: #raw #unfiltered #bald #nomakeup #livingwithmetastaticbreastcancer #metastaticbreastcancer #chemotherapy #noeyebrows #freckles #stageivneedsmore #dontignorestageiv #dyingforacure #metavivor #livingbeyondbreastcancer #youngadvocate #teamwgl #sspw #youngwomencananddogetbreastcancer #WhiteGirlLindsay #mylifeafterbreastcancer #shaysharpespinkwishes (at Maryland)

[jannis-world-connection]

#Repost from @bethfairchild with @ming.app . Can we talk about phantom itch? I’m not sure if this is a technical term or just something I’ve heard in the community, but MAN is it REALLY annoying! I have this one spot under my left breast (implant) that, only sometimes, feels like it’s itching from the INSIDE. And because I can’t feel myself scratching due to nerve damage (my chest was numb from the original mastectomy in 2016) I can’t feel myself causing damage to my skin, like this bruise from rubbing and scratching!! How many of you have this post mastectomy and/or reconstruction?? And what do you do to alleviate the itch? I’m going to follow up with Dr. Blanton and @specialistsinplasticsurgery just to make sure this is “normal” and to learn more about these phantom itches. If you’re experiencing these too, stay tuned for my update with Dr. Blanton. #breastcancer #breastreconstruction #bethsrecon #mastectomy #mbc #dontignorestageiv #cancerland #metastaticaf https://www.instagram.com/p/B5koxA4BVQ9/?igshid=k8fop7j3y7pt

[tat2luvgirl]

#Repost @jenntheultimatebaglady • • • • • • #kissthis4mbc #CUREKOMEN #researchnotribbons #researchnotraces #stageivneedsmore #pinkisnotacure #dontignorestageiv https://www.instagram.com/p/B3GZr6qp5jv/?igshid=2xw8x8rskuyf

[leelsabeth]

Cancer update

I'm eventually going to start some other blog for this but life has been rough. 2 months after only turning 33 I was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer. I had the tumor removed and did treatment and then less than 2 years later (a month ago right after turning 35) I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. It came back in the same breast but also spread to my bones. More specifically my spine and my left hip. It's a terminal illness. Again I'm only 35 and I have 3 kids. Some women live about 3 years with this, some live 20. My oncologist thinks I'll be around another 20 years. It's crazy to think how fortunate I'd be to live to be 55 when the alternative is not seeing my 40th birthday. 55 is still so young. I had my ovaries removed and I also take a daily pill to further suppress estrogen because my subtype feeds on hormones. This medicine unfortunately causes a lot of physical pain. I also take another pill that is a "chemo" pill technically only its not like typical chemo that makes you feel insanely sick and lose all your hair etc. This means that although my body is extremely fucking sick, I don't "look sick" (besides the fact that I'm down to 105 lbs because my medication completely zaps my appetite but I'm barely 5'3" so that's not TOO crazy) how MBC works is you're put on treatments and then you get PET scans every few months. If the tumors stay the same or shrink then they keep you on that line of treatment for as long as it works. Sometimes years. Eventually though the cancer outsmarts the medication and then you're moved to different meds and you do the same thing. There will unfortunately come a point for all of us with metastatic breast cancer where we've been through every line of treatment available and will have to just rely on doctors keeping us physically and mentally comfortable until the inevitable happens. And this brings me to the fucking pink ribbon bullshit...

It's going to be October soon. That means pink ribbons and pink bullshit everywhere you go. Wanna know what's sickening? Only about 5 percent of all the money made from "pink washing" goes towards research for metastatic breast cancer. ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of breast cancer deaths are from metastatic breast cancer it is the ONLY breast cancer that kills. How is this ok? Everyone knows what the pink ribbon means. Do you know what the MBC ribbon looks like? I didn't think so. This October I'm asking my friends, if you want to really help women someday find a cure and stop dying from breast cancer please ignore the pink and donate to:

Our lives depend on this. ♥ #thinkbeforeyoupink #DontignorestageIV #MoreforstageIV #metastaticbreastcancer #fuckcancer

[instanetreviews]

Text MOBILE to 70550 to make a £5 single donation❤️❤️❤️ #cancer #cancersucks #cancermemes #cancersurvivor #cancerfree #breastcancer #breastcare #pinkribbon #nevergiveup #stoptober #breastcancerawareness #warrior #survivor #beatcancer #fightcancer #breastcancer #cancerdemama #chemo #medicine #oncology #health #chemotherapy #mastectomy #strength #mastectomytattoo #survivorsisters #flatandfabulous #dontignorestageiv #sexysurvivors

[witchyjezebel]

#Kissthis4MBC Ok, everyone. I need you. I would love to have your participation in this because it's kind of a big deal! Novartis will donate $10 each to METAvivor Research and Support Inc. and Metastatic Breast Cancer Network for every selfie posted on social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter) with the hashtag #Kissthis4MBC. More treatment options are desperately needed so that no one else has to die from MBC. These two organizations focus solely on metastatic breast cancer research. If you post a selfie on FB make sure the post is public or the hashtag won't count. So here's my #Kissthis4MBC selfie. Have fun with it! #dontignorestageiv #mbc #KissThis4MBC

[historic-eureka-inn]

Does anyone remember @bhy2186 or myself talking about the wonderful Serenity Project guests we hosted a few months ago? Well, @bethfairchild is back and she's bringing the Metavivor Machine to Jonesborough 💚 please join us for a donation based Sunrise Yoga class in our Courtyard on July 26th @6:30am 🙌🏼 ALL PROCEEDS GO TO METASTATIC BREAST CANCER RESEARCH #namaslay #dontignorestageiv #onlyinjonesborough #metastaticbreastcancer #cancersucks #unicornsarereal

[thatjokegavemecancer]

Mid-May Update

5/17/17 I hope the warmer days of spring find you all in good health. Our last update for YD was in December. YD had returned to chemotherapy. In January 2017, they began a 30-day intensive daily targeted radiation treatment for the cancer in combination with the chemo at Mass General Hospital. The new chemo regiment, as we mentioned last time,has less extreme cold sensitivity, but more intense nausea and malaise. The radiation has the added side effects of extreme fatigue and nausea. These symptoms were cumulative with each treatment, and worsened over the course of the treatment. By the end of treatment, he could barely keep his eyes open after work. Some of the chemotherapy treatments had to be repeatedly delayed due to low platelet or white blood cell counts, despite regular Neulasta treatments to increase white blood cell counts. YD was working full time throughout all of this, other than on chemo weekends, so it was exhausting and draining. He lost a lot of weight during that time and was pretty much always asleep outside of work. Needless to say, the CrossFit tapered off. Thank god for his wonderful family and friends who stepped up to come and take care of him every chemo weekend. The chemotherapy-radiation combination was very difficult, and had his body several times on the cusp of failure. The chemotherapy dose had to be reduced to half the recommended dosage, and spaced out further to allow him to recover more fully. The war of attrition between killing the fastest growing cancer cells and killing the host is brutal. YD started experiencing neuropathy in the form of weakness, numbness, and pain on the back of his legs. It was unknown whether it was a new growth or radiation damage to the spine. After the radiation, there was a follow-up scan for cancer growths in early April. The results were predominantly positive. No new growths were readily visible on the scan. The growth in the liver had shrunk to half the size, and was not showing up as metabolically more active than the rest of the cells. There were signs of scatter radiation damage to surrounding parts of the liver and spine. This accounted for the neuropathy in the back of the legs. Unfortunately, the radiation damage to the liver made any future liver surgery contraindicated. He is to severely limit ingesting anything that is metabolized in the liver to avoid further damage. Not every sign on the scan was positive, but there were many good indicators.

After this scan, there were surgical consults, but no promise of surgery anytime soon. The consensus seems to be that YD should finish his current chemo course and continue with “maintenance” chemo indefinitely. The reason being that this cancer hides or sleeps and avoids being targeted by chemotherapy or detected on scans. Also it is better to treat the patient as if they always have a small undetected active growth until they have stay cleared for five years.

Which brings us to today, 5/17/17. YD had a follow up scan on Friday, 5/12/17 and the physicians invited him to the hospital today to go over the results. The physicians sat him down, and very hesitantly told him that he had no new growths, metastasis, suspicious spots, or any other signs of active cancer. This is his second month now. The doctors told him that they have never seen this response before, and it is promising. With that said, we should all wait until the five year mark before celebrating. It’s a long road ahead of us.

Happy Wednesday,

JM

[joulesevans]

#Repost @theclife_mbc with @repostapp ・・・ Word ✌🏻I just had to share this from my beautiful friend @melissa.a.filiatrault 😂😂 #fuckcancer #metastaticbreastcancer #stage4needsmore #dontignorestageiv #thisismbc #cancerhumor (at Babi Yar Park)

[tonyateel-blog]

Momma

Today, or tomorrow, it tended to change my mom would have been 69. My dad would have been 70. It's surreal thinking that at 33 I've gone full Batman. Having Nolan turn 6 yesterday was so hard. It was hard to think that at 6 he never knew my mom without cancer, she got diagnosed the first time when he was 10 months old, and never knew my dad at all.

[nohalfmeasuresamj]

@projectlifembc is a virtual wellness house and we are having a virtual open house!! If you are part of the #mbc community or care for or about someone in the #mbc community, come and learn more about the amazingness going on. #mbc #projectlife #metastaticbreastcancer #thisismbc #stageivneedsmore #dontignorestageiv #mentoring (at Baldwin Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce8lcfJAfmm/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[shaysharpespinkwishes]

Yesterday I went to (@buildabear) Build-A-Bear Workshop to get voice boxes, so that we can record/capture Lindsay’s voice and later have it inserted into a bear for her daughter & parents. The cashier was blown away when I told her about Shay Sharpe's Pink Wishes and our mission. She proceeded to tell me that her mom and grandmother also had breast cancer so she could relate to our quest. Wow. :: Breast cancer affects the entire family, not just the patient. :: ps.. another breast cancer survivor informed me of an app that would allow us to capture voice, video and legacies. I will personally do it as well, when I get a moment. RecordMeNow.org . Feel free to check it out. ~ Madame President :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: #sspw #iammysisterskeeper #shaysharpespinkwishes #legacy #stageiv #dontignorestageiv #love #memories #YourVoice #mother #daughter #family #cancer #breastcancer #mylifeafterbreastcancer #teamsspw #teamwgl (at White Marsh, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/Byin5w3hHlG/?igshid=1kwkbsqil4mz5

[champagnejoy]

#Cancerland x @anaonointimates #nyfw #themagnificant16 @artheartsfashion @mirasorvino @manicpanic_official I GOT YOUR BACK!!!#soproud #sograteful #dreamsdocometrue #toosexyformyshirt #everymomentcounts #wewenthigh #glitterasyougo #nevermissaparty #weareanaono #neveralone #dontignorestageiv #stage5equalscure #metastaticbreastcancer #breastcancer #lifer (at Angel Orensanz Center)

[tat2luvgirl]

#Repost @jenntheultimatebaglady • • • • • • #CUREKOMEN #kissthis4mbc #dontignorestageiv #researchnotribbons #researchnotraces #PINKISNOTACURE #stageivneedsmore https://www.instagram.com/p/B3FXSOtJwq7/?igshid=iy1hhh2ifl2e

[gkpotentia]

I do not want to believe this to be true. And quite simply I often don't. I use a patchwork of denial as one of my many coping tools. . I was diagnosed straight out of the gates with #metastaticbreastcancer four years ago this month. I have been in constant treatment since then, chasing hope around the continent like it's an addiction. #metsmonday #stage4needsmore #dontignorestageIV #scantreatrepeat #metathriver