[Jan Currence]

Just joined this group this week. Found out about it from someone on the BC Mets List. I was first dx'd in 1994 and had a mastectomy, 6 cycles of CAF and 5 years of Tamoxifen. I was Stage IIB with a 3.5 cm lump, lymph node and vascular invasion. At the end of chemo, a lump was discovered in remaining breast and I opted for a simple mastectomy. Pre-cancerous cells were discovered, so I was happy about my decision. Was doing well until this spring. Had a hard fall onto my back in a local restaurant. There was an unmarked step from our table down to the next level and I didn't notice it. In any case, within two months, I could barely breathe. I had been treated in mid-May for bronchitis by my PCP. Then, when I went for my annual gyn. exam, he couldn't hear any breath sounds on the left side. We went to a community hospital ER, thinking I had pneumonia. Not so...had a completely collapsed left lung. They admitted me and took5-6 liters of fluid after inserting a tube into the chest wall. They had done a needle aspiration and sent the material to pathology. It came back full of cancer cells. That was also when I learned that I was Her2 +, ER+ and PR- (was PR+ in 1994). Community hospital reported lower spinal mets, but cancer center I've gone back to did x-rays, confirming those spots are still just arthritis. One of the docs had put me on Megace for appetite control, because I had lost about 30 pounds in 3-4 months. I had no appetite at all.
Now, I have an almost too active one. The current oncologist told me that Megace is also used as a hormonal treatment and that he would leave me on it for a while to see if it will help. I had bad side effects from Arimidex and Femara. He also mentioned putting me back on Tamoxifen or another hormonal drug if this doesn't show progress. X-rays from last week showed no fluid anywhere, but scarring in the affected lung. As far as the tests show, I don't have any active tumors...just the cells that showed up in the fluid that is now gone. It will be interesting to see how things develop and I'm interested in learning more about Her2 + on this board. I am 57, married and have 2 adopted children. The youngest left for college while I was in the hospital in June. I had expected to have to adjust to an empty nest, especially since we homeschooled for 19 years. But, I didn't plan on having the cancer come back the same week as that happened. My husband was downsized from a great job in 2000 and is not teaching at a tech school. He works a split shift Mon-Thurs and sleeps in the afternoons. That makes things even quieter around here. I've experienced the positives from meeting online friends, so I am hoping to make some here. I also have fibromyalgia, diabetes and hypertension. I've had two car accidents...the last one being in 2004. I am still in therapy for that, including at-home electrical stimulation for the muscle spasms in my back. Now that I've rambled enough, I'll sign off and read some more of your posts. I have already learned quite a bit from the few I've already read. I will be praying for each of you as we go on this journey together. The long time survival of many of you or those you've written about is very hopeful. Thanks....Jan Currence