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06-22-2008, 06:54 AM	#1
Belinda Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Posts: 144	Sad News-Jane McGrath Jane McGrath was well known here in Australia, especially to Australian women with BC. She was an extraordinary young English woman who fell in love with and married an Australian Cricket legend, Glen McGrath. Jane passed away today. She was 42, with a young family. She was initially diagnosed at 31, then had recurrences in hip and brain in 2006, at which time she found she was HER2. Her death is said to be due to post-surgery complications and a sudden decline in the past week. This is such terrible news for her family, and for the tens of thousands of Australian women for whom she has been a public and glowing beacon of hope. Jane and Glen established the McGrath foundation, which raises funds for BC and especially funding for breast care nurses. A newspaper article can be found here: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599...86-421,00.html and you can see her on an Australain interview program here: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/...s/s1115161.htm Such sad and devastating news. Bx __________________ Belinda Diagnosed 3 Jan 2007, Stage IIb, Mastectomy and axillary clearance 10 Jan 07, 6 of 19 nodes affected, multi-focal cancer, HER2 positive. Second mastectomy (prophylactic). Chemo - AC 3 months, Taxol 3 months - then radiation 5 weeks. Aug 2011 - Diagnosed with Stage IV mets to lung, sternum and 12 or so thoracic nodes - Rads to Sternum, then weekly abraxane and herceptin for 12 weeks. May 2012- good scans - all nodes still about normal size, hole in sternum repairing, lung tumour 'obliterated'. Ongoing herceptin every 3 weeks. Bloods still all good! Life good! March 2013 - recurrence - tumours in lungs and mediastinum (coughing up blood) - immediate radiation treatment to right lung and mediastinum, still on Herceptin, and 3 months of Vinoralbine - stable for a little while! Coughing and breathlessness started again September 2013, treated as radiation-induced fibrosis (which can be seen on scans - albeit stable). ie puffers, steroids January 2014 - cough becomes bloody again, scans show big mediastinal tumour wrapped around and choking the life out of my right main bronchus, radiation deemed off limits as my lungs are hypersensitive to radiation (measured by existing damage from 2013) .....................- ie I am in the 5% of people likely to suffer severe radiation damage to the lungs that they warn you about before starting treatment! (so special! :) ) Started chemo Feb 2014 - continuing Herceptin (continuous since Aug 2011), with Carboplatin and Gemcitabine. Discontinued Gemcitabine because of se's. Starting cycle 5 Herc/Carbo 5 May 2014. Meantime.....coughing and breathlessness increased to SCARY levels with racing heartbeat that won't slow down, breath that won't come back, even just walking to the bathroom or up 3 or 4 steps. ICU from May 5 2014, collapsed right lung due to tumour, small pulmonary embolism (left), tumours growing in mediastinum left and right, dvt lower right leg Plan seems to be bronchoscope next week to see if tumour can be lasered and stent inserted in right bronchus to reopen air access to lower parts of right lung. If that is successful might be able to have brachytherapy to worst tumour, otherwise no more options for external radiotherapy.

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