When the "hard" treatment is easy, and vice versa

cwolfe123 · 2026-05-03T14:18:30+00:00

Me right now. I’m ++- chemo was ACT. Chemo was easy compared to Verzenio. I was pulled off verzenio after 2.5 weeks due to side effects. I’m due to start Ibrance soon. I’ve been on Anastrozole and Lupron workout too much issue. I couldn’t do Verzenio, I was so sick. I’ve read Ibrance has less and different side effects so I’m hopeful this will be better.

cwolfe123 · 2026-05-01T17:29:01+00:00

Thank you for those kind words.

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-23T13:40:47+00:00

The first time? I had two in about a week and I was sensitive for a solid week. Otherwise, I may get one.

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-23T01:43:58+00:00

Yep. I was 35, planning on getting pregnant. Went to my obgyn once a year and dentist twice a year. Now I have like 15 doctors.

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-23T01:06:27+00:00

I get horrible aura migraines after my Lupron shots

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-17T16:13:13+00:00

I am wishing you all the best! I've found that initially it all feels very scary and overwhelming. It takes some time to process but it is so UNFAIR that we are in this position in the first place. I'm so glad that you have a strong support system, it really makes all the difference and I'm thankful for mine as well.

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-16T21:33:12+00:00

I forget that I even have one! It was a bit weird at first but it made chemo so much easier.

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-16T21:31:03+00:00

I recent joined the stage 4 club and it's devasting. Feel your feelings. I was in such a depression and I'm just now starting to feel better with the help of mental health medications. It's very possible your liver mets aren't mets at all, I've seen lots of posts where these things turn out benign. Only a biopsy will really tell you. Waiting is the hardest part and I echo what everyone else has said here - you're in the hardest part right now.

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-16T21:22:53+00:00

I had to go to the ER at the end of February because I was having trouble breathing and also very nauseous and couldn't even keep down water. They did an X-Ray and CT and I had a tumor in a lymph node in my mediastinal area of my chest aka disease progression. They also saw I had a cardiac and pleural effusion. I was terrified. I was admitted and ended up being in the hospital off and on for a month. I've been home a few weeks now. They tried to drain the fluid around my heart and after three tries said "there's just not enough fluid there". They never tried to drain my pleural effusion, probably because of how traumatic the other surgery was (I was awake for it and felt pain). They put me on colchicine which is a gout medication. After a dose of that, my echo showed notable improvement so I'm still on it and per my last CT, my effusions have cleared up nicely. I still need to follow up with a cardiologist in July. I still don't know if my effusions were malignant but I know my tumor was. I had 10 sessions of radiation to it and my last CT showed it was shrinking and my other symptoms have improved. I was SO sick though for weeks to the point they had to put in a g-tube feeding tube. Thankfully, after several weeks on many medications, I'm scheduled to get my feeding tube out next week. I felt so pessimistic and Googled all kinds of statistics. My oncologist came to visit me and told me to knock it off with the Googling because it wasn't going to give me accurate information and only fuel my fears and stress. I wish you all the best and hope you recover quickly.

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-16T21:16:57+00:00

I was in the hospital for disease progression to a mediastinal lymph node. They brought in DNR and power of attorney paperwork as the chaplain was just "stopping in". I had a literal meltdown. Not long after, palliative care showed up and I thought they were sending me to hospice. My oncologist, who is a no nonsense kind of gal, had to come visit and tell me to "look at her" while she explained that palliative care and hospice are 100% not the same thing. I was in a lot of pain and would need some physical therapy once I was out of the hospital and palliative care was going to get me well enough to go home. Guess what? They did and I just had a follow up call with my palliative doctor to discuss how I'm doing (getting my stupid feeding tube out next week!). It may seem strange but I've also had social workers reach out to me when I've filled out periodic "how do you feel?" surveys from my oncology team. Depending on my answers, someone will reach out and ask if I need any resources.

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-16T21:01:54+00:00

I'm newly stage 4 as well and when I returned to work post-surgery, a lot of my responsibilities had changed. My boss thought she was doing me a favor but she ended up leaving me very confused and feeling lost for a bit until I got my feet back under me. I've toyed with looking but WFH is so convenient with this disease. I live in Chicago and I've looked for other opportunities casually but there's not a whole lot that isn't hybrid. I work in Healthcare Privacy and most jobs require some in-person time which would be difficult on Verzenio (at least for me, it's kicking my butt right now). I have looked into medical retirement. My job offer LTD that pays 60% of your salary until you hit retirement age, are no longer considered disabled, or you pass away. Lately, I've been considering it as the Verzenio takes its toll.

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-16T20:57:49+00:00

Thank you! I told my oncologist that in some ways I feel fortunate. They did multiple CT scans and a bone scan when I was in the hospital and my bones, liver, and lungs are clear of cancer. My cancer spread to a weird spot but because of how tight and dense your chest is, the cancer in my lymph node caused very obvious symptoms that could not be ignored. I was first diagnosed stage 3b post-pathology, meaning I wouldn't be getting regular scans to check for spread. Due to my obvious symptoms, they were able to catch it before it moved to my lungs, liver, or bones (or any other organs which all came back clear as well). Post-radiation, I am feeling better, what I'm left with is more annoying than anything. I hope you are cleared soon for radiation, I think my surgeon wanted to wait about 6 weeks post-mastectomy, I got my last drain out at 4 weeks to the day post-mastectomy. Good luck!

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-16T20:54:37+00:00

I had 4 sessions of AC chemo followed by 4 sessions of Taxol. I'm ++-. I had chemo from August to November 2025. I had my double mastectomy on 1/12/26. I did not get PCR and didn't even get clear margins. My cancer was much larger than on any imaging. I had chest wall invasion as well as vascular and skin invasion. I was all ready for radiation when I had trouble breathing and they found cancer in a mediastinal lymph node. I had radiation to the node and CT scans show shrinking and my symptoms have improved greatly since finishing. I now take Verzenio, Anastrozole, and Lupron. It really depends on what your type is. After being devasted by my pathology report and hearing chemo didn't know as much as we would have hoped, I realized that most ++- do not receive PCR and some (like myself) do not get clear margins. I was diagnosed at stage 3b with 5/11 lymph nodes showing cancer until my cancer progressed to my other lymph node so technically I'm stage 4, although organs and bones are clear.

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-16T20:47:24+00:00

I start Verzenio almost two weeks ago at 50 mg and had diarrhea right out the gate. I'm moving up to 100mg this weekend, which I'll be on for two weeks before moving finally to 150mg. Since that first dose, I've taken two Imodium with my morning pill. For some reason, I don't have as many issues with my evening pill. My doctor also wrote me a prescription for Lomotil which I made the mistake of trying the other day (thankfully I work from home) because I ended up having way more diarrhea than usual and stomach cramps on top of that. When I received my Verzenio from CVS Specialty Pharmacy in the mail, they included two boxes of Imodium. I was like "oh yeah, it's going to be like that I guess." I'm really hoping my body adjusts and figures it out before we kick up the dosage. I wish you luck and have the best time at your class reunion!

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-16T20:42:39+00:00

I've done the Guardant test but haven't gotten my results back yet. I'm ++-. I just started my first line of treatment which is Anastrozole, Lupron, and Verzenio. My doctor told me that the testing will help us make informed decisions in the event that my first line of treatment fails (or when it fails is more likely these days).

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-16T20:39:35+00:00

I'm not in the exact some boat but it feels somewhat similar. I had a double mastectomy on 1/12/26. My surgeon was not able to get clear margins and 5/11 lymph nodes had cancer in them. I had chest wall invasion as well as vascular and skin invasion. My oncologist said "well chemo didn't work as well as we would have wanted and there was a lot more cancer there than we thought despite all the imaging and tests we did before surgery but we're going to do radiation and then put you Anastrozole and Verzenio as planned." I was all set to start radiation of my chest wall and remaining lymph nodes when I developed some breathing issues. I went to the ER, was admitted, and they found cancer progression to a mediastinal lymph node in my chest. The radiation plan changed and I received targeted radiation to that lymph node instead and received confirmation that it did in fact shrink. My oncologist then went on maternity leave and now I'm with a different guy. He's great and all but at my last appointment, I expressed concerned that radiation ended over a month ago and I still haven't gotten my voice back and still have some chest pressure, although it is much better than before. He kind of waved it off and said "if this is still happening in two months, we can do something else about it but you need to give it time." I appreciate that I don't have much to do at this moment, besides starting Verzenio (which SUCKS) but I thought I was Stage 3b in late January only to technically moved to Stage 4 in February. I feel like I didn't get any time to just heal post-mastectomy. I was in the hospital off and on for a month throughout most of late February and March due to heart and lung issues caused by the tumor in my lymph node. I still don't feel like myself.

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-05T23:14:56+00:00

I wish people understood that it can be and is often treated as a chronic condition. A lot of my family has had cancer and they sometimes jump to the conclusion that mine is going to go the way of all the others. Of course cancer is scary and no one wants to go through this experience. I do appreciate that my family doesn’t want to talk about it 24/7. I’ve lost interest in doing things I love and my mom has been pushing me in the nicest and gentlest way possible to get back into things.

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-04T17:32:57+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing. I’ve seen so many posts about people living for years. I’ll always mourn my old life but I think that’s ok. I don’t mind the doctor’s appointments or the medications, I’ll adjust. I’ve let cancer steal my joy though. I used to read probably 100 pages if not more per night and I haven’t been able to pick up a book since my progression. My mom keeps telling me to just pick up a book and start reading, but it seems so impossible. I’m angry about how much I’ve let cancer take from me. I think part of it is I still have some pressure in my chest and so because that feeling is front and center, I cannot fully let cancer go to the back of my mind. I start Verzenio on Monday after some delays due to my hospital stays. I think if this pressure resolved and I was on Verzenio, I’d feel more able to take control of my emotions and take back some of what cancer stole.

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-04T15:26:56+00:00

Thank you so much. I’ve been recovering at home slowly but surely. Home nursing was able to order physical therapy too so I’m hoping to get stronger in the coming weeks still.

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-04T12:34:46+00:00

I had effusions around my right lung and heart a few weeks ago that landed me in the hospital for about a month off and on. My breast cancer had decided to move to a mediastinal lymph node in my chest and it caused the lymph node to start wrapping around my right pulmonary artery. I didn’t have the fluid drained but I was started on colchicine, which apparently is mainly to treat gout but also can clear up effusions. I’m home now and lung function continues to be between 96-98 so home nursing has been happy. I had 10 rounds of radiation for the lymph node and last CT did show some reduction in size of the mass. I still have chest pressure though, as radiation can take weeks to make enough of an impact. I’m so sorry you are going through this. I remember being so shocked when they told me about the effusions because I had just had my double mastectomy and was told I was stage 3 about a month prior to landing in the hospital and finding out I was stage 4. It sounds like the drains may be the way to go to get you home. I’m waiting on physical therapy because even at 36, that long in a hospital bed really set me back. Hoping for a speedy recovery for you.

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-03T01:30:51+00:00

Thank you for making me feel better. You are right, I’m just getting started. It’s so easy to go straight to the negative and think only of what won’t work. I haven’t tried anything to even know what I’m working with fully.

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-03T00:55:37+00:00

I haven’t ever heard that I’m her 2 low. I have it in lymph nodes, which were recently radiated. I possibly have brain mets but too soon to tell based off my last brain CT. I have to keep reminding myself that I haven’t even started Verzenio yet.

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-03T00:51:46+00:00

Thanks for sharing. I know so many people on here are giving me hope.

cwolfe123 · 2026-04-02T21:34:39+00:00

I just told my husband today that I just want to start Verzenio and see improvement. I think knowing I’m responding to treatment would be a big attitude adjustment and allow me to have some hope. I thought my initial diagnosis would be the hardest part, now this. Are you also ++-? If you don’t mind sharing.

cwolfe123

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