progression – Life As I Know It

New Treatment Plan 💊

March 29, 2026

Hello again. A quick update on where I’ve landed with treatment.

Over the next 2 weeks I’ll start what I consider my 5th line of treatment. If you are interested I’m tracking my treatments on the My Story link of this website/blog.

I say 5th because I’m not really counting the clinical trial I was on. It was a blind trial so you don’t know if you are in the treatment or control group. After the fact I learned I was in the control group so I was really getting the same treatment as before the trial. Anyway, it’s not always straightforward to track treatments.

Speaking of clinical trials – I was hoping to get in to a Phase 2 trial with a “new” drug. Phase 2 trials have limited participation and the focus is to figure out the right dosing. The trial had a wait list of 10 women and the wait list was “not moving”. Sigh. A disappointment.

I’ve decided to try another drug similar to one that I was on before (from the same “class” of drugs). My oncologist says that in his experience he’s not seen great results from doing this. However, I’m seeing more people with MBC (metastatic breast cancer) who are doing this, some with good success.

So, he agreed that we will try it and closely monitor things through bloodwork and how I’m feeling. I’ll have another scan in early June to see if it’s stopped the progression.

I’m going to take Verzenio (Abemaciclib) with Tamoxifen. Fortunately for me, when I had early stage breast cancer I didn’t take any medications. This means they are all an option for me now (#silverlining). Many women with early stage breast cancer take Tamoxifen for 5 or 10 years as a way to prevent the cancer from returning.

Verzenio is a CDK 4/6 inhibitor (and has to be taken with something to knock down estrogen – the Tamoxifen in this case). When I was diagnosed in 2019 the “preferred” CDK 4/6 inhibitor was Ibrance. Since that time, research studies have shown that Verzenio is actually a bit superior. My oncologist told me that if I were diagnosed today he’s put me on Verzenio.

So, we will give this a try. They are both oral medications (nice, I don’t have to go to the cancer center). Verzenio is known to cause GI issues, in some cases severe. I have tolerated most of the drugs really well and am hoping this is the case again.

Am I nervous? Yes.

Anxious? You bet.

Optimistic? Absolutely!

In the meantime, life continues! Maddy and I just got back from a week in Rome. Evelyn and I are planning a trip to Europe in May. Hopefully I’ll be well enough for Glen and I to do a trip in early fall. I’m going absolutely nowhere in April and will be hitting the trails to walk and soak up the beautiful Colorado views! Come visit, I could use walking partners!

Onward!

🌷Stepping into Spring and Uncertainty

March 14, 2026

Happy spring! It’s been crazy warm here with basically no snow this winter. It’s made it a bit easier to get outside but also worrisome.

Christmas in March – Glen and the girls got me a stained glass making class for Christmas. You can see how beautiful the weather looks!

One thing I try not worry about is this damn cancer. There is a lot about my situation that is out of my control. Sometimes it’s hard not to worry and in those cases I only give my self a set amount of time and then I put the worry away.

It’s been a wild three months.

🌷 Radiation to my C1 last fall looks like it was successful in stopping that cancer lesion.

🌷 I was taking a walk in January and my hip/femur (greater trochanter) fractured. It was minor and no longer hurts. Still, walking may = fracture.

🌷 This week I had 5 doses of radiation on that fracture to try to knock down the cancer and reduce any further fracture.

🌷 This week I had a total of 8 medical appointments (5 radiation, a PET scan, an oncology visit, and an echocardiogram).

🌷 PET scan results were not great. Looks like the cancer has gotten a bit more active. Looking at changing treatments.

As you’ve probably learned from me by now, there are a finite number of treatments. Once those run out there is nothing to stop the cancer.

How many treatment lines are there? It varies for each person depending on your cancer subtype. Exact number is unclear (but not a huge number, maybe 6-10ish?). The positive side is that research and clinical trials are making more drugs available all the time. The drug I’ve been on for the past 2 years was not an option for me when I was diagnosed! I just need more drugs to become available and approved!

I don’t know what I’ll do for my next reatment line. We are looking at a clinical trials.

Please, please, talk to your fiends, family and neighbors about how important it is for the federal government to pass budgets on time and to fund cancer research! I know several promising trials that have stopped because of all the nonsense going on with the budget and NIH. It’s not partisan, it’s life or death for some of us.

All of this being said, I’m optimistic that I’ll find a good next treatment and hope that the side effects will be minimal and it will be very effective.

In the meantime I’m doing all the things! So far this year I’ve taken ballet classes, a sketching class, Spanish lessons, signed up to work with a personal trainer and am looking into learning to knit. I have a few trips planned with the girls and will enjoy every single day.

Wishing you all a fantastic rest of March. I’ll share more when I know it.

I was in Kansas City for work and caught the Univ. Colorado Women’s BB tournament game!

Summer, Scans & Science

June 4, 2025

Happy summer my friends. In Colorado we are starting off with a cool, wet one which is great for the a/c bill but less ideal for exploring outside.

Lot’s going on here including medically.

I had some work travel last month and towards the end I started not feeling well, including being light headed. I mentioned this to my oncology nurse 2 days ago during my treatment appointments and she scheduled a brain MRI and echocardiogram. Yes, light headedness triggers the immediate thought of brain metastasis.

Recall from my last post that we’ve found the MRI to be the best imaging for me. The brain MRI captures the head and top part of the spine (cervical). Mixed results: no brain metastasis 🙌 but it did pick up a new lesion on my C1 vertebrae 👎.

The nerves that come out of the C1 impact the sides of your face and head as shown in this nifty diagram (one of my fav diagrams BTW).

The most likely explanation for my light headedness is that the lesion (tumor) is pressing on the nerves. So, my oncologist has ordered another PET/CT to check again. It seems a little insane to keep getting imaging that doesn’t work so well – I guess he wants to confirm or look for other lesions.

My tumor markers did drop the end of last month which is in contradiction to the new tumor.

See how complicated and tricky cancer is?

For now, I’ll get the PET/CT and an echocardiogram and keep doing all the things (eating healthy, moving, relaxing) and we shall see where this takes me.

After my work trip I spent 2 days in Chicago at the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) where I learned about new treatment lines coming out and connecting with other patient advocates.

The cancer research going on now will result in the drugs being used in the coming years. This is why it is so important to preserve funding for the National Institutes of Health. The presidents budget slashes funding by almost 50%. That means many fewer clinical trials and many fewer drugs in 5 years. No one expects to get cancer. If you get cancer in 5 years you will be wishing the NIH had done more research to help you. Please call your elected federal reps and push for restoring funding to NIH.

On a lighter note – Maddy graduated from high school, Evelyn started a research internship at University Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and we all head to Las Vegas at the end of the month to support Maddy in her last National Dance Competition.

Onward!

Amir humored me with a selfie in front of the MRI machine

How Long to Ride this Treatment Train? 🚂

April 6, 2025

Hi friends and family – I hope spring has sprung in your area and you’ve been able to enjoy some time outside!

I write to share the latest status of my life with MBC and treatment. On March 31 I had treatment #20 of Enhertu! Yippee! Enhertu is an anti-body drug conjugate (ADC) given intravenously every three weeks. I do not have a port for it. On days I receive treatment I’m at the cancer center anywhere from 3-5 hours.

My oncologist considers three things when determining if we stay on the current treatment or change.

How do I feel?
What does imaging show?
What are my tumor markers (blood work) showing?

Fortunately, I feel quite good. I am still working FT. I’m walking daily. I’m doing all the things I want to do. So, all good here.

Imaging. Earlier in March I had a PET scan to see if the cancer is active. The imaging report stated that there was increased activity in several areas of my spine. My scan in December also showed a small increase in activity. So, not the best result.

Tumor Markers. My tumor markers (CA 27-29) have been steadily rising, not great. Ideally we want the number to be under 40. As you can see from the chart here, they are above that and trending upward.

So, what to do? 2 out of the 3 indicators are pointing to progression. My oncologist gave me the option to change medication now or stay on Enhertu. He said it is the “devil you know vs. the devil you don’t know.” After some discussion we agreed that if my tumor marker got into the 350-range we’d change meds.

Keep in mind that when we had that conversation I didn’t have my most recent tumor marker number. Clearly, it has jumped a lot in the past 3 weeks.

So, what next?

As long as I’m still feeling fine I will have my next appointments and treatment on April 12. However, it remains to be seen if I’ll have Enhertu or the next medication we have lined up (also IV chemo).

As you know, there are limited treatment options so we aim to stay on them as long as possible. On the other hand, we don’t want to stay on a treatment that is not working. We want to find something new that will quiet the cancer.

I leave you with a few photos from some recent travels. More soon.

Onward!

Onward! New meds and surgery

Lots going on here so I’ll try to summarize for those trying to keep up.

Surgery. I still have continual pain in my lower back, right hip and leg. It’s debilitating and very frustrating to deal with and try to control. An MRI of my lower back shows that I have tumor pushing on my spinal cord. It’s not clear if this tumor is “new” or “old”.

The surgeon (neuro-oncologist) is recommending a laminectomy and tumor “rescission”. He will go in and remove part of 2 of my vertebrae as well as any cancer tumors he sees there. He is very confident this will eliminate my pain (🤞). Note: I find surgeons to be over confident in general.

Surgery is scheduled for Wednesday October 4. I will stay one night in the hospital. I should be up and walking about the same day.

New Meds. The results of my PET scan show the cancer is still limited to my bones (no visceral organs). This is very good! It also looks as though I have been having very slow progression over the past year.

My oncologist wants to stay ahead of the cancer (me too!) and recommends switching medication. I have already stopped taking Ibrance and in late October I will switch to Xeloda (z-low-da). These oral meds are taken twice a day for two weeks and then a week off.

I had a great run with Ibrance – over 4 years and 50+ medication cycles!

I know several other women on Xeloda so there is a support network to plug in to. I’m hoping my side effects are minimal and that my cancer hates this medication!

I will keep taking Xeloda until it stops working. This is determined by doing scans and comparing them to previous scans.

Today I will see my primary care physician to have him sign off that I’m healthy enough to have surgery. Then I’ll be calling my insurance company to see where approval for the surgery is.

Other than all of this, it’s a typical fall day here in Colorado with leaves starting to turn, lots of sunshine, and a high in the mid-80s. I’m looking forward to getting my back/hip/leg in order so I can go out and walk again. Take a walk for me – short or long – and send me a photo.

Bye bye Ibrance. You served me well, I’m still disappointed that you failed me. Do better, medicine!

Keep on Swimming – update, June 7, 2022

It was a good run. I’ve been on the same (first) line of treatment for nearly 3 years (July 2019). Alas, the oncologist thinks that the medication is failing me and that we should move to the next line of treatment.

It’s important to note that the medication is failing ME and not the other way around. I’ve done nothing to cause this.

I had a Zoom call with my oncologist this morning because I’m still under the weather from COVID. He went over my bone scan and CT scan results.

Short version – The CT scan showed some mild bone disease worsening and new small fractures on the C7 and T3 of my spine. Given that we’ve had the “should we change treatment?” conversation for ~6 months, he thinks it’s time.

Previous areas of my spine impacted include C7, T9, T10, L4 and S1. Latest scans show more fracture on C7 and also T3.

So, disappointing but not surprising or unexpected. The doctor was very upfront with me from the beginning – we have medication to treat Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) but no cure. Eventually all the medication will fail. It’s not a matter of ‘if’, rather ‘when’.

We are finalizing my next line of treatment. The standard of care is a drug called Flaslodex (aka Fulvestrant). I’ll share more about it later.

I have 2 options: (1) Flaslodex alone or (2) randomized clinical trial with Flaslodex and Verzineo (Abemaciclib, another CDK 4/6 similar to Ibrance). I opted for the trial.

A research nurse will call me about the trial and we will sort out details.

Sigh. Knew it was coming. Still a bit of a gut punch. This is the long game though…

I asked about progression free survival (PFS) on Flaslodex. He said his general experience is 1-3 years. He said I did better than average on Ibrance and so that could be an indicator of how well I respond to treatments. Overall, of course, hard to say.

I may have to go a bit without treatment so it flushes out of my system before starting the new one, especially for a trial so that they can be sure the effects are from the new medications.

As of today, still taking first line treatments (even though they are failing me): Ibrance, Anastrazole, Lupron, Zometa