Tag Archives: breasts

Open Letter to Joan Lunden

Posted on September 26, 2014 by Scorchy

I want to thank Joan Lunden and the people of TODAY of putting the spotlight, however brief, on metastatic breast cancer–the one that no one talks about. A link to the TODAY spot is below. http://www.joanlunden.com/category/35-breast-cancer/item/453-today-show-pinkpower-day-3 Dear Ms. Lunden, You are … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Breast Cancer PSAs, Breastploitation, My Stage IV Life | Tagged advocacy, Attitude, awareness, bald, breast, breast cancer, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, breasts, Diagnosis, frustration, hair loss, hair loss due to cancer, Information resources, Joan Lunden, Media, metastasis, metastatic breast cancer, October, pink ribbon, Pinktober, Politics, Research, stage iv breast cancer, support, TODAY, TODAY show, Treatment | 39 Comments

Remission

Posted on July 5, 2014 by Scorchy

The Catch-22 of having metastatic breast cancer is this: when you’re caught in a period of crisis all you hope for is that your scans will improve, the pain will lessen or go away, your energy will return, and that … Continue reading →

Posted in My Stage IV Life | Tagged Attitude, awareness, breast cancer, breasts, cancer cell, Cancer Culture, career, Catch-22, Diagnosis, Exemestane, exhaustion, friends, frustration, Humor, knitting, Lupron, metastasis, metastatic breast cancer, pain management, PET/CT, Philosophy, remission, Stage IV, stage iv breast cancer, support, Tamoxifen, Treatment, vulnerability, Xgeva | 40 Comments

Xgeva

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Scorchy

Posted in Just for Laughs, My Stage IV Life | Tagged breast, breast cancer, breasts, Humor, metastasis, metastatic breast cancer, Stage IV, stage iv breast cancer, Tang, Treatment, Xgeva | 5 Comments

Released from Prison

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Scorchy

Where the hell have I been these past few months? Well, ever since my last episode with radiation of a painful bone tumor in my sacrum, I seem to have misplaced my voice. It could likely be lost among my yarn stash, but … Continue reading →

Posted in My Stage IV Life | Tagged breast cancer, breasts, career, compartmentalization, denial, depression, friends, frustration, guilt, knitting, metastasis, metastatic breast cancer, pain, pain management, pain. chronic pain, prison, scan, self-worth, social life, socialization, Stage IV, stage iv breast cancer, stigma, support, Treatment, vulnerability | 20 Comments

Let’s Make a Deal

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Scorchy

In what has become an early spring event, I am looking at my second bone tumor crisis. Just at the moment that I felt fabulous and had an energy level that I had not felt since before I was diagnosed … Continue reading →

Posted in My Stage IV Life, Stage IV Musings | Tagged advocacy, awareness, breast cancer, breasts, Cancer Culture, chemotherapy, Diagnosis, estrogen, Exemestane, Faslodex, Fulvestrant, Information resources, L4, Lupron, mischief, MRI, pain. chronic pain, PET/CT, progesterone, Radiation, sacrum, side-effects, spring, Stage IV, stage iv breast cancer, Treatment, Xgeva | 26 Comments

The Robber Baron

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Scorchy

Posted in Advocacy, Breast Cancer PSAs, Breastploitation, My Stage IV Life | Tagged advocacy, awareness, breast cancer, breasts, Don't Ignore Stage IV, Information resources, Komen, metastasis, metastatic breast cancer, Metavivor, Philosophy, Politics, Research, Stage IV, stage iv breast cancer, Susan G.Komen for the Cure | Leave a comment

The Whole Chronic Thing

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Scorchy

When I was first diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, I wanted a second opinion. It wasn’t that I thought another physician would tell me that I was fine, I just wanted to hear another take on the whole thing. So … Continue reading →

Posted in My Stage IV Life, Social Commentary, Stage IV Musings | Tagged advocacy, awareness, breast, breast cancer, breasts, Cancer Culture, chronic, chronic disease, Diagnosis, frustration, metastasis, metastatic breast cancer, Philosophy, Stage IV, stage iv breast cancer, stigma, Treatment, vulnerability | 34 Comments

Kobayashi Maru

Posted on September 14, 2013 by Scorchy

My latest paincation was intense and it was made more so by the experience of radiation. Now, like most things in this disease I was fortunate: only five consecutive days and maybe twenty minutes of my time each day. But … Continue reading →

Posted in My Stage IV Life, Stage IV Musings | Tagged advice for patient, anxiety, breast cancer, breasts, cancer cell, career, Diagnosis, fear, friends, frustration, health, metastasis, metastatic breast cancer, pain management, psychiatrist, Radiation, Stage IV, stage iv breast cancer, support, the machine, Treatment, Varian, vulnerability, Xanax | 42 Comments

Progression

Posted on June 8, 2013 by Scorchy

When I ended the call I stared at the screen looking for an app that I could consult for answers. But the reality? There was no app. I had just spoken with my oncologist and learned that Tamoxifen, the drug … Continue reading →

Posted in My Stage IV Life, Stage IV Musings | Tagged advocacy, breast cancer, breasts, Diagnosis, disease progression, Femara, Letrozole, lumbar spondylosis, Lupron, metastasis, metastatic breast cancer, pain, pain management, PET/CT, Philosophy, progression, spondylosis, Stage IV, stage iv breast cancer, support, Tamoxifen, Treatment, tumor, Xgeva | 94 Comments

The SCAR Project: UPDATE

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Scorchy

Overall, my meeting with Facebook to discuss my Change.org petition was really positive. Facebook’s representatives said they’re fully supportive of The SCAR Project and that they do allow mastectomy photos – but there’s clearly both internal and external confusion that’s … Continue reading →