Tag Archives: Tamoxifen

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

Emergency Room

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Scorchy

It has been awhile since I have posted. I apologize for my silence; you can probably reason that it takes quite a bit to shut me up. And you would be right. But this paincation has been particularly brutal. And … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, My Stage IV Life, Stage IV Musings | Tagged advocacy, alone, breast cancer, Cigna, constipation, emergency contact, friends, impacted bowel, invisibility, invisible, invisible patient, Letrozole, Lupron, metastasis, metastatic breast cancer, Methadone, nerve ablation, nerve block, nuclear constipation, Oxycodone, pain, pain management, pain scale, Stage IV, stage iv breast cancer, support, Tamoxifen, Treatment, Twitter, Valium, vulnerability | 72 Comments

Seeing Stars

Posted on July 4, 2013 by Scorchy

There’s a popular saying among knitters: “I knit so I don’t kill people.” Over the past two months I’ve been saying “I knit so I don’t kill myself.” This paincation has been brutal–thus my prolonged absence from the blogosphere. When … Continue reading →

Posted in My Stage IV Life, Stage IV Musings | Tagged bone metastasis, breast cancer, knitting, Letrozole, lytic lesion, metastasis, metastatic breast cancer, MRI, nerve ablation, Oxycodone, pain, pain management, Paincation, PET/CT, Radiation, Stage IV, stage iv breast cancer, Tamoxifen, Treatment, vulnerability | 67 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

Cancer is Hard When You’re Alone

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Scorchy

I sure do love historical analysis–as you have no doubt observed if you’ve read The Sarcastic Boob with any regularity. Breast cancer is a fascinating subject and fits right into my love of knowledgeable discourse. The implications of gender and … Continue reading →

Posted in My Stage IV Life, Stage IV Musings | Tagged alone, breast, breast cancer, depression, frustration, metastasis, metastatic breast cancer, pain, pain management, Stage IV, stage iv breast cancer, stigma, support, Tamoxifen, Treatment, vulnerability | 93 Comments

Me and My Shadow

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Scorchy

I have to be honest: it’s been a conscious effort to think about cancer recently. Not that I’m complaining, who the heck wants to think about cancer all the time? Who knew it could be so easy? I love being … Continue reading →

Posted in Career Conundrums, My Stage IV Life, Physicians, Stage IV Musings | Tagged "Alright Tit", Attitude, bone metastasis, bone mets, breast cancer, captain picard meme, career, denial, Diagnosis, metastasis, metastatic breast cancer, Stage IV, stage iv breast cancer, Tamoxifen, Treatment, vulnerability | 48 Comments

Two Weeks In

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Scorchy

“We’re ya been, Scorchy?” I saw that subject line in my Inbox and realized that I have not been writing. And there’s a reason: I’M WORKING AGAIN! I’M WORKING AGAIN! Ah, what a wonderful thing. This tumor flare/spondylosis crisis that … Continue reading →

Posted in Career Conundrums, My Stage IV Life | Tagged career, frustration, history, metastasis, metastatic breast cancer, pain, pain management, Stage IV, stage iv breast cancer, Tamoxifen, Tamoxifuck, TFK, Treatment, vulnerability | 20 Comments

A Perfectly Unnatural State

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Scorchy

Over the last week or so I’ve been struggling with something stuck in my craw. I’m not sure what it is, although I’ve been trying desperately to find out. The thoughts go something like this: Yeah, I know. All over … Continue reading →

Posted in Career Conundrums, My Stage IV Life, Stage IV Musings | Tagged 2012 Sisters, Attitude, awareness, breast cancer, Death Star, Diagnosis, doomsday machine, friends, gratitude, marginalized, metastasis, metastatic breast cancer, Stage IV, stage iv breast cancer, Start Trek, support, Tamoxifen, vulnerability, william windom | 24 Comments

Six Months

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Scorchy

Today is the six month mark. I guess some would term it a “cancerversary,” but I wouldn’t call it that. First, because I hate the term “cancerversary.” And, second, I haven’t bought any commemorative jewelry for the occasion. (Note: … Continue reading →

Posted in Career Conundrums, My Stage IV Life | Tagged Attitude, cancerversary, friends, frustration, metastasis, metastatic breast cancer, office, pain, pain management, pill organizer, Pinktober, Stage IV, stage iv breast cancer, support, support network, Tamoxifen, Treatment, vulnerability | 40 Comments

The Meltdown

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Scorchy

Change is never easy, but as a change agent in my professional life I’ve always been willing to suck it up. I don’t always like it, but I can usually find a opening that appeals to me and warms me … Continue reading →