It was 6 days into my new job when I found out my breast cancer had spread to my brain. I had previously spent over ten years working in non for profit. I was slowly climbing the non for profit ladder -trust me its a whole different ladder. After ten years I lost my first job. I began my quest for the next non for profit job I could find. I wanted something bigger and better I was a Manager after all.
"Director of Operations," that was it, this was going to be my next job. And it was, for the next
one year before they too let me go. I told you the non for profit ladder was a different one.
One night while enjoying a glass of wine, two weeks into the job, I felt a lump in my left breast. I finished my wine and the bottle, I kept feeling for the lump and it was there every time. Then, my husband felt the lump, then the doctor felt the lump, then the mammogram showed the lump, there was definitely a lump in my 34 year old rather tiny breast. Later, the biopsy confirmed the lump was cancer. I was stage 2b HER2+ breast cancer. Treatment, surgery, radiation, surgery, poof it was gone, wishful thinking.
One year and nine months later, 6 days into my new job; Metastatic Breast Cancer to my brain. Three brain tumors; two were removed with surgery, one remained, all spots were treated with radiation. I have since experienced 2 more bouts of brain radiation, 5 lumbar punctures, double vision in my right eye, hearing loss in my right ear. At most I've had over 10 brain tumors, all treated with SRS radiation.
Since April 2020 I have been on Xeloda, Tucatinib and Herceptin. I received my first NEaD scan a few months after starting these drugs and I am currently stable, and working part time, clearly full time is much too much for me.
We would love to share your MBC story! Please send it to us at projectlifembc@gmail.com
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