My name is Tammy  Louise. I'm 44 years old.  My first bout of breast cancer was at age 32- Stage 2b invasive ductal carcinoma.. Had lumpectomy, 12 weeks of chemo (taxol), 6 weeks of radiation,and ended treatment with an oopherectomy. In Sept. of 2011 I went to the emergency room due to extreme back pain, the Doctor wanted to do a cat scan, then came in to let me know I had tumors throughout my spine and he would like to admit me for more scans. Well two days later after all scans were back I was told I had innumerable mets (tumors) from literally skull to toes and both lobes of my liver. I was horrified as they informed me I probably had 6-12 months to live. I endured radiation and several unsuccessful biopsies and a run of chemo over the next few months. My oncologist informed me I'd never be able to work again due to my risk of bone fractures. I was a single mother to 4 almost grown children and several grand children.  I was 1.5 years out of a divorce. It broke my heart to leave my career, but before I knew it I was on SSD and forced to have my oldest son move back home with his wife and children to keep up the mortgage and bills. I've since suffered several progressions. In the winter of 2013 it invaded my brain and all 3 lobes if my right lung as well as my bones and liver going nuts. I underwent a gammaknife procedure and began Xeloda (oral chemo). I got 15 months on Xeloda which even killed all the cancer in my lungs. Well, progression hit this spring and I'm now on erubulin, which is given IV two weeks in a row with one week off. I was forced to switch doctors this past spring to get better care and now drive 1.5 hours each way to my oncologist. My new chemo is not shrinking tumors, just keeping me stable and creating neuropathy so I've lost feeling to both of my legs from the knees down and it's beginning to affect my hands. I discovered there's very little help or support for those of us facing stage IV breast cancer. Sadly only 3% of all money raised goes to help those of us battling stage IV, yet 30% of all women diagnosed with any stage breast cancer will face stage IV within our lifetime, some not till many years later (it was 9 years for me).  My youngest son just turned 18 and developed schizophrenia and requires my 24-hour care.  His father has moved away and rarely visits. So I'm determined to fight and be here for as long as I can for my children even though our yearly vacations and many of the things we enjoyed are now a thing of the past. I still feel everyday I get with them is a blessing. Thank you for letting me share..

Hi. My name is Kay and I was first diagnosed with stage II breast cancer at age 28 in 2001. In 2012, at age 39, I learned that the cancer had returned and is now in my bones. In the past two and a half years I have had 4 surgeries, 10 doses of radiation, 8 PET/CT Scans, and been on 3 different medications. The newest medication has brought difficult side effects. Hot flashes, insomnia, severe joint aches and pains. I have adjusted to a "new normal." I live life day to day because that is the only choice I have. I live in constant uncertainty and feel great fear when I think about the future. I am afraid that I won't be here to see my son graduate, have grandchildren, retire with my husband, and travel to the faraway places I have dreamt about all my life. Cancer sucks and there is nothing "pink" about it.

I am 42 years old. I was diagnosed December 9, 2009 with stage 4 breast cancer with multiple mets to my liver. I was 38, with a 10-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter. As of this day this was my new life as a metastatic breast cancer patient for the rest of my life. Out of the last five years I've been on continuous chemo, and I visit my oncologist every week to get bloodwork. I also have to be on blood thinners for the rest of my life because all the chemo I have had gave me multiple blood clots in my pelvic area. Because of all the poison pumped into my body, I have lost all my hair in the past, gained weight, I have daily headaches, my hands and feet always hurt and I cannot concentrate on what I read most of the time.  Math is out of the question including counting money, and I also can't remember alot of things. Cancer has taken so much from me.  I'm out of breath all the time; some days I just lie in bed. I try to live life to the fullest but sometimes it just doesn't work. I worry most about my children; they do not have a relationship with their father... What's going to happen when I'm gone?  Those of us that are stage 4 try not to worry and live life a day at a time, but it's the hardest thing in the world. We face tests, cat scans, Pet scans, blood transfusions, shots, tumor marker tests - I could go on and on. We just do what we have to do to survive. Now its OUR turn to be heard.

Hi, my name is Lydia and I am 37 years young. I was diagnosed at the age of 35 with Stage IV breast cancer with numerous bone mets. My diagnosis was only discovered after weeks of unrelenting back pain by an MRI. Only a few weeks after my diagnosis I was hospitalized for debilitating pain in my back and right hip and unable to walk standing straight or with assistance. I had 2 fractured vertebrae, and a golf ball sized hole in my right hip, along with the other lytic lesions reeking havoc on my spine. After surgery to fix that I was sentenced to 13 agonizing months on harsh chemotherapy and hormone receptor treatment. The poison I was prescribed to help save my life caused me to lose my hair, and essentially every ounce of energy I ever had. What it did not take away was my fight to live for my husband and three precious children. Yes there were many breakdowns and thoughts of despair, but I made it through all that alive and with a PET scan that said my cancer was dead, inactive, stable, but I know, still lurking in the shadows.
During my diagnosis my father was diagnosed with a glioblastoma, a very aggressive brain cancer, and died after much suffering about eight months later. Cancer has taken my father.  It has taken my bodily strength and stamina. It has put a fear into me that will never go away. I live with pain in various joints and bones daily, which I believe will persist due to damage already caused. What I do have is my faith that The Lord has a plan for me. I have the courage that he has given me to get up every day and say "I'm alive, thank you for this."  I continue with hormone receptor treatment until forever, or until it stops working, or something else will help me.
This picture is not of what cancer has done to me but why I fight it. My husband and children. 

I am Amy.  I am 43 years young. My initial breast cancer diagnosis was in June of 2009, one week before my 38th birthday.  I was misdiagnosed twice 10 months apart. I finally listened to my inner voice and insisted they drain the "cyst".  The "cyst" was stage 2 breast cancer.  I had chemo before lumpectomy and radiation.  My nodes were clear and I was told all was good.  I was on Tamoxifen for 3 and 1/2 years when my tumor markers doubled 3 times in a row.  CT revealed I had metastatic breast cancer in my liver, skin, and bones.  

I try to spend as much time as possible enjoying life with my loved ones.  I want to make some great memories for them.  Even though I do have hope, and do participate in trials, there is currently no cure for metastatic breast cancer.  So, I want to make sure I leave behind some great memories for my family and friends to remember me by.

My name is Aurora and I'm going to turn 54 on the 27th of this month (August). I was initially diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in 2009 and underwent chemo, mastectomy and radiation. I took the drug Tamoxifen to keep the C at bay. Last year (2013) in July I broke my right femur (leg to hip bone) and when they went to operate they found cancer. Further exams (scans) showed metastatic breast cancer to many bones including rib, shoulder, and leg. Underwent radiation and started on the drug Arimidex. I stayed hospitalized for three and a half months.

I've had to go on permanent disability due to my extensive bone mets. I walk with pain with the help of a cane. I'm no longer able to drive a car. I stay home alone most of the time. I take antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication to help with the emotional pain.

It's frustrating not to be able to play with my grandson, help with chores around the house, grooming and bathing is difficult. 

Please share this blog with your friends and help us raise awareness for the 30% of women who go on to develop metastatic breast cancer. Not everything is Pink. The "unspoken" truth is that 3 in 10 early diagnosed breast cancer patients will go on to join the ranks of stage 4 - no cure - disease.

My name is Tracy, I feel like I am about 210 years old right about now : ) I was a hospice RN case manager for over ten years when I was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer with mets to the bone and liver in December 2013. What a wonderful Christmas gift that was! I have one son who is 20 and I raised him as a single mother. Once diagnosed, I decided it was time to "live". I went on various road trips, first to California, then a road trip with my son to Kentucky and Tennessee, then New Orleans and Montana to see family there. I am from Michigan and one day decided I did not want to see another Michigan winter. I now live in the Florida Keys with my wonderful boyfriend who also is battling liver disease. As a nurse I have seen how this usually ends, but I am a fighter and I am not giving up yet. Much love and respect to all my mets sisters and brothers. 

I'm Vera, and I'm 55 years old. I was first diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in August, 2002. During a routine gynecological exam, a very deep, 2.1 cm suspicious lump was found. I had breast surgery, a second surgery to obtain clean margins, then chemo and radiation. I began chemo on September 11th exactly one year after the towers were destroyed. I had a husband, 17-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter, and I needed to live for them. Life has no regard for treatment schedules: a week after I started chemo, my father suffered a hemorrhagic stroke. He died on October 16th. I was so numb that I couldn't even allow myself to grieve - all of my focus was on surviving the ravages of Adriamycin, Cytoxan and Taxotere. 

I was declared 'cancer free' by my oncologist five years later, certainly not suspecting cancer when I developed chronic pain climbing stairs and difficulty walking. My oncologist disregarded my complaints. Nine years post-diagnosis, after seeing rheumatologists and neurologists who could find nothing wrong with me, my tumor markers skyrocketed. A PET scan in October 2011 confirmed metastasis to pelvic bones, pubic bone and spine, and a lymph node full of cancer in the chest wall. I had the lymph node surgically removed and typed to ensure it was the same estrogen and progesterone-positive cancer. I also had my ovaries removed, something I had begged for my doctors to do years back. They had refused, due to lack of evidence of any disease. 

I'm now approaching the end of year three with metastatic cancer. I've given up my career as an educator. My ability to function normally is very limited due to the significant side effects of treatment. Cognitively, I struggle to remember names. sequences, and events. It's so frustrating and demoralizing. My body aches constantly with neuropathy and joint pain. I keep trying to shift away from the pain, so I do not get good sleep nor can I stand still. Exercise and meditation does help but I have not found anything to help with my mental deficits. I am left wondering how much longer I will live and what my quality of life will be with each coming day. I help others to take my mind off of myself. In the quiet hours, when there is no distraction, only fervent prayer gets me through. We suffer in silence, and we are misunderstood. Many of us do not wear our painful deficits on the outside. We have learned that complaining and sharing our pain offers no benefit.

I'm Laura and I am 51 years old.  I was diagnosed Stage 3a in 2012, had a year-long respite after treatment of being, or thinking I was "cancer free."  In May of 2014 I found a lump in my neck, and was quickly diagnosed as Stage 4 with mets to lymph, lungs, and liver. Beyond Stage 4 cancer and the painful uncertainty that is my future, I have permanent shortness of breath and intermittent pain from fibrosis in my right lung as well as several chronic unhealed rib fractures, all caused by radiation.  I have intermittent severe bouts of pain due to damage to my right intercostal brachial nerve during my mastectomies.  I feel vapid and have a hard time concentrating, especially on reading, due to chemotherapy, to the stress of cancer, and to all of the pharmaceuticals I now take to feel OK.  I have lost all comfort with my body and its abilities, my sense of  who I am, my libido, and any assumptions about experiencing an empty nest with my husband or meeting any future grandchildren.  All that said, I am incredibly happy to be alive, to continue to witness my children growing into adulthood.