We're not dying of metastatic breast cancer. We're living with it
When I first told people I had metastatic breast cancer — Stage Four, MBC — I got two types of responses.
The first was, "Never heard of it. What is it?"
It means the breast cancer has migrated to your lungs, liver, bones and/or brain. It's incurable.
For those who did know what MBC is, the essay I wrote for NPR last spring describing my diagnosis was like dropping a bomb. People I hadn't seen in 25 years wanted to make me a stop on their summer road trips. Dozens reached out on email, wanting to visit.
But it's difficult to make plans. One thing most of us with MBC have in common is we're really, really tired.
Other than that, there's not a lot we have in common: We're of every age, race, culture and gender. MBC is an omnivore.
Our lives have been transformed byNo one knows when they're going to die, whether they have cancer or not. But MBC patients are looking over their shoulders more than most.
