Hi everyone
I’m new to this group. I’m 66 and I was initially diagnosed with breast cancer 16 years ago and had a mastectomy, 6 rounds of chemo (FEC then Taxotare) followed by radiotherapy, Tomoxifen and then Arimidex.
I’ve now been absolutely blindsided by a secondary diagnosis last November - chest wall and pleural effusion which has been drained once (no malignancy detected in sample fluid)
I started Ribociclib (600mg for 21 days, then 7 days off) and Fulvestrant injections every 28 days on 16 December so am now on cycle 3.
I have been reading posts here and many people have said they’ve experienced minor side effects which is amazing! I had really bad diarrhoea the first cycle which has reduced but I’m now getting lower stomach cramps. I have a history of diverticulitis and these pains and accompanying symptoms are very similar so I wonder if the meds could be triggering flare ups. Either way I’m feeling very sorry for myself and struggling to get my head around the whole ‘life limiting illness’ thing!! Trying to be strong for my daughters and husband who say ‘you’ll be fine’
I would just really like to know if anyone else has/is experiencing similar?
Thank you - I have already been cheered by your posts 
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Hi Elizabeth66 sorry you found yourself on here. Your diagnoses seems pretty similar to mine. I had stage 3 breast cancer 12 years ago and had FEC and taxotare. Then radiotherapy and tamoxifen and letrazole. I had hip and back ache last year and doctor said it was osteoarthritis and sent me for physio. She sent me for MRI and it came back with secondary breast cancer with mets in my pelvis, spine, ribs and skull etc. I am on Ribociclib and had denosumab injections every four weeks. I also sometimes get diarrhoea but have found mainly towards the end of the second week of ribociclib and also been getting lower stomach pain for the past few weeks. I am only on the third lot of this cycle. I hate it when people say be positive you will be fine. It annoys me or something like you can beat this you did it before and can do it again. Really would you like to swap places. My rant over
Anyway maybe we should keep in touch as we sound similar in our journey. I also find that these forums really help me. I am 59 and live in West Midlands.
Lee x
Hi Lee
Lovely to meet you - shame about the rubbish circumstances!
It’s reassuring to hear that someone has had similar experiences - there are far too many of us out there 
And there’s nothing quite like a good rant 
I’m 66 and live in Hertfordshire. I‘m fortunate to have an excellent team looking after me but it’s so helpful to have somewhere else to go outside of regular appointments.
I’ve got my first scan at the beginning of March so trying not to get pre-anxious about it. Very hard not knowing what’s around the corner.
Hope you’re having a good day x
