Secondary breast cancer

Hello everyone,

My name is Nafiseh. I am 41 years old and a mother of three autistic children.

My breast cancer journey started when my GP urgently referred me to the breast clinic after finding three suspicious lumps – two in my left breast and one in my left armpit.

After biopsies and further scans, I was diagnosed with HER2-positive invasive ductal breast cancer. The doctors explained that the cancer involved almost my entire left breast, measuring approximately 17 cm in extent and extending towards the axilla (armpit), with lymph node involvement.

Unfortunately, further investigations later showed that the cancer had spread to my bones, and I am now living with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.

I completed chemotherapy and I am currently receiving HER2-targeted treatment, hormone therapy and Denosumab. Thankfully, most of my bone metastases have remained stable or have even become smaller on my recent scans, and I hope my treatment continues to work well.

Living with advanced cancer while caring for three autistic children can be physically and emotionally challenging, but I try to stay hopeful and take one day at a time.

I joined this community to meet people who understand what living with metastatic breast cancer is like, to learn from your experiences, and hopefully offer support to others too. If anyone has HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer or is on similar treatment, I would love to hear from you.

Thank you for welcoming me into the group. I wish everyone strength and the very best on their journey.