Giving hope to those affected
by secondary breast cancer
Research. Support. Education.
Giving hope to those affected
by secondary breast cancer
As part of our series looking at different chemotherapy treatments for secondary breast cancer, Emma Emery shares her experience of Eribulin Mesylate this week.
I was diagnosed de novo ( straight to secondary’s, no primary diagnosis) in June 2020 just 3 weeks before my 30th birthday.
My mets are located in my liver, lymph nodes in my armpit and collarbone.
I am currently on Eribulin as my 3rd line of treatment. Thankfully my last scan after 3 cycles showed everything was stable. I was on cape which didn’t work at all and hormone treatment worked for less than 6 months.
It is a very quick 5 minute IV infusion at the hospital. The premed (anti-sickness) and observations take longer than the infusion. I have experienced quite bad heartburn and constipation which is managed with medication. The main side effect I have is fatigue. I have had to take ill health retirement from my nursing career. Although I have found the fatigue to be very frustrating, I am learning to manage it better by pacing myself throughout the day. Taking regular rests after activities is making it manageable.
It's ok to put yourself first. I think we put so much pressure on ourselves to be the people we were before our diagnosis. We need to remind ourselves that we're putting something so toxic in our bodies that you need to put the toilet seat down when you flush to protect other people. So the fact that we can get up and face each day is impressive let alone all the other things we achieve.
So it's ok to take that nap, say no to doing thing you don't want to do. When someone offers to help accept it. Let them cut the grass, do the shopping, make a meal. Save your energy for doing things that bring you joy and make you smile.
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