r/LivingWithMBC • u/SevereFisherman8673 • 5d ago

Can cancer spread early in treatment?

I've had two sessions of chemo (taxol/Herceptin/Perjeta) and my breast tumor is basically gone and at my last oncologist appointment (almost 2 weeks ago) she said my one liver and one lymph node tumor had shrunk as well. This week is an off week for chemo (I'm two on and one off) I feel like I feel all these weird pains and aches at times. Mostly bone aches....I have bone mets too. I was feeling so strong and happy that the tumors were reacting so well to treatment and now I'm scared.

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u/Mundane-Attitude-173 5d ago

If the chemo is shrinking your breast, liver, and lymph tumors that means it’s working. It would be unlikely, maybe impossible, you’d have progression in your bones when it’s working everywhere else. Are you on a wbc stimulator? I do nivestym injections for 5 days post chemo and those make my bones hurt.

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u/Disastrous_Film_3823 4d ago

Yes, I do Granix for three days post Chemo and I ache for days.

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u/grrrrrsh 5d ago

I'm NED at the moment and still get random sensations from time to time. The cancer leaves behind scarring and damage, and the treatment can cause inflammation. If you've got bone mets, you're probably taking denosumab, which can cause bone aches and muscle stiffness.

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u/heyheyheynopeno 4d ago

This is most likely a sign that things are working. Bones hurt when they heal! Also, chemo aches and pains are VERY normal.

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u/Designer_Lady_1976 4d ago

It’s a good sign! It means that the treatment is working. I am her2 positive and also felt a lot of anxiety going through chemo, because my bone mets ached more during chemo than before I started treatment. My oncologist confirmed that mets ache/ can hurt more during treatment. My bone mets were all sclerotic after 4 rounds of THP and continued to show healing after chemo ended. It’s definitely a really good sign that your breast tumor disappeared so quickly, as well.

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u/Any-Assignment-5442 4d ago

I had those random pains & then read up on side effects of each of my treatments (same treatment as yours + @hormone blocker” as I’m +++ but that one didn’t start til AFTER the taxol was completed) and it turns out they’re a SIDE EFFECT of the treatment!! Once I’d reassured myself about that, I stopped worrying. At one point I was CONVINCED I must have skull mets due to the fleeting but recurrent pain I was getting, but it eventually stopped).

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u/SevereFisherman8673 4d ago

Thank you for all of the reassurance everyone! I feel a lot better. I've been doing good by sticking to the positive...just trying to keep those negative thoughts at bay.