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Introduction: Who am I and why am I writing a blog?

Hi, my name is SJ & this is my blog about living with Metastatic Breast Cancer.

Picture taken by my gorgeous friend Nicole in 2017 (pre-diagnosis)

Who am I?

My name is SJ (short for Sarah-Jane) Boehm & I am a 44 year old happily married (almost 20 years!) mother of 2 awesome kids, a son aged 12 & a daughter aged 10. We also have a fur-baby, a 12 month old Cavoodle called Duke! We live in Adelaide, South Australia 😀.

Why am I writing a blog?

In October of 2020 (yes thats right during the Covid pandemic), just days before my daughters 10 birthday, I discovered I had breast cancer. In just over a week I learnt it had spread to my lungs, making my diagnosis stage 4, advanced or metastatic breast cancer (MBC). To top it off I was/am still recovering from a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI) I suffered from an accident in 2019. Some of us get all the luck!

It is hard to describe how I felt but you may be able to imagine the shock, disbelief, anger and fear I felt upon hearing my diagnosis. (I will tell you more about how I came to be diagnosed, what exactly is MBC and about my MTBI in a future blog post(s)). 

My blog will share my journey including: what I learn or have learnt in the 4 months since I have been diagnosed (including what I wish I knew earlier), celebrate my wins, learn from my losses, remain positive & hopefully inspire others.

My treatment is different to what most people expect (including me!) for breast cancer. There is currently no plans for me to have chemo or radiation therapy. I still have my own hair (although one of my medications is making me lose a lot of hair!).

I am optimistic about living with MBC even though it is not currently curable & the median survival rate is only 3 years. Despite this, there is a lot of factors that keep me optimistic.

The facts that keep me positive

  • I have the most common kind of breast cancer (hormone positive) & therefore there is a lot of funding and research time in this space.
  • Although not currently curable, hormone positive cancer does respond well to medication, as I am able to starve the cancer of the hormones which feeds it.
  • One of my medications, called my 'fancy' pills by my Oncologist, has been around for less than 5 years and for most on this medication it is still effective. Which should see the median survival rate increase!
  • I like to think of managing my cancer much like a diabetic manages their diabetes or like Magic Johnson manages his Aids diagnosis.
  • Lastly (& most importantly) I have an oncologist I trust, like & respect!

But I am not going to rely solely on medication, I will share with you how I prepare for this battle my oncologist describes as a marathon. 

I need to get leaner (as fat cells produce oestrogen) & exercise 💪 is considered an important treatment for cancer. 

I am making changes to reduce my stress & exposure to toxins (I have enough toxins thanks to my cancer medications!) & save money to offset my rising medical expenses & my rapidly reducing income.

I hope to connect with other MBC warriors who are out there, promote breast cancer awareness & raise money for breast cancer research.

Until next time, my name is SJ Boehm and I am a fearless MBC warrior


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