As I was reading all the thoughts here about pain and getting pain relief a thought popped into my head. How do we each keep track of what we do now that helps decrease our pain now? Type of pain, location of pain, what we did that helped decrease the pain (medication type, ice, heat, stretching, etc.) Keeping a personal pain log may prove to be very valuable.
Also, asking for or clearly articulating what your need for pain is also VIP- Spell out what is hurting, how long it has been hurting, what aggravates it, what helps it, etc. Do NOT suffer in SILENCE, ask for what you need until you get it. Nurses and or getting a pharmacist to review your medications may be very helpful. Yes, Hospice does a good job with pain management, but we do NOT need to WAIT for HOSPICE to get pain relief. NO NEED TO WAIT. Also, do NOT let anyone give you the "We don't want you to become addicted" statement. Let's be real, we want to be functional, comfortable and live the life we have to live.
These are my thoughts off the top of my head tonight.

Good evening everyone at BCTEAM. People often don't know how to talk about this stage of cancer or cancer at all. I had several classmates who died from this stage of cancer. I know it makes people uncomfortable. I feel that like so many life issues when it's out in the open we can talk about cancer. Stage 4 the cancer is advance. A lot of people are understandably afraid of cancer. You can't see inside to what's happening with your body. All of sudden you're transported from a world of being healthy to being very ill with pain. Hospitals, clinics, radiation, chemotherapy, many blood tests, scans, medical appointments. Your body feels like it's no longer yours. Cancer is a daily rollercoaster of ups and downs. I hope and 🙏 that each one of you can be positive daily and look at the positive everyday. Life still can be beautiful. I hope my thoughts can help comfort you.

Barbara66 as you know I don't have MBC but I have a very close friend who does. She has already made arrangements with hospice for her final days. Hospice is wonderful about pain management and they don't do anything that will prolong your life. Usually about two weeks before passing, you are given pain meds like morphine and you sleep a lot as you get weaker. When you know death is close or before you become unable to care for yourself, you should contact hospice and get into the program. They are wonderful and will provide all your meds and supplies you need. I had them when my husband was dying from pancreatic cancer. They also take care of all the details after death like calling the coroner, etc. It will save your son from having to deal with all that. Someone at your oncologist's office or the social worker at your hospital can refer you.

@A MyBCTeam Member - Truthfully, I realize I am living with metastatic breast cancer. There is no denial; however, I don't feel the need to think about it all the time and I don't feel the need to think about when it progresses to the point of taking my life and everything I may go through before then. For now, I am doing well and have a great quality of life. I don't know how long that will last so I focus on the quality of life I have and enjoy every moment. It does me no good to work myself into a fearful frenzy thinking about what if and when...that being said, most probably, cancer will be how I pass but it may not be. I may continue to do well and a hundred million other things can take my life. I do hope though that if cancer is how I pass that I have the right medications to keep me comfortable and I am lucky enough to have those that I love with me during the transition❤️

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@A MyBCTeam Member I am sorry about the worsening of your Breast cancer. I will be where you are eventually unless something else takes me first. Take one day at a time, thats all the majority of us can do.

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