This video is about my own experience and understanding, and I am not a doctor, so please talk to yours before deciding to make changes to your cancer medication.
I have so much respect for you. These are tough decisions. Your body, your life, your choice. It's not just surviving, it's living. Wishing you the best of luck.
Samantha you said you felt like a loser...that makes my heart hurt. You are far from that. I like the way you have thought all of this through so thoroughly. You can't control how your body reacts to things like medications. I'm continuing to pray for God to heal you so you can enjoy life without the worries you are now experiencing. You are a warrior so just continue to think of yourself in that way. ❤
Anyone who feels they need to judge Samantha for her choice, with her doc supporting her needs to back off. She is battling cancer and being a mom to a beautiful baby girl. Do you think if you were in her shoes you would want people being judgmental towards you for making choices for your own personal health? I’m in GI failure, I spend most of my day running to the bathroom and it is horrible. I would do anything to take that away. I’m on IV nutrition because it’s the only way my body can get nourishment. You deserve to have the best quality of life and o know that always worried you won’t make it to a bathroom isn’t fun, it consumes you. If I only go to the bathroom 6 times a day that’s a good day. I understand why you would lower your dose because it’s miserable.
I can certainly relate. The thing is that to get less opinions, you share less. That’s just a part of life. Even with friends/family. They think they’re being helpful. She has to do what is best for her. Period. It has to be her decision and hers only. Because it’s HER life that is being affected. Enjoy the time you have with your family and friends because NO one is promised tomorrow. One thing I do know is on earth we aren’t meant to stay. Death happens and life goes on for those left behind.
Completely agree with you ❤ Hope in your case you have a supportive team and options are being considered to provide some quality of life. Everyone deserves a chance 🌻🦋
I like to think most people ask or make suggestions out of a sincere desire to help without realizing how judgemental they can sound. I wish you a long and happy life, but none of us can stay forever. My breast cancer is metastatic, and time feels so fleeting since my diagnosis. I try to let it go when people say stupid things because life's too short to foster hard feelings.
As an oncology nurse I have had hundreds of patients going through treatment . Every patient is a whole person not just a number. It’s your body your quality of life. You need to spend quality time with your precious little girl.continuous diarrhoea would be very detrimental to your life. Be proud of your progress and do what’s right for you
100% support here for the decisions you make for your life. I appreciate the education and truth you provide. Thank you and as always wishing you and your fmly the very best.❤
Samantha, you describe the whole drug tolerance so well. Having had cancer, I know that attitude plays a huge part and yours is superb. Enjoy your wee girl, your family and the summer. I wish you the very best. ❤
My mother has stage 4 breast cancer as well. Her medications were changed and adjusted from time to time because her body seems not to tolerate the side effects. I have been watching your videos since day 1 and decided to comment now to tell you that you are such a blessing to everyone. Not all people have the courage to share what they are going through. You are a strong and lovely person inside and out. I will include you on my prayers. Please continue to be an inspiration to us. God bless you and your family.
You're a total winner. This is your life - not anyone else's. You, your husband and your team make the decisions that are best for you and your family. Nobody should judge this. ❤
Do these people not realize how intelligent you are? We support you and respect all of the tough decisions you have to make in regards to your health journey. Love and Prayers from Florida ❤💙🧸🙏🙏✨
This is a VERY common practice for that medication! Dont feel badly about it. The trutb is, they tend to start patients out with the highest dose of chemo to see if they can tolerate it. You deserve quality of life. Happy birthday!
This is wonderful news Samantha!!!🎉 You are managing YOUR body. If part of the dose is leaving your body anyway, reducing the dose seems very wise. Living life is THE point. You are doing such a great job!!! You are an amazing example! ALWAYS great to see your name pop up. God bless you and bring you better health every day.😊🤗
@@bobs1356 Your comment shows that you don't know the first thing about Stage IV cancer. Keep your cruel and ignorant comments to yourself. Samantha is doing just fine.
Hi Samantha! You are not a loser, you are a warrior!! I, too, have stage 4 breast cancer that has metastisized to my spine. I have been on Verzenio 150 for 2 years. It is a VERY HARD DRUG and can be humbling at times due to diarrhea. 😢 I have never considered going down a dose I think because I'm doing so well on 150, I don't want to jinx it. Your video has been very helpful. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Happy Birthday Samantha! You are correct that very few people stay on 150 verzenio long term. I started on 150 and lasted 6 weeks and got diverticulitis. I had severe stomach cramping and diarrhea on 150 daily. I switched to 100 and found it to be much more tolerable even though I still have bad days just I don't have them near as often. My oncologist told me the 100 is just as effective. There will be more studies done on dose reduction but so far it seems to work just as well. Being able to enjoy life is very important! I usually take 1/2 an immodium if I'm going out to eat and that has worked well for me. Wish you continued success on the 100's❤
I had low anterior resection for rectal cancer and navigating life after was so challenging. It’s hard to explain the anxiety around the unpredictable nature of the urgency. It’s all consuming. I get it! ❤ Wishing you the best!
You are super smart and certainly NOT A LOSER!!! GIRL! Many courageous words come to mind when I think of you, but loser certainly isn’t one of them. You go forth and enjoy your best life with that baby girl! ❤
Your videos have really been such a source of strength for me. My last (🙏🏼) round of chemo is 7/22 and I sure hope it is the last round. The things people/dr’s/nurses do not tell you about chemo is massive. And, although my treatment is different, I always appreciate your honesty & openness. God bless you! And….Happy Birthday!!!!!!🎉🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳💖💖💖💖🤗🤗🤗 I hope this is the very best year so far!!!!
I went to chemo class where I learned all the the different medications I would be taking and possible adverse reactions. They should be where the port would be placed and how they would access it. Very informative. Plus I had to sign informed consent for the medications that would make me lose my hair and the possibility of it not growing back.
I do not take any medication as you do but I have IBS/SIBO and had diarrhea 8-9 times a day inspite of loperamide tablets. I had also accidents in public and I had to stop eating fiber in order to get a bit better. In that respect I understand you fully. Quality of life is important at all times. You are a wise and strong woman. 🌷
Thanks for updating us Samantha, that must have been a difficult decision to make and I understand why you hung on so long before reducing your dose. I’m happy that life has improved for you and pray you have continued good scan results. Hope you had a lovely birthday and continue to enjoy the summer with your family 🩷
I haven't even watched 2 mins of the video and let me tell you - it is your life and *most people have no idea what you are going through. I think choosing quality over quantity is very sensible. I am trying to recover from just food poisoning right now and feel like I need to throw up and have diarrhea and this is day 4. Just this is very rough (talk about feeling like a baby). I can't imagine going through what you've been through already. All the best to you, Samantha and family. ❤
Samantha no one has any clue to what continuous diarrhea can do to your body unless they have or are going through it. My poor husband went through this and never had a chance to make it to the bathroom. He kept loosing weight and nothing would work to help him. Finally after loosing all his nutrients and down to 103 lbs he got permission from his 5 Doctors to go into the hospital for a central line in which he would be given nutrients to help him gain strength. We knew it wasn’t going to stop the diarrhea but just to be able to see and enjoy visits with friends was so exciting. Treatment didn’t work and he passed away with a week while still hospitalized. He was under 100 lbs. Please continue doing what is best for you and I pray your dosage change continues to improve your diarrhea. Some people don’t realize that this problem can kill you . He died from failure to thrive and malnourishment and the cancer wasn’t even listed. You are a smart woman who knows your body. God bless you and anyone else who is going through this same problem. I will continue to pray for all of you.
Hi Sam I’m on the same drug I started off on the high dose could just not tolerate the 150 I felt terrible soooo tired stomach cramps sick daily I was scared but went to a 100 and six months on still terrible… my oncologist said the same I was so worried but really can not function on a 100 he said in the trails everyone starts at 150 because that way they can go down in dosage…. So now I’m on 50 morning and night …. I have had to drop my hours down to three days at work so financial I’m struggling 😢as you already know with cancer mentally and physically really is enough … I really do think some people don’t get it …. There are so many things to consider …. I still feel sick everyday and the fatigue is terrible I wouldn’t dream of judging anyone’s choices… obviously I will stick with it hopefully may feel a bit better in a few weeks only just changed to the lowest dosage….. thank you so much for explaining and sharing your choices openly …. Happy late birthday 🎂 you do you and I’m soooo hoping it does settle down for you too … cancer medication side effects can be Grimm 😢 your doing amazingly well sending nothing but positive vibes and much ❤❤❤love
God has blessed us all by giving us Samantha as our voice. Watching the person you love die is devastating. If only what we know now we could have known then. Always remember that you did your best.
Samantha, I totally understand why and what you are doing. After BC 8 years ago at 42 , I'm now entering menopause and suffering a lot so made the decision with my amazing gynaecologist to go on HRT even though my cancer was ER/PR+. Life is for living and not suffering xx
I too am doing topical HRT creams, estriol/progesterone. Had stage 1 grade1, HER2-, plus vag estriol for vaginal and urethral health. At 64, Had a dbl mast, lymph-nodes clear. Low onco score. I cld not do the letroazole. Horrible side effects. Already Have osteopenia. Caused terrible depression. I Had a hyst at 46 and one ovary removed. So that was in my favor with BC being found post-menopausal. left breast ILC was 4mm in size and had 2mm DCIS in 2 areas of rt breast. At my age, quality is def needed. I have a 6th grandchild on the way. Very active. Doing what my Functional Onc MD recommends. Praying for you Samantha!
I always wondered how one standard dose was the same for everyone, regardless of your weight, so reducing sounds reasonable to me, given you are small in size. I am sure your oncologist will tell you if reducing is dangerous. Glad you are working this out. You look great, and your hair is coming back!! Yay
Awe, Don't ever be hard on yourself. Just do what ever works for you, and alway's keep a positive attitude. Nerver self blame, alway's choose Life and a Positive way of living❣️🙏
I like that you do you! Quality is way freaking better than quantity. Living in misery is NOT living. I think your wisdom is exceptional. Trusting your intuition is huge. The effects of the or elongation life or cure can be totally brutal.
A lot of people think that just because they know someone who had cancer then they can think they are doctors and give opinions on subjects and circumstances they know nothing about. Don’t let it bother you, it’s just sadly the nature of many humans to just give a opinions without thinking. Good luck and thanks for taking us along with you on your journey.
I love that you are so conscious and intenional about deciding how you want to have power during your illness; you are an inspiration. Quality of life is so important when you are stage 4 and you have a beautiful daughter; what is the point of being so incapacitated for the rest of your life; you strive to find the balance of treatment and you are the only one who can find what is balance for you. Good for you!!!!!! The judgy haters have not been in your shoes and don't really get it. Keep listening to yourself; you are in charge.
My dad has stage 4 lung cancer, he was on 600mg a day Entrectinib, had terrible side effects, every single one you could think of, could literally do nothing, could not even stand up, tweaked his diet, and time of day taking them and reduced it to 400mg a day and no longer has any side effects, back to walking the dogs and is even planning on coming into work to help out this week (not been in since March). He has a scan at the end of august to see if the drugs are working 🤞🏻 As a family we never realised how much it impacts everyone around the person it’s affecting mentally as well as the person, but when you come to terms with it and hear all the positive outcomes of people that are lucky enough to get targeted therapy or immunotherapy drugs, it does give you hope. I hope the pain eases off for you and things get back to as normal as they can, you are a fantastic person, you have got this 👊🏻
Man. I know that feeling of “why aren’t I tougher?” It’s so hard, especially if you’ve always been a strong person. It’s also scary to reduce/take a break from the meds that are supposed to be keeping cancer at bay. It’s great that your doctors are supportive. It feels way less scary when they give you the green light. I’m taking a med break myself for at least one month. Second time I’ve done this in 4 years. I wish I didn’t have to, but side effects are just too bad. Enjoy the improvement Samantha. You’ll surely start building up strength now. It’s worth so much. Happy Birthday (whenever it is/was❤). I think I remember that you are also a Cancerian like me.
You are not a loser for wanting to feel the best that you can be❤Some of these treatments can have the worst side effects on one’s body…U keep doing what feels the best for you honey 🥰I hope that you will start to feel a little more comfortable with your treatments xxoo
Good for you! You know I’ve always been a huge advocate for you doing what is best for you, your body and your life. Life is not just meant to be lived, it’s meant to be enjoyed! You do your research and make good decisions based on what you learn and talk with your doctor. Your 19:09 videos help so many and I am grateful that you share! I also hope you had a FABULOUS birthday! 🥳 Sending lots of love! 💝
Im like that too. You are not a loser. Your body is responding to medicine and you cannot control that. It is not your fault. It is ok if you need to adjust meds❤
People Have no idea what we go through.So we have to make decisions that are best for us and no one should judge you for those decisions.You look great Samantha. stay strong
Happy Belated 28th Samantha!!! Sounds like you had a good one!! I had to make the same decision with my oral chemo pill. I still question myself but like you the diarrhea was unpredictable and absolutely no fun! Nobody should judge anyone else’s choices… we do that enough ourselves ! Enjoy that baby girl!! Much love as always! Karen 💪🏻🩷
You do you Samatha. As a stage 4 breast cancer patient with leptomeningeal disease and spine cancer I too am trying to have quality of life over quantity. If I have to be asleep 18 hours a day then I have very little quality of life. You choose what is best for you and do not listen to the nay sayers. You have 1 life. Enjoy it to the fullest while you can. None of us have any guarantees, we could all get hit by a bus tomorrow. Enjoy your hubby and your baby girl. Sending love from Texas!
OMG - you need to have quality of life. You are doing what is best for you. Great that the lower dosage will be effective.. Be kind to yourself - you are a very strong woman. You have gone through so so much… thanks for sharing… Happy belated birthday…💕💕💕🙏🙏
Your very brave to make these decisions and even more to share. I have worked as a nurse for almost 20 years with very serious illnesses, there are no right and wrong decisions just wants best for you. All of that gi distress is also not healthy either. So many become totally isolated because of gi. Praying for you
I don't think you need anyone's approval but I know you're doing your best and I totally respect your decisions and your courage and telling your story. This is such a hard, hard thing your going through and I'm so very much rooting for you. A belated happy birthday to you.
You are way too hard on yourself. You are in a battle for your life and the fact that you continue to fight this for you and family is admirable. Be kind to yourself, you desrve it.
Hi Samantha, Happy Birthday, and thank you for sharing your experiences. Im also on a combination of Verzenio and an estrogen blocker, Letrozole. I had a hysterectomy for stage 1 endometrial cancer in '18. Thought it was done, that's what they told me. The cancer recurred in the actual scar tissue! I then had more surgery in the scars and underlying tissue. Thought I was Ok again. It came back a third time in my lymph nodes. Ugh. So I had daily radiation for 6 weeks. My surgeon then put me on the Verzenio in addition to Letrozole. I work full -time and could not tolerate the lack of appetite (no taste either) or diarhea on 150 mgs of Verzenio. I'm also a petite slim woman and my doctor first took my dosage down to 100 twice a day and then to 50 in the morning and 100 at night. I can now function normally all day. Originally the doc told me to take immodium, but I have IBS (c) and got constipated in one day! So I now can tolerate the meds long term. There are other side effects that I hate on sexuality, but of course, my life going forward is number one. I've had three scans (get them every 6 months) since being on these two meds and I've shown NED. (no evidence of disease). So keeping fingers crossed. We are very fortunate to now have this important drug called Verzenio....its just that people tolerate it in different ways.
It's your decision. It's your life and you're the only one who has to live it. No kne knows the hard decisions of cancer treatment unless they were faced with it. Keep making decisions you feel are best for you!
Samantha, Kudos to your courage and honesty in being frank about quality of life in living with cancer. I think as a society we are programmed to think, “oh I’m going to beat this thing, etc.” At least at my agency we assess risk based on mg/kg bw/day which is essentially your analogy of a 300 lb person vs 150 lb person. Peace and be well
Samantha, Happy Belated Bday!! I understand the quality over quantity for sure! Could not take the AI meds. Life needs to be lived to the fullest for sure. Enjoy your precious family! Praying for you.
We are all built differently and your body is telling you what it can and can’t handle….doesnt make you a loser at all. Your body has an intelligence so listen to it. I was on a low dose steroid and it was making me crazy….my doctors just kept saying oh it’s a low dose…you should be fine but my body was saying get this shit out of our system. …….follow your heart….no need to explain anything….praying for your recovery❤…Happy Birthday….🎉
Samantha, please don’t ever call yourself a loser, you’re so far from that, that breaks my heart, my mom told me I was a loser with nothing to offer, you are an amazing beautiful young woman and never call yourself a loser 🥰👑your a princess, love you 🥰💝❣️❣️❣️❣️
I have stage 4 colon / liver cancer. I too have diahrea 10 to 15 times a day. But this isn't about me as it's a long story. I understand your decision 💯! You, my dear, are not a loser, a baby or anything negative . You're a Warrior and a lovely one at that ! It sounds like you've made an educated decision w the Oncologist support. I am at a loss as this struggle is so real and people don't always understand how horrible you feel, the worry of having an accident when out etc. I am sending you a big virtual hug and prayers. You've got this and thank you for sharing this difficult content. I understand how hard it is to talk about. Thank you though for sharing.❤
Happy birthday! You are so beautiful and I hope you continue to adjust and do well with the lower dose. I cannot imagine going through the side effects you have had after having a baby and back surgery. Please don't be so hard on yourself. I am still praying for you and your beautiful family. ❤
Samantha my husband and I watch your videos and get so much inspiration from you. We give each other "Samantha Quotes" to get through tough days sometimes. You are such an amazing young woman, thank you for being willing to share your story, it has been EXTREMELY helpful to us.
Hi Samantha, I am sorry I haven’t written for awhile. I have followed you for a long time and come to know a bit about you through your sharing. Even though you share with us, I see you as a private person and would never want to overstep. You have always been very thoughtful throughout your cancer journey about the decisions you make. Let’s face it, you are making life and death decisions. I always want to convey that I support and care for you. I trust and know you will always do what you believe is best for you. Gosh, listening to your challenges with diarrhea…how tough. It sounds like you have better freedom now. Thank goodness! I feel better about that. Now, wonderful Samantha enjoy life, Grey and little one💕. A belated Happy Birthday 🎈🎈🎈 Wising you the very best of life. Caring thoughts to you and your family. Diane
Do not worry about what others think. What’s important is what’s right for you and your journey. It is about quality of life versus quantity of life. I 100% support you.
I think you are sensible. I know what it's like to suffer such frequency and urgency. You feel like you can't function in normal life. I am glad reducing your dosage us enabling you to have a better life. Enjoy summer ❤
Samantha, it’s your body, your choice. Only you know what you are going through. God didn’t put any of us on this earth to judge others. Until someone has walked in your shoes, can they judge you! Until then, we all need to just support and pray for you. I wish we could do more. Know that we love your videos, we love you, and we look forward to always hearing from you. ❤🙏
Samantha, God bless and keep you. Everyone must make these very difficult personal desisions when facing this chronic disease. No one should judge your decision. You love life and your family. I pray the best for you.
Having recently been through a bout of 'reah (unknown cause) I went through similar things--being scared to go out, not eating or eating crackers, having an accident as soon as i got out of the car after racing home white-knuckling the steering wheel hoping I'd make it, taking Imodium. It's stopped now but still iffy on the cramping. So definitely what you go through so often would be life altering. I hope this new regimen will continue to work better for you. Your summer seems to be fun with your little girl and family.
Happy birthday Samantha! 🎂❤️ sending hugs and positive wishes for your healing. You are nothing short of remarkable in your difficult journey. You are filled with courage and true beauty. Continued prayers for you 🙏❤️
Sorry about that whole issue, you have way more patience than I ever would. I can say that plain rice does help some people produce, umm, "firmer" products if you get my drift. Also, for me, personally, cucumbers but that may be just me. But the rice thing is something they used to recommend a lot before things like Immodium were available. Best of luck
I didn’t expect to relate to this video, but I have crohn’s and I can affirm that chronic diarrhea completely sucks the life out of you, even if you’re not having it 10 times a day. even once a day is enough to do it! you’re not weak for not just “dealing with it.” it’s awful, and you deserve this better quality of life. honestly, I think listening to your body and making that decision shows your strength much more than not listening to it would’ve. and happy late birthday!! 🎊 🎉
You and your doctors know what is best for you. Quality of life is also important. Your daughter and husband are all that matters!!! I support you 💯 and love following you. You’re not a loser!!!
I can't believe people give you so many comments about your treatment and how you're doing things wrong. You're doing the best that you can in this situation!
Don’t even worry about the people saying “what if” in the comments. Don’t even waste your time on them. Lots of love ❤ I can’t believe how many people have similar stories of patients not being believed; I hope your story will save many lives with the awareness of cancer in young people
Good for you! Hope you had a wonderful birthday. My sister had such a time with diarrhea that she wore a diaper for safety after a horrible accident in public. Prayers for healing!
Losing weight can cause decreased life expectancy with cancer. So you are very wise. Repeating myself here, but I'm a retired nurse and you are my hero! I don't think that under your circumstances I would be as wise as you are. Your illness is gonna hinder your ability to make decisions. So if you're this wise under these circumstances then my word is just Wow! And I don't know if it would be sufficient or even ok with your treatment since pads can irritate your skin and maybe precipitate a yeast infection but I love Poise pads long length and maximum are wonderful. And I carry a bag with a few pads, panties, shorts or pants, wet wipes, and a trash bag in my car just in case. I have MS so my body does what it wants and I sometimes get a bad upset stomach so I have some limited expetience with this sort of thing, not to the degree you do of course, but I love my pads and wore them 3 days a week at work for years. And you may not have ever needed the dose you were on. Even drugs given a long time can vary in effectiveness in different people. We don't know as much as I wish we did and it's nobody's fault. The human body is miraculously complex. I wish so much that you could see yourself as I do. I wish I could help you somehow so that's why I tell you so much that you probably already know. And just know that I see deeply into people cause of how I was raised and I see nothing but a hero in you! Your decision making is amazing!
They don't know about this med. I weigh 300lbs and couldn't tolerate 50mg of verzenio every other day bc it was damaging my liver. Unfortunately I don't think any of the cdk4/6 drugs will be tolerated by my liver. I'm not metastatic. Was taking verzenio for early stage high risk of recurrence. Cancer sucks but you rock. Stay tough honey.
I totaly understand you. I decided to decrease my dose of Ibrance to 75mg to be able to work and have a social life. Your decision is perfectly normal. The real deal is to get 6 months of the max dose for this type of medication. You did it. Enjoy.
@@SamanthaL yes, this is the lowest dose of Ibrance and because my Ki67 is only 7% I do 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off. I am PIK3CA mutated. My job is demanding : I am a post doc researcher.
I have no doubt that you have put a lot of thought into your decision to decrease the medication. Everyone is different and you have to do what is best for you. Thanks for sharing sweet girl.
You have nothing you need to justify to anyone for any reason‼️ Your journey is yours alone. I pray your life will be long and fulfilling and good health will be yours🙏‼️
Thank you 🙏🏼 for the update Samantha. Hope you had a great birthday 🎂 and best of luck with the adjustment in your medication. We both know the importance of being our own advocate as well as trying to have quality of life 🙏🏼💙🩷💚🎗️
Samantha all decision you have made with your treatment you discuss with your family and your doctor. I think that’s your choice and no one else. I wish you success with all treatments. Happy birthday and celebrate 🎉🎉
Thinking of you~ I hope you're doing well! I just realized I wasn't subbed, honestly I swear youtube removes subs randomly... I hope your life is happy and as healthy as you can be
For anyone who has or will be negative, go somewhere else!! This young lady is doing what is right for her with the assistance of experts, makes me sad that people think it is ok to say negative stuff, GTFU
I do the same exact thing and if I had a choice to lesson the meds and enjoy leaving my house it would absolutely be worth it. That’s amazing you haven’t gotten any fishers from the diarrhea I would have so many if I was continuously having nine bouts a day🤞🤞🤞 I hope this dose really works out for you ❤️❤️❤️✌️🤞
I have been extremely cautious about that because it destroyed my life last time haha. I think I have a small one currently but hoping it goes away and doesn’t turn into what it did last time. That’s another reason why I switched doses and should’ve mentioned that
Sweetie you do what is best and what feels right for you, you’ve been through so much and at the end of the day, you are in charge of your life and your body. I support you and your in my prayers every day, love to you from Indiana✝️🌞🌸✨🙏🏼💐🫶🏼🦋☮️💝🕊️❣️❣️
Hello,dear sweet Samantha You are always kind and positive not in the least bit selfish Quality is more important than Quantity and living the best life you can with your Family Warm Hugs,my intelligent Lady ❤
