Category: Stage IV Updates

• More Real Talk about Cancer and Shit

  The Flares I’ve been dealing with cancer for ten years.Metastatic cancer for a little over three. I’m finally starting to understand what’s happening when my body reacts the way it does. And when I say body, I mean all of it — physical, mental, and emotional. You don’t get to separate those things when you’re…

  Erika Sherek

  January 27, 2026

  About Cancer, Stage IV Updates

  #stage4, breast cancer, cancer, chemo, chemotherapy, health

• Stable Isn’t the Same as Easy

  

  I got my scan results back. They’re stable. No progression. This is when you would think the natural reaction would be joy, happiness and relief. When you have early stage cancer it’s happy, you are relieved! You are one step closer to the end. Not with Metastatic (Stage 4) Part of me is relieved sure.…

  Erika Sherek

  January 6, 2026

  Stage IV Updates

• Finding My Second Wind

  For the first time in a long while, I feel a spark again.It’s subtle, but it’s there — a second wind that’s guiding me toward something meaningful. I have a few projects on the horizon that I’m genuinely excited about, and that excitement feels… new. Familiar in a way, yet deeply different. Maybe that’s because…

  Erika Sherek

  October 7, 2025

  General Update, Stage IV Updates, Transition and Thoughts

  blog, life, love, mental-health, stage-iv, writing

• Fatigue No One Sees

  Here’s the thing about fatigue with stage IV cancer: it’s not “I stayed up too late last night” tired. It’s not “I just need a nap and a coffee” tired. It’s bone-deep, soul-sucking exhaustion that no amount of sleep, vitamins, or positive thinking can fix. And the kicker? It’s unpredictable. Just because I wake up…

  Erika Sherek

  September 18, 2025

  About Cancer, Stage IV Updates

  #stage4, breast cancer, cancer, cancer fatigue, fatigue, life, Metastatic, metastaticbreastcancer, StageIV

• The Difference No One Talks About

  When people talk about cancer, the story almost always centers on survivorship. There’s a beginning, a middle, and an end. A diagnosis, a battle, and a victory. Survivors ring bells, declare themselves warriors who “beat cancer,” and step back into a version of normal life. Yes, there’s fear of recurrence. Yes, there ay be follow-up…

  Erika Sherek

  September 8, 2025

  Stage IV Updates, Transition and Thoughts

  #fuckcancer, #stage4, breast cancer, Metastatic, metastaticbreastcancer

• Radiation Sessions: Getting the Authorities Involved

  Radiation sessions for this crazy party are officially complete. I like to think they made an example out of this group—showing the others that we’re not putting up with any nonsense. In case you missed: I think of every lesion and tumor as a party. The party in my hip got a bit out of…

  Erika Sherek

  August 26, 2025

  Stage IV Updates

  #stage4, breast cancer, oncology, radiation, radiology

• Yay, Radiation!

  It’s been nine years since I last had the pleasure of being zapped. Back then, after chemo and surgery, I endured 33 sessions of radiation to my left chest. It didn’t hurt, but the fatigue was overwhelming. And boy did it tear up the skin on my chest. Fast forward to today: I just completed…

  Erika Sherek

  August 16, 2025

  Stage IV Updates

  #stageIV #Stage4, breast cancer, cancer treatment, metastaticbreastcancer, oncology, radiation, radiology

• When the Hand-Holding Stops: Stage IV and the Vanishing Act of Cancer Care

  When you’re first diagnosed with cancer, the world seems to spring into motion. Suddenly, you have a nurse navigator. Appointments are made for you. Your phone rings with check-ins. Social workers appear with clipboards full of resources. The medical team seems to hold your hand every step of the way, from scheduling to scans, with…

  Erika Sherek

  August 13, 2025

  Diva Training, Stage IV Updates

  #fuckcancer, #stage4, breast cancer, cancer, cancer treatment, metastaticbreastcancer, oncology, StageIV, warrior

• Yay more scans

  White blood cell counts are still low. I go in tomorrow to check if they’ve come up enough to restart one of my medications. I had an MRI today. My tumor markers have gone up and the pain has increased, so this scan was for radiology to map out where they’ll target radiation. Since my…

  Erika Sherek

  August 4, 2025

  Stage IV Updates

• Scheduling, Treament, and Insurance

  Today’s rant includes three of my favorite things. I had an appointment with the Radiology Oncologist today. She was explaining things, and I thought, ‘Yes, I’ve been through this before.’ So she told me what type of radiation I would have and the schedule. It will be the SBRT: Sterotactic Ablative Radiotherapy. The whole schedule…

  Erika Sherek

  July 28, 2025

  Stage IV Updates

  breast cancer, cancer, health, life, mets-to-bones, mri, stage-iv