triple neg breast cancer

pokrydi
pokrydi Member Posts: 99
in Breast Cancer #1
I am new to this had a lumpectomy done 1/14 and 21 lymph nods taken out 3 positive. I am going in 2/8 for a port to be put in for 8 sessions of chemo followed by 6 1/2 weeks of radiation and so confused do I want to have more margin taken out or do I just want to have a mastectomy.

Comments

  • joannstar
    joannstar Member Posts: 403 Member
    #2
    I'm also TNB
    It is a very personal decision...I was newly married (first time for me and I'm 57) just 4 months before diagnosis. I wanted to be healthy as soon as possible. I had 2 lumpectomies--the second one to get clean margins--8/10. I started 6 rounds of chemo (Taxotere/Cytoxan for the first 4 and Taxol/Cytoxan for the last 2 because my ankles swelled) which I completed on 1/7/11. I went for the radiation "mapping" yesterday and plan to start my 6.5 weeks of radiation on 2/7/11.

    My diagnosis was Stage 1C (1.5 cm), medium grade, 0/4 nodes, TNB. The breast that had cancer was the larger of the two so after the lumpectomies, I'm just about even now.
    I was told by my surgeon (and my onc confirmed in my case)that the survival rate was no better with mastectomy than lumpectomy with radiation (and because I'm TN, I had chemo too). I'm guessing that the healing process is easier (compared to my cousin-in-law's experience who had a double mastectomy and then reconstruction) and I worked the entire time except for 1.5 weeks after the first surgery, 1 week after the second and 2 days each cycle of chemo.

    I would talk with your surgeon and oncologist about your choices and if necessary seek a second opinion. I have friends that opted for a mastectomy so that they didn't need chemo or radiation, but as a TN, those are the only treatments available, so you may need to have them anyway.

    I know that many warrior sisters will be able to tell you about their experiences.

    Good luck.
    JoAnn
  • pokrydi
    pokrydi Member Posts: 99
    #3
    joannstar said:

    I'm also TNB
    It is a very personal decision...I was newly married (first time for me and I'm 57) just 4 months before diagnosis. I wanted to be healthy as soon as possible. I had 2 lumpectomies--the second one to get clean margins--8/10. I started 6 rounds of chemo (Taxotere/Cytoxan for the first 4 and Taxol/Cytoxan for the last 2 because my ankles swelled) which I completed on 1/7/11. I went for the radiation "mapping" yesterday and plan to start my 6.5 weeks of radiation on 2/7/11.

    My diagnosis was Stage 1C (1.5 cm), medium grade, 0/4 nodes, TNB. The breast that had cancer was the larger of the two so after the lumpectomies, I'm just about even now.
    I was told by my surgeon (and my onc confirmed in my case)that the survival rate was no better with mastectomy than lumpectomy with radiation (and because I'm TN, I had chemo too). I'm guessing that the healing process is easier (compared to my cousin-in-law's experience who had a double mastectomy and then reconstruction) and I worked the entire time except for 1.5 weeks after the first surgery, 1 week after the second and 2 days each cycle of chemo.

    I would talk with your surgeon and oncologist about your choices and if necessary seek a second opinion. I have friends that opted for a mastectomy so that they didn't need chemo or radiation, but as a TN, those are the only treatments available, so you may need to have them anyway.

    I know that many warrior sisters will be able to tell you about their experiences.

    Good luck.
    JoAnn

    thanks for the info it's so
    thanks for the info it's so hard to comprehend this is even happening to me still and so many people have their comments of course I talked with the radiologist yesterday and will talk with plastic surgeon fri so that by tues I will be able to tell the doc more margin or not while she is in there to put a port into me.
  • dyaneb123
    dyaneb123 Member Posts: 950
    #4
    Hmmm. I only had one
    Hmmm. I only had one positive node but my margins were't clear after the lumpectomy and my surgeon decided I needed the mastectomy from that and then chemo and rads. If you had clean margins, you may not need the mastectomy.
    Dee
  • pokrydi
    pokrydi Member Posts: 99
    #5
    dyaneb123 said:

    Hmmm. I only had one
    Hmmm. I only had one positive node but my margins were't clear after the lumpectomy and my surgeon decided I needed the mastectomy from that and then chemo and rads. If you had clean margins, you may not need the mastectomy.
    Dee

    having a port put in tues
    having a port put in tues doc would like to go in and get more margin thought process re mastectomy is fear of coming back kind of my decision at this time did you have reconstruction same time?
  • jessiesmom1
    jessiesmom1 Member Posts: 915 Member
    #6
    pokrydi said:

    having a port put in tues
    having a port put in tues doc would like to go in and get more margin thought process re mastectomy is fear of coming back kind of my decision at this time did you have reconstruction same time?

    TNBC
    I am one more with TNBC. I am somewhat unusual in that no cancer was EVER found in my breast tissue. I did, however, have cancerous cells in the lymph nodes under my right arm. An extremely sophisticated and expensive blood test($3500) called the Tissue of Origin test determined that the malignancy began in my breast and not somewhere else. I had an axillary dissection that showed 2 of 22 positive lymph nodes. I then had a mastectomy. After the general surgeon was done with the mastectomy the plastic/reconstructive surgeon stepped in and placed a tissue expander behind my chest muscle. The next step was putting the port in. That was done 2 weeks later in an outpatient surgery center under general anesthesia. It was a very short procedure and I am very happy I did it. About 3 months after my chemo was over I had the port removed. That was done in my surgeon's office with only local anesthesia. I even drove myself home afterward.

    After a breast cancer diagnosis I think we all get an education we wish we never needed. This Sat. 2/5 will mark 1 year since my mastectomy. What a year it has been.
  • Jennifer1961
    Jennifer1961 Member Posts: 137
    #7
    King of depends on you. My
    King of depends on you. My lumpectomy left my tiny A cup with a big dent. My choice was to get rads after chemo or a mastectomy. I went with a double mastectomy with reconstruction. I figured the rads would just make me look worse (which would make me feel worse). So there you have my $0.02.
  • linpsu
    linpsu Member Posts: 747
    #8
    TNBC also
    I too am triple negative. I first had a lumpectomy, but the margins weren't clean, so I had to have a mastectomy, followed by reconstruction. No chemo or rads at that time. Then 2 years later (last Feb.), I had a recurrence under the mastectomy scar. This time, I had chemo first (4 A/C, 4 Taxol), then surgery to remove the implant plus more tissue and 14 nodes (1 positive), then 28 rads. This is a great site to learn about what others have experienced. Obviously, we are all different, but we are all willing to share what our own course of treatment has been. Hugs to you! Linda

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