triple negative and radiation therapy

AngieD said:

Triple neg had radiation

My IDC was triple negative and I did have radiation.  I had chemo, lumpectomy with clear nodes, and radiation, so not the same situation as you.  I was told that having the radiation after a lumpectomy gave the same cure rate as having a mastectomy.  So, in your case, that would be one question to ask as to why your MO and BS are wanting you to have it.  Maybe because Triple Neg has a tendency to recur and even a mastectomy does not get all the breast tissue, but that's just my guess.  My radiation oncologist told me I would not see any effects for at least 2 or 3 weeks (I was scheduled for 6 weeks of treatment.)  The very first afternoon, I was pink and warm and that freaked me out.  I guess it happens in a small percentage of cases, and I would have liked to have been warned of that possibility.  It did not get proportianately worse with time.  Just showing up every week day. parking, getting undressed and dressed was the worse part of it.  I was pretty scared the first day, but I got more comfortable with it as time went by.  I hope you get satisfactory answers to your questions--in fact, you should insist on them.

Good luck!

Angie

I, too, was TN...had a mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation.  

I paid attention to my physician's advice and had little to no side effects.  I was counseled regarding food, supplements, skin care, and even deodorant.  The most difficult aspect for me was the tattoo poke (frankly, I had less than a half dozen marks and I still wonder why anyone would have more for art's sake)  Radiation treatments were quicker than the process of driving over, waiting, getting undressed, climbing up, climbing back down, getting re-dressed, and heading back home.  My radiologists scheduled weekly appointments to evaluate skin, fatigue, and any other concerns before treatments. 

I planned my sessions in the late afternoons after I was done with the day's activities.  I did not bother wearing more than an over-sized sweatshirt.  I would come home, shower and slather on Aquaphor over the damp skin and again don an over-sized sweatshirt to sleep in.  I did not burn, I felt no discomfort...all of which made me wonder if I was getting it right.  Although I was a bit 'pink' by the end of the process, my skin, a little over two years later, looks the same as it always has, and with the exception of the surgical scar, it is as soft and supple as ever.  

I am of Irish descent and have a fair complexion, having had my share of sunburns over the years, I was concerned about the process initially, but I weathered that storm.

Best wishes. 

Radiation was a piece of cake for me after chemo!  All I remember is a very mild sunburn.  If you are fair, make sure that you ask about skin care options.  Otherwise, I bet you'll do fine.

ok here is how I understand Triple Negative bc.  It is a very aggressive cancer.  Once a node is discovered to have cancer in it, the lymph system and its nodes are a like a pipeline for cancer to spread to the rest of the body.  That is why you need chemo to go all over your body and beat up the cancer cells.  It may also be able to recurr locally (in the breast or chest area).  I suspect this has something to do with the type of tripple negative cancer cells they find when doing your pathology report.  There are at least two kinds of tnbc cells (and maybe more).  They seem to have some characteristics that will make them further categorized in the future studies.   

I had two positive lymph nodes and a tumor that was 6.6 cm at it's largest dimension.  I had radiation from late September through just before Thanksgiving, so if I remember right that was 33 rounds.  I did not burn until the last 8 or so rounds.  It was bearable but of course not fun.  I got financial help from my church to offset the gasoline costs because I already drove 60 miles round trip to work and because treatment was everyday.  I wore all white t shirts and no bra because I did not have to look like a beauty queen at work.  The reason white shirts next to the skin are reccomended is that any other color will tend to attract more heat back to the burned area.  White will not do that.    I just wanted to beat tnbc's butt so I took all the reccomended treatments.  When understanding how aggressive it was I wanted to give it the dickens even though my research on tnbc from reputable sources, stated that I had several factors in my favor.  Most people will not do the research but since I am the benefit carrier for my family I needed to know what I was up against.  Hope my post gives you enough information do decide about radiation without making you more worried than you were already. 

I had chemo and bi lateral but was told that radiation would not be a benefit to me...not sure why this is, maybe because I had no lymph involvement and the chemo took my tumor almost completely away..I had a few sporadic pieces left that my BC said was similar to the choc chips on a cookie and that when they took the breast they took the whole cookie. My concern is is the threat of reoccurrence since it is triple negative and very aggressive. MO seems a little reserved to say we got it all and BS is like WHOOPIE we killed that beast..I don't know who to believe!

Sandy

linpsu said:

TNBC

I too am triple negative.  I had a left-side mastectomy with no radiation or chemo, but it returned two years later under my mastectomy scar so I had chemo, more surgery (one positive lymph node), then radiation.  Radiation was not bad at all for me compared to chemo; however towards the end I did burn pretty badly and blistered.  But I am fair-skinned, blue-eyed, and freckle and burn easily, so I sort of expected that type of reaction.  I had special cold compresses that stuck to my skin that my radiation nurse provided, and that helped to relieve the discomfort. And they gave me lots of special lotion as a preventative measure as well.  I wore a man's tee-shirt when I wasn't working, and when I was working I wore my camisole from the surgery so I could go without a bra and could stuff a puffie in the one pocket so I wasn't lopsided.

Linda

How did your appointment go?