Stage 4 Triple Negative Breast Cancer

SharonMac
SharonMac Member Posts: 1
in Breast Cancer #1

I am new to this site. Almost 2 years ago my sister was diagnosed with TN Breast cancer. They did a lumpectomy and we went through 3 rounds of chemo. Had to stop the chemo due to it causing damage to her already weak heart.  They told us she was cancer free. Now after about a year she went in for gallbladder surgery as soon as they opened her up the immediately closed her up and told us that her liver was full of cancer. After CT scans and a PET scan they also found 3 spots on her bones and 2 spots on her kidneys and numerous tumors in the retroperitenial cavity. THey started her on Halevan  but 3 days after the first dose she had a mild heart attack and chemo was put off. Now after a week we had anotherr dose of the Halavan, on 3/4. She is weak and dizzy all the time. She has bad  neurophathy and is vomiting alot of bile. Also having vision problems and occasional hallucinations. I am not ready to lose my sister but I feel lost at times because I don't know how to help her.  I quit my job in FL to move back to IL to stay with her through this, Has anyone else experienced anything like this and what kind of prognosis are we looking at.

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  • CypressCynthia
    CypressCynthia Member Posts: 4,014 Member
    #2
    I am so very sorry to hear

    I am so very sorry to hear about your sister.  It sounds like your sister has a very aggressive Stage 4, made much worse by her health and therapy problems.  I found the following quote that may give you a general idea, but please know that none of us comes with a known expiration date.  Some of us have lived past expectations here (me, because although I am not triple neg, this is my 9th year being Stage 4).  If you can go with her to her oncologist and your sister gives you permission to speak with him/her, you might be able to find out more. 

    "For patients with metastatic TNBC, however, treatment options are limited, and average survival drops to one year. Thus, although TNBC accounts for 10 to 20 percent of the roughly 230,000 new breast cancer cases in the U.S. each year, it leads to 25 percent of all breast cancer-related deaths."  http://www.curemagazine.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/article.show/id/2/article_id/2157

    This is the message board that no one wants to seek out, but please know you are welcome here.  Sometimes I worry my husband suffers as much as I do but in a different way.  There is also a caregivers site here and I would check it out because you need support too!  Please let us know how you are doing.  You are both in my thoughts and prayers.  Gentle (((hugs))).

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