Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Hi!  I too had chemo first with a 5+cm IDC.  I then had bilateral as I was BRCA1+.  No lymph nodes affected. Next was radiation.  My original onc advised that I was ER-, PR+, HER2-.  My PR+ was very low but they put me on AI for 5 yrs.  My new onc and a breast specialist has advised that I was actually TNBC with such a low PR count.  So, 6 yrs later  I am here and praying every day that there is no recurrence in my future.  Hang in there!  There are many, many survivors out there!

2nu2tnbc said:

Thank you.  I tested negative

Thank you.  I tested negative for  brca.  I'm kind of confused about my biopsy vs PET scan.  Biopsy showed negative lympnode involvement, but PET showed lump involvement & possibly some bone metastatic.  I'm praying that the biopsy is more accurate than the PET scan.

 

I was diagnosed with TNBC Stage IIa  Grade 3 in 2010 when I was 52 years old. There is no history of cancer of any kind in my family. I had a right mastectomy followed by 4 rounds of A/C and 12 rounds of Taxotere. 22 lymph nodes were removed and 2 of the 22 were cancerous. No radiation. I have been in complete remission since then. I have also had  2 reconstruction surgeries on my right breast and a lift/reduction on my left (non-cancerous) breast. 

Most importantly I am still here. I won't lie and say this was easy physically or mentally/emotionally. Some of it was beyond awful. There were days when I said to myself that  I just can't do this anymore. With the support of my family and a couple of wonderful friends I perservered and have come out on the other side. Once you have a cancer diagnosis you get an education very quickly on a subject you never expected to have to learn about. You learn a whole new vocabulary. 

As this journey progresses please come to this Board often. Any emotion, side effect, or complication you may have has likely been experienced by someone here who can offer you their wisdom. I wish you the best of luck. You CAN do this.

IRENE

I also had chemo first with an 8 cm TNBC tumor.  Shrank to .5 cm, then had surgery, 18 nodes removed (1 positive), then radiation.  That was 6 years ago!  I'm doing well, and thankful to be here for my grandkids!  There are a number of us TNBC ladies here; come anytime for questions and hopefully we can help you.

Hugs,

Linda

2nu2tnbc said:

How do you get through the

How do you get through the fatigue?  Do you fight through it or just give in and rest?  I guess the chemo is the most difficult part of treatment because right now I feel as if I'm only existing......no control whatsoever.  But, this too Shall Pass!!

I know EXACTLY how you feel.  I was diagnosed June of 2012, went throught chemo, a double mastectomy and radiation.  During my chemo I decided not to fight, this is not a cold or the flu.  I got the rest my body needed.  And yes...it will pass and someday you will be giving advice just like me!     

Swiss72144 said:

I was just diagnosed with

I was just diagnosed with Triple negative stage 2A breast cancet, I have had a double mastectomy 2 lymph nodes removed from each side, both were negative, I am starting chemo shortly, but I am afraid of the side effects and permanent damage it may cause, I am 45, any words of hope or inspiration? Bless us all that are going through this!

This upcoming August 2016 will mark 6 years from the date of my last chemo treatment. I have been in complete remission since that time. I have seen my daughter graduate from both high school and college. I've seen my son graduate from college, too. My husband and I have celebrated 6 more wedding anniversaries. All of these have been blessings that I did not expect when I was diagnosed with TNBC. This should show you that a diagnosis of TNBC is not necessarily a death sentence and you can come out on the other side. How is that for hope and inspiration?

As to side effects and permanent damage, that is another story. Since there are so many different chemo cocktails it would be helpful to know what drugs you are going to be given. It would enable the participants of this discussion board (myself included) to determine if our experience has any relevance to yours. Which drugs? How many rounds of those drugs? Spaced how far apart? 

I'm sure many of us who had TNBC would love to help make your journey easier. I look forward to hearing from you.

IRENE

In my experience the fatigue was indeed cumulative. It got successively more pronounced with each round of chemo. Here is an example of how I remember it: Take off pajamas. Shower while seated. Put pajamas back on. Go back to bed. Too tired to do anything else. That stage of things thankfully didn't last very long. I had 4 rounds of A/C and 12 rounds of Taxotere. Good luck. Every day brings something new. Come back and let us know how you are doing. You are not alone.

IRENE

Once again, I can only tell you about my own experience during chemo. Not everyone will react the same. I completely lost the desire to eat and everything seemed to taste like paste. At first I could manage cantaloupe and matzo ball dumplings. Eventually that too disappeared. I ended up not eating AT ALL. Of course, my oncologist was less than pleased but said it was more important to remain hydrated than to eat. I really didn't want to even do that but realized how important it was so I did it. I ate fruit juice Popsicles. I also kept a thermos of water on my nightstand with markings on the side so I could keep track of how much I was drinking. If the doctor said 64 oz then I struggled and got it down. I never missed a round of chemo due to low blood counts and was only given additional fluids twice so I think I did OK. As a side benefit to all this, I lost 40 lbs. I called myself "the incredible shrinking woman." This was the only time it was an advantage to be overweight. 

This was 6 years ago so I don't remember all the details anymore (yay) but I do recall being pretty weak. Even going up/down the 2 steps to get into or out of my house wasn't easy. It was safest to have someone hold my arm. I tried to walk down the block a bit each day. Distance was measured by how many houses I was able to pass. Sometimes it was only 2. Keep in mind what I said, " SIX YEARS AGO." 

IRENE

2nu2tnbc said:

weight loss

Thanks for replying.  I was concerned about the weight loss since everybody seemed to gain while on chemo.

I don't know how the gals do it that worked through chemo either, By my 3rd round I was using a cane even around the house, and had borrowed a walker for the 4th round cuz I was so shaky with the cane. Didn't need it though, onc decreased my chemo dose by 20% for last round. I wasn't driving by third round, couldn't trust my judgment or my reflexes. Whatever weight I gained was from the fluid retention from the steroids. I did try and get outside each day for a little walk, I'd hold onto Lew's arm with one hand and use my cane in the other - distance alo measured by # of houses I could go by and 2 was pretty much the max.