triple negative breast cancer

lcjane
lcjane Member Posts: 2
in Breast Cancer #1

HELP my mom was diagnosed with TNBC... (invasive ductal carcinoma)  4mm tumor

had oncology appt.. he recommends either lumpectomy with CHEMO and Radiation............OR Mascectomy with CHEMO

knowing that this type of breast cancer is typically aggressive and doe not respond well to some treatments.. I am searching for a TNBC survivor.. and would really like advice on ALTERNATIVES..thanks so much.. time is of course of the essence!

Comments

  • jessiesmom1
    jessiesmom1 Member Posts: 915 Member
    edited November 2017 #2
    TNBC Diagnosis

    In December 2009 I was diagnosed with TNBC Stage IIa. I had a mastectomy of my right breast and then had chemotherapy. 4 rounds of Adriamycn and Cytoxan and 12 rounds of Taxotere. I did not have any radiation. It was definitely a rough period in my life but I got through it and have been in remission since. While TNBC is pretty aggressive, it also responds well to chemo.

    I wish your mother the best of luck. It CAN be done. I am LIVING proof of that.

    IRENE 

  • ccrmp
    ccrmp Member Posts: 1
    #3
    Metaplastic Carcinoma TripleNegative

    Does not respond to Chemo, Hormone or Radiation. Five weeks after surgery, I am gaining strength after Physical Therapy. 

  • lcjane
    lcjane Member Posts: 2
    edited November 2017 #4
    jessiesmom1 said:

    TNBC Diagnosis

    In December 2009 I was diagnosed with TNBC Stage IIa. I had a mastectomy of my right breast and then had chemotherapy. 4 rounds of Adriamycn and Cytoxan and 12 rounds of Taxotere. I did not have any radiation. It was definitely a rough period in my life but I got through it and have been in remission since. While TNBC is pretty aggressive, it also responds well to chemo.

    I wish your mother the best of luck. It CAN be done. I am LIVING proof of that.

    IRENE 

    thank you Irene... I pray you

    thank you Irene... I pray you stay that way.  I am just so overwelmed at the choices and decisions to be made.  And I have read up on TNBC and it is scary... I just want to help her make the right decision... choices are lumpectomy with chemo and radiation OR masectomy with chemo... she seems to be leaning toward the first choice 

     

  • Beepositive
    Beepositive Member Posts: 259 Member
    #5
    ICJane prayer and best wishes

    Hello ICJane ..sorry to hear about your mom..glad you are there to help her..its a lot to take in but dont read so much some of that stuff online is false info.  just have her to continue to ask questions of her doctors and if possible go with her to hear answers..write down questions and answers..remember everyones body and system are sooo different and accepts and rejects treatments differently..we can say this and that but ..question the doctors and ask for second opinion if necessary...you need to make the best choice for her..doctors told me many different things and I prayed and made my decisions (not same cancer as your mom) did have left breast removal due several lymph nodes were involved. now waiting on implant to be scheduled.

    YOUR MOM WILL BE FINE...CONTINUED PRAYES AND HUGS TO HER AND YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!!

    CONTINUE TO BEEPOSITIVE! 

  • Ladylacy
    Ladylacy Member Posts: 773 Member
    edited November 2017 #6
    Triple Negative Breast Cancer

    My sister is a 14 plus year survivor of triple negative breast cancer.  She underwent radiation and chemo and then had a lumpectomy.  Don't know what type of chemo she had.  She had just had her mammogram 3 months before and it was negative.  She then discovered a lump and went straight to her doctor and even then her doctor told her it was breast cancer before he did a biopsy.  We never had breast cancer in our family before.  

    Just remember that everyone is different in how they react to treatment and how the cancer invades their body.   Just find a good specialist in her field and even get second opinions.

    Wishing your family the best

  • phoebesmom
    phoebesmom Member Posts: 2
    #7
    TNBC New Dx

    Hi ICJane. I know how scared and anxious you and your family are right now. I am almost finished with 6 months of chemo for triple neg BC, and I had a double mastectomy. I first had it as DCIS in the right breast 12 years ago, then it returned in April of 2017 in the L breast. That was enough for me, I had the double mastectomy and am doing chemo. Mine was stage I but still, my odds are only about 50% that it won't return within 5 years.  Did she get the percentage of how fast her cancer is growing? I can't remember the name of the test but her surgeon will have that info. They got it when I had my mastectomy and mine was replicating at a rate of 44%, which was not good but as the doctor said, it could have been 80%. Like many women with TNBC, my tumor just appeared out of nowhere overnight, though I had been having pain in that left breast for six months.  I ignored it, thinking it was muscle pain. Ladies, don't ever ignore breast pain!!!

    I had the choice of a lumpectomy or mastectomy too. I chose mast because I knew in my heart that I would never feel comfortable keeping any part of these breasts after having it twice, even though it was 12 years apart. My onc and surgeon both said that it was quite rare for a woman to have cancer in both breasts if that helps, but it happened to me. 

    My surgeon gave me a list of foods to eat for immune health, all your usual stuff, blueberries, fruits, vegetables. You can find that on the internet. But she also told me to take Turmeric daily, as it has been shown to impede tumor growth. That is the same information that my niece found online too so I am taking 2 capsules daily. It also is supposed to help with joint pain but I am having really bad joint pain from the Taxol and am even having to take morphine for it, so if it is helping with that, I can't notice it. But apparently, there are some pretty convincing studies about Turmeric helping stop tumor growth.

    Best of luck to your mom. On cancercare.org, there is a support group just for triple negative BC patients and I have found that to be an invaluable place to talk to others who have or have had this awful disease. She might want to check it out. Finding info on TNBC is not always easy. Mayoclinic.org has some good stuff but it will scare you to death. Did me. 

    Chemo is hell but keep telling her that she will get through it. Losing my hair was no big deal compared to what could have happened if I hadn't had the chemo. One last thing, if you are considering not having chemo, please don't do that. My surgeon told me of one of her patients who had TNBC, stage 1 just like me, and this woman opted not to do chemo. Dr. Griffin told me that six months later, her cancer was back and had metastasized throughout her body. This cancer is fast!!! Please urge your mom to get the chemo if she is thinking about not taking it. Good luck. Feel free to PM me anytime or your mom to PM me.  

    Also, chemoangels.com is a wonderful site where they will assign a patient going thru chemo 2 chemo angels who write (snail mail) once weekly little notes of encouragement and send small gifts, and those weekly notes have become a bright spot in my life. This was started by a woman whose sister went through breast cancer and will last as long as your mom is on chemo. She is not expected to reply to her angels unless she wants to.  There is no charge for this. 

     

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