wife has trip neg

david61495

wife has trip neg

david61495

Hi all,

My wife and i were told that she has trip neg today, first of all the trip neg needs a new name! She had the tumor removed two weeks ago, we were told that it is stage IIb and that chemo was coming.  meet the encologist today to find out that she has 3-:well that sucks I thought until  the doc explained what the three negs were.  well that helps some but wtf it still sound way to negative.  so the cocktail he suggest is cytoxan, doxorubicin and docetaxel any thoughts out there??? 

ravdeb

Triple neg has its good and bad points.

That is a good chemo cocktail that is being recommended but I always suggest getting a second opinion to be sure. I had that except that I had Taxol instead..same family, though. I'm over 2 years out.

The good thing about triple neg is that they have found that if you get past the first 3 years with no more disease, that your chances of a recurrence drops dramatically. This is not the same for other types of bc whose risk doesn't drop as dramatically.

The disadvantage, of course, is that we don't have as many choices in our treatments..no real target drug though the Taxanes and Platins have been shown to work well with triple negs.

And..they think that triple negs respond very well to chemo..maybe better than other types of bc.

There are a whole lot of us with triple negs here on the boards who are doing okay.

Gotta be strong.

Good luck.

Shirlann

Hi I was/am a Triple Negative and I am 9 years post treatment.  This is not what the docs like because we get no benefit from the Tamoxifen type drugs, the ones that interfere with estrogen/progesteron, since our cancers are not estrogen/progesteron driven.  BUT, one good thing, if you get to 2 to 3 years, the recurrence rate drops to almost nothing, while the other gals rate just gradually drops.  So that is good news.

Triple Negs were so rare (or I should say the ability to diagnose them) when I was diagnosed, no one seemed particularly upset, so neither was I.

Your wife should do just fine, 90% of us get well and resume our normal lives.

Gentle hugs, Shirlann 

CalGal

David -

As Ravdeb suggested, I would go for a 2nd opinion, particularly if you aren't at a major cancer center.  Bottom line, there is no one right answer.

On my recurr & mets dx in 12/2005, my HMO recommended:

4 AC

4 Taxol

CT Scan

Quite frankly, I was horrified that they weren't proposing anything more specific for one who was a trip neg with mets.   I did several outside opinions and my own research.  I ended up doing:

4 dose dense AC (every 2 wks instead of 3)

CT Scan  (breast tumor gone, liver mets reduced)

2 more dose dense AC

break for RFA (radio-frequency ablation of my liver mets)

5 Taxotere & Carboplatin*

*The "platinums", Carboplatin and Cisplatin are good choices for trip negs.   I got this from an onc in Spring 2006 - well before it's become common knowledge.  

In the 2+ years I've had mets and been very pro-active and aggressive in my treatment, trip negs are getting a lot more attention and focus.

You might also want to try the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation at www.tnbcfoundation.org

Best to you and your wife, 

CalGal 

NancyM

David, I'm sorry that you and your wife are having to go through this.  I hope you both come to the website often for information and support!

I found a book to be helpful that's called "The Breast Cancer Husband Book" by Marc Silver (we don't have the book now so I'm going on memory here for the title and author).   I don't remember if he mentions anything specific about triple negative cancer, but it's got information in it about chemo, radiation, etc.  It helped my husband know what to expect.  Best wishes to you both!

myrenewal

David - I also had carboplatin added to my chemo protocol in 2006 due to my triple negative status.  I finished chemo 13 months ago and am doing well.  The platin drugs are much more widely recognized now as being beneficial for triple negative breast cancers. 

jeffntate

David,

My wife also had triple negative cancer and is now getting radiation following chemo and mastectomy.  The AC+T dose dense (every 2 weeks) is the standard of care for your wife's stage.  Some people respond to the AC, others to the T.  Carboplatin is being revisited but there is no common use of that at this time.  Usually it is reserved for recurrence.  My wife's case was brought up at the San Antonio convention and I also communicated directly with Lisa Carey of UNC and all opinions concluded no more chemo beyond AC+T, but all did agree on radiation.  The best support you can give your wife is to be her health care advocate.  Being there at each treatment and holding her hand during chemo is what she needs most.

Jeff

carolynf

David,

I started my treatments in Dec.  My cocktail is the same: A/C dd every 2 weeks 4 cycles, then onto Taxol for 12 weeks (every wk). Then onto radiation.  I have tolerated the A/c very well except for having a head cold on top of everything.  I have 1 more cycle to finish on A/C.  Positive attitude goes a long way.  My husband and kids support me totally.  He attended all meetings except the 1st w/my team.  My surgeon was not happy when I didn't bring him in when i was dx. My family has taken me to appts so it gives him a break.  I did not get a 2nd opionion since I was very comfortable w/my onc who used to work at Dana Farber.  He was willing to give me name of onc down in Boston but like I said I was comfortable.  Good luck to you and your wife.  You've already taken to right step in posting here and getting info.  It's a great website.

snowyday

Hi David:  I'm triple negative and I was given the FEC-D first I surgury to remove the tumour and then had chemo the FEC-D means 5-Fluorouracil, Epirubicin and Cyclophosphamide every three weeks then Docetaxel every three weeks followed by radiation. I just finished my radiation and will have my follow up and scans on the 22nd.  Triple negative is scary but they've found that chemo especially the taxols do a great job on triple negs.  Good luck and keep writing into this site it has great support for you and your wife and the women on this site are really up to date and know their stuff here.  There is a great triple negative thread so take a look and I'm sure you'll find the best info for your wife. All the best. Pearl49