CNN.com story

NancyD

CNN.com story

NancyD

Just a brief story on the web today:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/06/16/hm.triple.neg.breast.cancer/index.html?eref=rss_topstories 

Analemma

The sad part is at the end when the metastatic patient, Cheryl Reed, says,  "I'm realistic, it could be two years and I could be back in treatment again."  I would LOVE to think that I'd be NED for two years before having chemo again.  The truth is, that rarely happens with metastatic tnbc, it's more likely just a few months before progression and spread.

Sadie-Rose

Hi Nancy,

Thank you for posting this information.  I am encouraged to see tnbc hit mainstream news programs.  I am not young and not African American which leaves me in even a  smaller group.  It does help to know researchers want to explore new ways to treat this type of cancer.

 Sadie

ekenny315

I have to say I am truly sorry i read it. Since i'm a newbie i guess i need to hear more positive stories.

dunner1

Erika- Please do not be discouraged!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am a five+ yr. survivor of Stage 3 Triple Negative BC. It is all a crap shoot and with a positive attitude and prayer you will be in my shoes before you know it!!! Keep the faith! Dunner1

PineHouse

Sadie, no, the statement that "most triple negatives are African American" is incorrect.  Most triple negatives in the US are Caucasians.  But African Americans do have a higher percentage of triple negatives than Caucasians.

I just e-mailed CNN.com about this.

NancyD

Erika, Look at it this way...they're trying to drum up sympathy and support for a breast cancer that is harder to beat than hormone driven BC. And they're trying to scare Af-Am women into getting regular mammograms. In the general population, they're the least likely to have regular exams and least likely to follow up on irregular reports, mostly due to lack of insurance, but probably also due to some other misconceptions and fears.

I read somewher else that, proportionately, Af-Am women were more likely to die from their BC than caucasian women. That may be due to a high number of triple-negs, but also due to the other factors I mentioned. So again, that skews the statistics about triple negs. 

ekenny315

Thanks girls , i feel much better

lisamed123

Erika,

I felt the same way you did, I was bummed after I watched the video.  You caught my eye on the boards a couple weeks ago because we have a similar bc "situation", stage, nodes, etc.  I suspect you are a bit younger than I am.  I am 42 and have two boys ages 17 and 5.  I gotta tell you after I realized how serious my situation was, I had some really bad days.  I did have a bi-lateral mastectomy March 5 and waiting for the scan results were some of the worst days of my life.  After going back to work and moving on, things are a lot better.  I did 4 AC treatments and am going for my 2nd taxol tomorrow.  Are you doing chemo?

Lisa

Sadie-Rose

Pinehouse,

Thank you for correcting my statement. 

Warmly,

Sadie

PineHouse

Sadie, didn't mean you.  The article itself did state something that's incorrect.