Mom with Stage 4 TN

adom

Hi everyone!

5 years ago my mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 Her 2+, went through treatment. She had a recent PET scan that showed her tumor had grown back to the original size, chemo wasn't working and surgery was her next option. She just had surgery last week, where they got most, but not all the cancer. The pathology now shows that she has stage 4 triple negative. My question is...is triple negative breast cancer usually hereditary? From what I've read it's caused by a mutated gene (BRCA1/BRCA2)???? Is this right and should she/I be tested? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 THANKS!!

Debonthelake

My understanding is that any breast cancer can be caused by the BRACA genes.  I was tested for the BRACA gene.  In my situation it would have changed the course of my treatment.  Women with the BRACa gene have a very high rate of cancer recurrence.  Had I been positive the doctor would have done a bilateral mastectomy as well as removed my ovaries.  Fortunately, my BRACA was negative so my treatment of lumpectomy, chemo and radiation remained unchanged.  Good luck to you.

Anonymous

My wife has TN Stage IV and she's BRCA negative. Please come to the Stage IV board, you'll find all the support there.