I can't believe it

born2fight

Hi. I am 35 year ol mom to 3 great kids 2, 8, 12

I have been sick 7 years after a tick bite, and 2 of my 3 kids have significant health problems.

I found a good sized lump and it was very painful I decided to go to gyn.

 Everyone said oh it hurts  not cancer prob hormonal.

Took 3-4 weeks for ultrasound and mamogram which I mad about.

Then after that it took 3-4 weeks for a biopsy as it was just called a fibroadenoma and we should bx it just to be safe

Put in non urgent path.

So 9 weeks it took for all this

Then a week later my gyn called with results which were that it was cancer.I feel like someone punched me in the gut.

I am Iin thy why me, I have had so much illness last 7 years, and now this?

My tumor is triple negative, was 3 CM 10 days (before biopsy)I saw the sugical oncologist yesterday.

My tumor DOUBLED in size in 10 days so 5-6 cm. She said I am clinically dx with stage 2  triple negative invasive cancer.I think grade 3?

She went through the options.

She strongly suggested shrinking the tumor with chemo first. Its located at 9:00 and not much room to get clear margins so it made sense. Then do a lumpectomy and nodes  followed by radiation.

After reading some tonight, I thought triple negative was "better" than the her2+ cancers?

Sadly my bff has that. Its good because I can lean on her for advice.

But she has not lost any hair, looks great. She gets herceptin mixed with something every 3 weeks. Literally had it yesterday and today out had a drink totally barely phased. 

I am so happy she is goung through il fairly "easily".

I will see the medical oncologist next week and hopefully start tx after that 

Does my plan sound normal??

Warrior_Woman

Hi Born - Welcome to BCO.  I've had Lyme disease 2 xs.  There isn't anything you have written that has not been expressed by others on here.  I am glad you have a bff who can help lead the way.  Nothing gets done quickly and I wanted it all done yesterday.  We all know the angst of waiting and fear.  Without making false promises, may find that the diagnosis is the worst time.  Your head is spinning.  It's a maze and you don't know how to get through it.  We've all been there.  Having medical practitioners that you're confident with is critical and when in doubt a second opinion can help.  Your plan sounds like a plan that many have used.  We're each different.  Our bodies and cancers are different.  A medical expert will be the one who can give you reassurance or present an alternative.  

Funclassygal

Yes it does born2fight!  I was told mine was a cyst and so it was another 2 months for me also until the dreaded news on May 28th.  Mine is also about 6cm and have to do the dreaded chemo first to shrink and then the surgery.  I have to meet with the nurse from the oncologist's office on Wed and then will be given a start date.  Have you had an MRI or Petscan yet?  VeraAnn

born2fight

Thank you for your replies!

My dr said she didnt think I needed any further imaging! I would like a pet scan though!  Maybe I can talk my medical oncologist into it haha.

My surgical oncologist said its very early (grade 3 stage 2) 

But IDK.

And YES breast cancer tumors can hurt. Whoever posts that on websites needs to cut that out

I am glad that using chemo before surgery makes sense or at least is being done for others.

born2fight

I havent told my kids yet. I want my oldest to know (not every detail)

But whats going on.

I am worried about them. Worried about my husband too. Any spouse support groups around?

Islandmama2

hi born

I'm sorry you are here. I am also triple negative and 35 too. I know this really sucks having young kids makes it even worse. I found the lump myself but I had my ultrasound and biopsy fairly quickly and had surgery all within a month. 

It sounds like you are in the right path now by having chemo first then surgery followed by radiation. I also had a large tumor at 4.7 cm but I have large breasts so went ahead with lumpectomy.

I had a few tumor cells in one lymph node so technically that node is negative but it did show some cells when they did further testing on immunostain.

I am almost 4 weeks postop this Wednesday I haven't even seen the oncologist yet but I do know that I will be getting chemo with radiation. 

my surgeon also told me that further scans were not necessary or indicated however he did them just to have a baseline. I am stage 2B. Most triple negative tumors are grade three because it is an aggressive tumor. 

Being triple negative is not the greatest but it does respond really well to chemo. We do have a higher rate of recurrence. 

If you would like more support from other ladies that are also triple negative head over to the triple negative forum and post there. If you'd like to chat I'm also available if you'd like to PM me.

Like everyone else's said this waiting in limbo part is the worst. It truly is about one step at a time now that you know you're going to plan for your chemo once you finish chemo your plan for surgery once you have your surgery then you'll plan for radiation and go from there...

I'm still early in the game too and really I'm trying to slow down and take it one day at a time even with an eight-year-old!

Take care mama..

lintrollerderby

Hi. I'm sorry to see you in this circumstance. I was diagnosed with Triple Negative completely out of the blue in 2011 at age 34. My docs were convinced I had a fibroadenoma because it hurt (I got the same crap about breast cancer not hurting), my young age, and because I had no family history. Turns out I have a BRCA1 mutation. Please get in to see a genetic counselor. I had no family history, but not only am I a BRCA1 mutation carrier, I passed it to my only child. She is 20 and just had a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction in March. Your age and the Triple Negative status are red flags for a BRCA mutation. 

No cancer is good, but Triple Negative and HER2+ are pretty similar in their aggressive nature; however, HER2+ women have the benefit of Herceptin, Perjeta, and some other newer drugs. Us Triple Negatives have no such weapons in our arsenals. 

My tumor also grew very quickly in only 5 weeks. I could visibly see the difference in the mirror and even my surgeon could see with his own eyes that it was growing rapidly.

Good luck.

farmerlucy

Hi borntofight - So sorry for the devastating news. There is a book sold at Amazon.com called Breast Cancer Husband that may be of some help. Also consider joining the surgery or chemo group for June or July. It helps to be with others who are going through the same thing. Lastly antianxiety meds may help you deal with things a little easier. Talk to you doctor about that.  Things are going to be really scary for a while. I'm so sorry you have to face this. Please come back often for encouragement and support.  Gentle hug.

http://www.amazon.com/Breast-Cancer-Husband-Diagnosis-Treatment/dp/1579548334

bettysgirl

Sorry to have you join the sisterhood but you are in a good place. The positive part to chemo before surgery is that you know that the tumor is responding to the chemo. There is a lot of support here and my BC center here in Ga also had a group for men to support and talk. There is also a book that they gave my husband (it sounds like the one mentioned above) I wish you the best in your treatments and I am so glad you have a friend to lean on. Best wishes to you!