35 years old TNBC IDC, stage 1b, grade 3,

RanRee

Hello,

My life was flipped upside down after finding out I had breast cancer on February 17th 2021, the same day I had surgery to remove half of my thyroid and parathyroid due to thyroid cancer. My birthday was a couple weeks before, and I was flabbergasted that at 35 I had two primary cancers, with no lymph node involvement.

Things happened quickly, MRIs, bone scans, X-rays, etc and I found out I had invasive ductal carcinoma, triple negative, stage 1b, grade 3, and the lump was 1.9cm and hadn't spread to the lymph nodes.

I had genetic testing and am negative for brac-1 and 2, though my mother (52), maternal grandmother (62) and maternal great grandmother (72) all had breast cancer. My mother and identical twin sister were tested and also came back negative...

I'm currently going through “the red devil" rounds of chemo, with 4 rounds every two weeks, and just two more left. It's been brutal emotionally and mentally and physically. And then on to taxol for 4 more rounds. I'm hoping to bypass radiation.

I've opted for a full bilateral mastectomy, no nipple sparing. I can't bare the thought of recurrence.l, though I don't know the rates and long term prognosis for me.

I'd love to hear from any other young survivors and patients. 2021 has been a hell of a year already for me.

Christmascarol

One of my rad sisters had a very similar diagnosis to you. Triple neg, 1.5 cm, micro met in one node. I don’t know the grade, but i think triple neg is usually higher grade in general? We met 4 years ago during radiation treatment. She was 50. She was told she had very good odds for a cure. She is doing great. Hang in there! Xoxo

ps. She had a mastectomy and still did the rads chest wall and lymphs. I suspect due to the micro met.

Moderators

Welcome, RanRee. We're so sorry you find yourself here, but we hope you find the support and encouragement you need in this community. You are not alone, and we're here with you!

The Mods

Poppy_90

rere—I am so sorry you are here, but you have found a great place for support. I'm a fellow TN, diagnosed last May. I am not going to say I know how you feel, because it is different for us all. But I remember feeling so overwhelmed with the TN diagnosis. But, I want you to know, treatment was tough but I got through it and it was hard, but not as hard as I had feared. Lean on your care team and make sure you trust them.

I remember early in my diagnosis, I found another TN. She told me we are in a sorority that nobody wants to join, but once you do we are here for each other. That meant a lot to me, so I wanted to say the same to you. You'll find a lot of very smart and supportive people on this site. Please know that I'm here for you, too. To cheer you on, answer any questions, or just to vent to.

I may not qualify as young as you’re looking for, but was diagnosed in my mid 40s, so feel young. Also BRACA negative with a similar family history— for me it was my mom and maternal grandmother. I did chose lumpectomy with radiation. My SO and MO were very kind in taking time to explain TNBC and where we have the highest risk of recurrence. For me it was the right choice, but realize that we are all very different and it is a very personal choice. I encourage you to take all the time you need research, ask questions, and make the decision that you are comfortable with. Make sure you have all the answers you need before makeing the next step in treatment.

When I see a new TN, I feel a need to reach out, it’s a scary diagnosis. I am here for you with any questions or just to offer support. Don’t ever hesitate to reach out. I’ll be thinking of you and sending good thoughts and gentle hugs to you. And if I can do this, I know you can, too!

Kristen

buttonsmachine

RanRee, I'm sorry you're finding yourself here, but welcome. I'm not TN, but I was also diagnosed young.

If you haven't had surgery yet you might want to check out Beesie's thread. She did a lot of work to gather a lot of info in one place. https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/91/topics/868997?page=2#post_5644987

I mention it because there is some new data there about the effectiveness of different surgeries.

Best wishes to you.

santabarbarian

TN is scary but the silver lining is it is a cancer you CAN get rid of and stay rid of. I am closing in on 3 years. TNBC comes back fast or not at all After 3 years you have reached a milestone and after 5 years recurrence drops to about zero. I had 3.8 cm and nodes upon diagnosis, also grade 3 9 Nottingham... had pCR after chemo.

Also: Lx + rads is equivalent to Mx for survival stats.

Hang in there, you can beat this!

Santabarbarian

Aram

Hi RanRee, I am really sorry you are here with us. I am going through AC treatment at the moment as well and totally understand what you talk about when you talk about its physical and emotional toll. Maybe join us in March 2021 Chemo group? A couple of us are going through AC at the moment and it sometimes helps to talk to others in the same boat.

NorCalS

Hi RanRee.

It is overwhelming when you first get the diagnosis. Similar to Poppy-90, I was diagnosed in my mid 40’s, so not young, but young-ish. 😉. For me, the AC portion was tougher than Taxol. I had a lot of weird side effects (nails and knuckles turned black!). The taxol portion (every week for 12 weeks) felt so much easier than AC. I felt I could do a lot more and I just felt better. Hopefully, this will be the case for you. After ACT, the primary tumor shrank so much that it was undetectable on an MRI right before surgery. The only plus side to TNBC is that it does tend to respond well to chemo.

I have met a lot of women who have had TNBC and they are thriving years after diagnosis. Most have passed the 5 year mark and they have moved on from their diagnosis.

Binks

Hi RanRae

I'll be 35 in a couple of months, just got diagnosed with triple negative grade 3 cancer, lump is 0.8/1cm. I, however, did have the BRCA 2 mutation. And my mum got breast cancer at age 50 (triple negative as well) and two of her sisters (my aunts) also had cancer. So a little different from you but we are going through this almost at the same time. You're ahead of me in treatment as I haven't started any treatment yet, I'm waiting for my double mastectomy in 2 weeks, with reconstruction and nipple sparring. My lump is deep in my breast so they say I'm a good candidate for nipple sparring so I hope it goes well. Hopefully it's not spread to my lymph nodes. So far it shows it hasn't.

My post doesn't help much since I haven't started any treatment yet, but I felt an urge to reply to you, to let you know that you're not alone.

2021 is an upside down year for us. Full of scary, sad, hard, emotional times. I am also getting my eggs frozen because I got my diagnosis while trying to conceive, My husband and I were devastated by the possibility of never having kids. That process will start after surgery but before chemo (without causing any delay in chemo) It's all so much to deal with, and I don't fully understand it yet.

I'm so sorry I have to be here replying to your message. I have never had any other cancer before so I'm so sorry you have to go through it again. Sending a hug your way.

NinjaMeow

Hi there! I was diagnosed at 40 and similar to you tested negative for generic disposition but I had zero history of breast cancer in the family. 3 surgeries, 8 rounds of chemo and 7 years later I am healthy, alive and well. I could not see it at the time bc it is a giant whirlwind and I found all the info about TNBC disheartening but day by day/step by step things got better. You are not alone.

Easymac08

hey! How did you decide on mastectomy? I have to decide soon. Like this week. Done a million hours of research. Can't get passed getting rads vs. Not getting rads. I have done 4 ac, 10 taxol, and got 2 more. Yesterday the mammogram and ultrasound showed it shrank from 2.6cm to .088cm. And they don't know yet if it is cancer or dead cells. Thankful for anyone's insight!

moth

Easymac08 - you may want to look at this write up from BC about new research published in May 2021

"Even after the researchers took into account all the other factors that could affect survival, lumpectomy plus radiation still offered better survival rates than mastectomy plus radiation and mastectomy alone."

Lumpectomy Plus Radiation Offers Better Survival Rates Than Mastectomy for Early-Stage Breast Cancer

https://www.breastcancer.org/research-news/lumpect...

Easymac08

thnk you, moth. That is what I was trying to read more about. So tricky!!