Basal Subtype with Triple Negative

Hi Jessie,

Sorry you've had to join our group. You are in the scariest part of your journey when you have so many questions and so much is still unknown. The imagination tends to go wild. Once you have a treatment plan, you will probably feel better.

It is important to look over your pathology report so you kow what to ask your onc. There are all kinds of resources (including on this web site) that can help you understand it. Like you, when I was first diagnosed, I was ravenous for infomation. Having BC will give you quite an education.  Write your questions down so you don't forget. I kept a notebook of Q & As and brought it with me to every visit. A decent oncologist should be open to your questions and honest about your prognosis. Mine was. He was also very thorough in ordering scans and tests. Waiting for results was hard, but then it was a relief to know exactly where I stood. 

I'm not sure what Vimentin and Cytokeratin positive indicates, but ER, PR and Her-2 negative cancers (AKA triple negative) are typically high grade and/or basal like. It is important to understand that while women with BRCA mutations often have tumors that are 3N, the reverse is not true. Most 3N do not have a BRCA mutation. That said, if your onc doesn't discuss genetic testing with you, you should bring it up. This is an important piece of information you will need when deciding on your treatment. 

You are likely to hear all kinds of scary things about 3N cancer in the news and online, but remember that the media loves drama. I am glad that 3NBC is getting some attention, but I find that most media coverage of it is very negatively skewed. Of course, it's not good, but there are some aspects of being 3N that are more favorable than other types of BC. For one thing, we tend to respond VERY well to chemotherapy. My tumor was slightly larger than yours, but it completely disappeared. Because of this, my onc is very optimistic about my prognosis. Also, after 3-4 years, the odds of having a recurrence of 3NBC drop dramatically. 3NBC cancer is really a catch-all term that groups us according to what we are NOT. What we have in common is that they don't know what fuels our cancer. We are not all the same and our prognosis is greatly affected by other factors, such as BRCA mutations and how well we respond to chemo initially.

I hope this information helps. My heart goes out to you and my thoughts will be with you on Monday. 

I requested info regarding my dx, I will call Monday and ask what the hold up is, will check in later.

Oh sister, never fear, with so many law suits, you will get everything they know.  The days of gently helping the patient with half-truths is long gone, they got their pants sued off.  So now, we actually, in some cases, get more info than we want or need.

I am 10 years post treatment, a TriNeg with a little sub-type cancer that occurs in only 5% of cases of BC, It is called Medullary.  Who knew?

Absolutely read and understand your path report, knowledge is strength.  It always has scary things in it.  Get Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book, too.  She, to me, is a blessing. 

Gentle hugs, Shirlann

Jessie - I'm triple negative, BRCA 2 positive, and hit my 3 years from dx mark this past May. Hope you appt went well.

Hey Boo!

March907,

You have every right to be upset about your situation, but what were you thinking when you posted such a brutal, negative message directly to a newbie? Did you not notice that she had just thanked everyone for their encouragment? That was a pretty clear indicator of the kind of support she needed from this forum. Don't you remember how scary it is when you've just been diagnosed? I assure you, it is not necessary to add to the fear factor. I think it was disingenuous to say you weren't trying to put a damper on the upbeat discussion. 

Jessie,

I'm glad to hear your visit to the onc went well and you're tolerating your first chemo OK so far. It is no fun, but it's very doable. Considering how well MOST TNs respond to chemo, it's well worth the short-term unpleasantness. These next few months will go by more quickly than you might imagine. Try to keep your spirits up, even when you hear negative things about TNBC. I'm sure you and your doctors are being particularly vigilant - especially while you're in treatment. I encourage you to read the posts of the many long term survivors on this forum. It's certainly not always bad news. Hang in there!

 Cheranthia

Hey Sue! I'm doing pretty darn good, hope you're the same.

Jessie - love hearing that your onc visit went well, and that you're tolerating the chemo well so far. Don't get discouraged if you have some bad days as well, although they seem like forever when they're happening, they are short-term. There are lots of great tips and tricks to deal with SEs of chemo if you get them. And, one step at a time re the surgeries. I will tell you that I found out I was BRCA+ well after the fact, and wish I had known at the time, as I definitely would have done the bi-lat mast. I just have my ovaries out this summer, it was basically a breeze from a surgical perspective anyway :-)

March - Sorry to hear about your recurrence, hope your new treatment kicks butt.