What to expect

Amy

I am so sorry to hear of your diagnosis.  Please be positive.  There is alot of very kind and supporting ladies on this site who have a wealth of information regarding breast cancer.

My mother was also diagnosed with BC in 06.  She had invasive ductal just as you.  She had a lumpectomy, 4 rounds of chemo and 6 weeks of radiation.  She is older that you are "60".  She did very well with the chemo treatments only got sick after the first treatment.  She was very tired and did lose her hair.  As for the radiation, her breast did get burned, blistered, and was pretty uncomfortable for a while.  There is some type of medicated patches the hospital gave her to put on the burn which helped a bunch!  Unfortunately, she recently found out her cancer had spread just short of 2 years from diagnosis.  She has been getting weekly chemo treatments 3 weeks on 1 week off since November of 08.  Her treatment includes: Taxotere weekly, Avastin every other week and Zometa once a month.  She has lost her hair once again but this time we did get her a pretty nice wig to wear.  Emotionally, it is very draining.  She is on anti-depressants which she had been on prior to her first diagnosis.  She also takes anti-anxiety pills when needed.  Remaining positive is very important. 

My wish for you is that your Dr. will be very aggressive with the treatment and that you will beat this!   

Stacey

Hi Amy!

On 7/23/08 I was diagnosed with a lump in each breast.  The left is 3.7 cm TN and the right is a very small 7 mm ER+.   My pathology report read exactly like yours on the left breast, "agressive, poorly differentiated, and top 80 or 90% of the worst kinds to get scale, etc." 

Since dx, I've had the SNB - all clear, and completed dose dense chemo which was very doable, and shrunk the 3.7 considerably.  I am now anxiously awaiting a BLM with immediate DIEP recon on 1/22. 

Although it was a total shock to have not one, but two separate cancers - one in each breast; I am very grateful and relieved that the radiology doctor found them both. Many radiologists would have missed the second cancer and I would have been back in chemo/surgery down the road. So, I feel fortunate to be able to do everything possible now, so that I don't have to go through this again. 

I am sure you will be fine. The treatment is all very doable with minimal side effects. Just ask questions when you need to and do what your doctors suggest.  Good luck!

Sue 

Hi Amy, we have dx similar, my tumor is larger, and i was diagnosed on 12/5/08, i am doing chemo first in hopes to shrink my tumor. I am 38.

I had port placed on monday and chemo starts friday

chiquita hope you are doing better.  vacation sounds good to me too.

hugs to all

chemo just wears me out it takes days to feel half way decent then it is time for another tx. luckily i have a 2 week break between tx this time and can build up strength.

i can't taste food i am hungry but when i go to eat i don't want nothing

Grade 3 cancer is considered an agressive form of cancer.  Not that it has actually aggressively done something in your body,  just that it IS an aggressive form of cancer.  So don't let the word 'aggressive" scare you (although it does everyone I think).

Triple Neg. cancer is treated with chemo almost always now according to my cancer team.  I finished my chemo in Dec. and the treatments weren't nearly as bad a I had expected.  I wouldn't recommend them for a "good time", but they weren't as bad we we are often led to believe....however, they ARE different for everyone.

And I actually have grown quite fond of being bald....it turns out to be VERY liberating.  Will almost be sorry to have hair back again someday.

Let us know how it's going...we're here for you.  Surround yourself with friends and family.  Share your concerns and educate not only yourself but your support group. You will come to appreciate the fact that you did.  We can come out of this stuff stronger, happier, and better people understanding what others have gone thru or about to go thru.

I am doing my chemo #3 and this time I feel very tired and my taste for food is not there, I had chemo last Tuesday and today a week and still no energy...I went to see my Doctor today for some think for infection because I am putting mucus greenish and blowing my nose a lot.

I hope to feel better tomorrow because my work is all behind and my husband is not doing any think...(well he makes food) and wash TV and feeds the birds...here is winter and very cold with a lot of snow...I agree with the other girls bald is great and is so easy to take care of. My husband is bald too and he calls me Mine Me!!!!

Hi there, rsben70...are you ok?

hi chiquita,  been down for a few days but much better now thanks,  my last tx really got to me  i really think it was a combination of things i let my self get to ungry before trying to eat and a church member who brought supper thursday after my tx brought her kids who were WILD and stayed for 3 hours so by the time she left my nervers were shot, meds had worn off and stomach was so empty that what i ate came back. my hubby said no more of that if you want to visit 30 min thats it.  it was the gemzar that got me this time....

taxotere SEs are like that of the flu tired and achy.

thinking of you on 2/19

Hi Chiquita,

I too have had Taxotere and it can be a tough one to get thru.  You are almost there and you can do it, remember that.  I know it can be hard just stay with it for yourself and family.

You may have some neuropathy or edema with Taxotere also.

http://www.chemocare  you can go here and look up Taxotere and see what the side effects usually are, they will differ for all of us.

Best wishes

When I was dx with triple negative basal type breast cancer in 12/05, searching for the best chemotherapy, radiation, and any information regarding this type of breast cancer was next to impossible.  All of the information I found was terrifying.  I came to Breastcancer.org and found women who taught me how to research, be my own best advocate, and hopefully trust the doctors who were involved in my care.  The best advice I can give is to thoroughly research your decisions using this site, Triple Negative.com, and No Surrender.com as the best resources on how to make the best decisions and actually see a light at the end of this Triple Negative Tunnel.  There is a light, if you squint and hang-on!  Remember to listen to your "little voice".  Trusting yourself,  having faith & hope in your own personal decision-making process of what, how, and why, should never be cast aside or forgotten.  Trust yourself, and you will be okay!

(((hugs)))