Triple Negative Breast Cancer and Chemotherapy

Payton, Newme- you're in my prayers.

Heidi, Titan, Violet- Saw my onc & BS for my 3 month f/u as I was completing rads. Will see them again next month (4/21) and have PET scan on 4/16.

Heidi- whatever those critters are, they sure look Fox-y! BTW saw you're in lower, slower DE. I'm from upper slower DE....although now living down south (yep, another escapee!)

Sorry I haven't visited this thread recently. I missed alot. After catching up, it's now on my favorites!

No, wait! My revised location states simply Earth! Actually, my heart is in New England, where we lived before lower slower. We're talking about moving to NC as soon as our sons are settled after college graduation this May. Still need to be able to sail and carriage drive though.

Had two follow-up visits last week and now have about 10 day break before having to head back up to Sloan-Kettering for a follow-up with my surgeon. I wonder how long I will keep seeing him? I know the others will be about every four months for two or three years, then six months, etc.

Have scat (damn--- animal poop on my mind) I meant CAT scan April 1st. Trying not to get too wacky about it. Hell, I asked for it, so my onc agreed!

Wild turkey are cool. I released the Fox brothers in a Nature Sanctuary that had a lot of them. Uhmm... when I would go back to check on the release site there were a lot of turkey feathers....

I love to see these animal photos.  The foxes are very cute. Keep 'em coming....it does take our mind off things.  

hhfheidi- Your animal pictures are gorgeous. Why don't you start a  "taking our minds off cancer" forum? This would be specifically for those people who don't want to think about cancer, for swapping jokes and photos and recipes and whatever. Doesn't that sound like a good idea? 

Puddin' 

I was just diagnosed w/ TN IDC and didn't realize this is not the best news to hear. I thought because it was negative that was a good thing. I'm nervous about what happens next. I had a lumpectomy done 2 weeks ago and there was a 1.2 cm tumor found. The Dr. didn't expect to find cancer so I have another surgery next Friday to remove more tissue to get clean margins and check my lymph nodes. I've been told radiation will follow. I'm scared. This discussion board has been very helpful. 

JaniceW- Haven't seen you on the boards in a while, I hope you're OK.

Puddin' 

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the positive comments about my photos. It appears they are doing what I'd hoped they would... taking our minds off cancer, if only for a few moments.

Titan is right: there are sites in here that are specific to recipes, humor, games and photos. Though I think the idea of a Taking our Minds Off Cancer thread is a good one, I also think that that need is already being met. Find those threads and add them to your Favorites, so they are easily tracked.

The photos I post here are my "gift" to you, in this thread. Since being diagnosed I have joined many different cancer sites and read/responded to many different threads. However, this is the one that is beginning to feel like "Home", even if it doesn't have a precisely specific Topic as the subject matter. I think the important point here is that we are all dealing with a very aggressive beast with a well-known pattern of recurrence.

Having said that, we are all aware that it is not all Doom & Gloom either. If you haven't already done so, I would recommend you take a peek at the No Surrender website and navigate to the Triple Negative section. There is some very good information there and it is presented in mostly layman's terms. It provides something we all have in common... a need for Hope. YES, this disease can be managed and beaten!

So, I will continue to post a photo diversion from time to time and I encourage all of you to add your own humor, photos,etc. Being one of those anal-retentive control freak types I like the idea of a suitably titled Topic for these additional ideas, but not enough to risk the flow of positive thoughts and camaraderie that is already apparent in this thread.

Good day ladies!

ljperezTX- Thank you for this post. I am not JaniceW, but I see you read her Topic and you are replying to it. I posted on this topic myself, to show her encouragement.I also wanted her to know that it was really alright to have those feelings sometimes. I think most of us became scattered when we were first diagnosed.I know I did. But soon we became focused on our treatment and survival. I hope that's what she is doing. I hope she has found a medical team that she trusts and feels comfortable with. 

I also hope when she does return to the boards, she will be able to find the few of us who have actually replied to her Topic, and not become overwhelmed by everything else. 

It's nice meeting you.

Puddin' 

Agree with you all...so let's get back to tn's and chemo,..from reading here and elsewhere chemo..and aggressive chemo is what we tn's need..so bring it on...you read about poisons in you from chemo but since I'm done I can't do anything about that now...plus I wouldn't have anyway...I will do anything I can to kill those damn cancer cells...if there are any left...I will poison them, zap them..whatever it takes...I will deal with se's if I have to...I will not complaint about them either..

Janice..there is no cure for breast cancer and that is hard to accept..but...hopefully with treatments we can hold it off for hopefully a very long time...I know women that are 2 years, 6 years, 10 years and 30 years out...I know women that have died from it also....the best thing to do is to hit it with everything you can...and just hope for the best...and try to live your LIFE in the meantime....

Good Morning girls,

I started a new post under just dxed but in case you dont catch it. My path report is in and I am stage 4. I am not feeling the best as my head is spinning along with my stomach. thanks to you all  for listening to me and offering encouragement over the last month.

My parents are coming in town to go to the onc with me later so I can see where I am headed next. Wish I had better news to share.

Hhfheidi, I'm with your opinion...BREAST CANCER IS CURABLE..especially us TN, after 3 years then 5 years out we have small chance of reaccuring 10 years out and we are concidered cured. Many Many Many women after having breast cancer never have a reaccurance and those that do again if a new primary and caught early have that same reassurance. I would like to start a thread about exactly what all your doctors told you about re-occurance. Many doctors don't even mention TN and other doctors go on and tell their patients they have 80% without reaccurance etc. Well they come here and all of a sudden they hear all this hype about them being TN, and all what the doctors have said is forgotten and they just hear doom and gloom. I am not going to say that TN isn't an aggressive cancer, BUT when science does not have a targeted treatment what do you suppose they might say??? TN desease is all not the same desease and I truly believe that some TN cancers are very CURABLE. I will say, however, that there is alot of good news around the corner for TN and some day TN is going to be the one to beat.

justpayton,  I am so, so sorry.  Please do not give up hope, because I've followed stage 4 threads and quite a few women have gone NED just out of the blue.  I'm holding you in my heart and my thoughts.  Titan and Noni,  my oncologist told me that there is a "good" triple neg and a "bad" triple neg.  From experience he considers me a "good" triple neg.  I asked how you can tell for sure, and he said only time will tell, you can't know for certain.  He said that my chances of a "cure" were higher than my chances of it coming back.  I had a bilateral masectomy 1/8 nodes.  My PET Scan was clear 5 or 6 weeks after surgery, right before I started TAC.  I have a so-called restaging scan after chemo before they take out my port.  My other oncologist for my endocervical cancer used the word "cure" post-radical hysterectomy.  He said I'd be watched and scanned for five years at which point I'd be "cured".  He said if the cervical cancer came back it would do so within 2 years, if not I'd probably be good to go.  Right now I'm considered in "remission" with the cervical cancer because it hasn't been 5 years.  I hope I can prove my breast cancer oncologist correct, that I am, in fact, a good Triple Neg.  Meanwhile, I am trying not to be terrified every minute of every day, because if it does come back and my time is shorter than I'd like I want it to have been a good life.  Frickin' sucks to be us!!!  I wish they could surgically remove the dread.

Payton - just read about your recent diagnosis and am very sorry about the news. We are here for you and I'm saying a prayer. 

Noni - your words of encouragement are always appreciated. I know two women who had hormone negative BC more than 8 years ago.  One had triple negative for sure and the other just knows it was hormone negative and aggressive (so could have been her2+ or TN?).  The one with confirmed TNBC was 29 at the time.  They are both thriving.

Violet - I hope we all have the good kind of TNBC!!  Five years was the magic number for cure my SIL was given, too, with her endometrial cancer.  She finished chemo two years ago.

Regarding my BC, my onc told me I had a great prognosis after finishing chemo and I'm hanging on to that. Carolinachick, I agree it's not worth giving this disease our time and energy...it's a hard thing to to but with time hopefully it'll subside somewhat.

Have a great day ladies!

Sherri 

In my hurry to make my point I selfishly overlooked Paytons post and I'm so sorry to hear your news. Please don't give up hope there is some really good things happening for us TN. You might want to go on line and look up "No Surrender Breast Cancer" there is a researcher they refer to as Edge that has some very encouraging studies that you might want to present to your doctors regarding the newest treatments that are available. There are no words to express how I feel, I can only tell you that I will continue to keep you close in my prayers. You don't just get a stage 4 diagnosis and die there is still time for just the right treatment that will kick a;;;s.