Newbie Triple Negative

Janemartin- Hi and welcome, sorry you had to join here but glad you found this site, you will get lots of support and advice. Im not triple negative but the boards seem to be running slow tonight usually the weekends are slower but i wanted to welcome you and let you know you are not alone and didnt want you to feel unwelcome. Im sure others who are triple-will come along and give you advice and welcome you also. We are all here  for you and help with any questions you may have, You wil be in my thoughts and prayers tomorrow and for you chemo.

Love and hugs

Debbie

Hi Jane, Find myself up late tonite and thought I would drop you a line...I am 6 1/2 years out, and hope that number will give you a little hope.  I do remember how overwhelming the beginning of dx was and certainly, for me the idea of chemo was totally horrifying....I was no hero re treatment and cried a lot those first few weeks probably out of pure fear of both the unknown and the concept of facing my mortality...So Jane, I can tell you with certainty, no matter what chemo you will be doing...(probably A&C and then T or a combo there-of)...you will find a way thru it...The anti-nausea drug emend is amazing and I never got sick to my stomach during chemo...just lost my appetite...So make sure they include emend in your meds...Also important, take your temperature several times a day and if you have a fever that is persistant...you must call your Dr...That way they can ward off infection...the goal is to finish chemo quickly....And after the first infusion..the time speeds up and the easier parts of treatment begin....Stage 2 is an earlier stage and you will be fine...Please keep posting here...You will meet a lot of women who really know their stuff and will guide you thru this time....Also, dont be shy about asking your Dr for tranqs or anti-depressants to help you thru this...A lot of us did....Best of luck to you Jane.....

Sorry you have to join us, but you will find lots of support and friendship here.



I'm just about to celebrate my 4 year anniversary! You can do this!



I had lumpectomy, TCx4 and radiation. I had very mild side effects and never missed a beat.



Exercise and good nutrition was key.



Please post any questions or if you are just scared and need support.



Take care,

Lorrie

Welcome Jane. I'm newly dx with triple negative too. The whole thing is very overwhelming, but definitely less as it goes.

My bits of advice for chemo: Take the meds they give you as directed. Drink lots of water the day before, the day of and the day after. Do some light exercise regularly as much as you feel up to it, like walking. 

Side effects vary from person to person. I happened to tolerate it very well, and hope you will too. Even so, it's doable, and before you know it, you'll be on the other side of it. 

Jane - I'm sorry you have to join us, but you'll find a great support group on this site - whether it's from other TNs, or women going through chemo with you, or surgery.... I just had treatment #5 of TAC. It's been rough, but I think I've avoided most of the real debilitating SEs (no nauseau). The rough thing for me was learning to slow down. The exhaustion is something you've never experienced before. Someone described it as having someone shut your battery off. I had it pretty 'easy' the first two and then it started hitting me harder, so I've had to adjust and give myself more rest from the get-go. But as a few other women mentioned, keep drinking, keep moving - and as long as you don't 'overdo' it, keep up with some other normal activities. It helps keep your mind off chemo and helps you feel close to normal.

My one other piece of advice that I got from a friend was to swig olive oil, which, her doctor theorized, helps keep the mouth from drying out and can help preserve taste buds and prevent mouth sores. Anecdotally, I'll swear by it. I may be losing my taste buds this time around, but they've held out pretty long.

Wishing you all the best. You'll find the strength.

Hi Jane,

Welcome to a group that I am just joining as well. I was diagnosed with IDC in June, had lumpectomy plus bilateral breast reduction in mid July. Pathology report = triple negative. Isolated tumor cells in 1/2 nodes. Started chemo in late August 4 X AC followed by 4 X Taxol. Had lots of nausea with the AC but Emend and Zofran and Phenergan suppositories really helped me. Just finished 33 rads on March 2nd. My skin is looking better and better. I am going to the gym. And I leave for a pre-breast cancer planned vacation to Spain and Portugal on the 17th. Then back to work as a high risk labor and delivery nurse 1st of April. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

I will send you the positive energy I am feeling today!

DAF

Welcome and good luck on your journey! As for chemo, like someone else said, it is not fun, but doable. I had a rough time the first two sessions, but my body seemed to adjust and my last two sessions I hardly had any side affects. It felt so good to come to the end of it and feel normal. I have surgey next week...so I am starting the next phase of my treatment. We are both newbies:} I was dx in November, started chemo in December. Wishing you the best!

slouisemay - I'm on TACx6 for chemo and started in December - last one will be 3/29. All things considered, I found the hair loss really the 'easiest' part of chemo. You know it's going to happen (unless you want to pursue cold caps, which seem to prevent hair loss, but are expensive and take a lot of effort), so you can really prepare. I found 2 wigs that work well, plus some other head coverings, and I'm making a point to wear nice, flashy earrings. So far I haven't lost my nails, but they are softer and I need to keep them short and file rough edges to avoid breaking or pulling them. If you haven't found them, check out the Feb or March chemo threads (or earlier) for a sense of what to expect. And PM if you have any other questions. I grew up in CT, by the way.

Hi Jane

I am triple neg, stage 3a, high grade.  I have completed two rounds of AC plus will have Taxol and rads.  Was extremely worried about the nausea/vomiting side effects of chemo as  I have a fear of vomiting but was pleasantly surprised as did not have any.  Constipation was an issue for a few days as the coloxyl and senna I was given caused a few tummy pains but this came right as soon as I stopped the Ondansetron.    On the fourth day I felt my legs were like lead and was tired but other than there were no problems. My hair started coming out just before the second chemo and was wispy and sore so I got a friend to give me a number 1.  Apparently a number 1 is better than shaving the whole lot because you can get infection, at least that is what the wig lady told me.    I am still working full time and managing very well.  My third chemo is in a week and half.  The ladies on the TN site were marvellous and helped me through this as will your beautful girls.  They will really help you fight this monster.  The key really is plenty of water.  Its not so bad and I put a little blackcurrant in mine to make it more palatable. I have not had the funny taste that some get. My appetite has not decreased at all in fact I am eating more.  I also have just had a port in as my veins were there but hiding.  This is not too bad either, just a bit sore for a day or two.   If you keep posting you will meet all the wonderful girls on this site and they are full of advice and help.  As they say it is doable and they are right.  Thinking of you and hoping everything goes well for you.  

Annie           

Luah thank you for your good wishes.  I think this site might be better for me as I don't seem to  be able to give the same good advice that the girls on the TN gives because I'm only just going through the second chemo myself and they have gone through it all. Annie 

It's now 4 years since my triple neg diagnosis... Been where you are and am now through the worst of it. Drink lots of water, let friends help with your kids, take care of YOU!, and say goodbye to SuperMom- hello to MOM! Just LOVING MOM. That's what I learned!

You guys probably know this but if you go to the chemotherapy thread you can join in with other women going through chemo the same time as you...I'm a member of the April 2009 thread and we are still good friends...it really helps to talk with someone going through chemo the same time as you...

Good to see you, Annie, and I'm glad the chemo is going well for you.  You add a lot to the TN site and I've missed seeing you the last few days!  I also share the fear of vomiting - have had that since I was a kid so I was really scared about chemo for that reason, too. 

Jane, the best advice I can give is to make sure you take the anti nausea meds as prescribed.  They work best if you take them before you absolutely need them!  I had TAC which is rough because it is 3 drugs together.  Everyone is very different in their side effects. My sister had TAC also but she never had nausea but she had mouth sores while I was very nauseous but never had mouth sores.  I worked full time except for about a week following each infusion of the TAC.  I had another chemo later on and I worked pretty much full time during it, only taking a day or two off following infusion. 

Oh, Annie, I don't think that is it at all!  I don't get a lot of responses to my posts and it is hard for me to write in such a way that my personality comes through but I just plod along anyway! You always seem so supportive of others, that's what always struck me with your posts! 

As far as the cumulative effect goes, I was very worried about that too but my #5 treatment was so much better than #4.  There just didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it.  Make sure you read the "positives about negatives" blog - that has some uplifting information in it.  I know it is hard.  I was diagnosed with Stage 2 b and I didn't have a very good response to chemo.  I still had 2 positive nodes afterward plus 2 cm of tumor.  I was told I have a 50% chance of recurrence - not very good odds.  That prompted me to do additional chemo but of course there is no guarantee that it helped.  So far I am doing very well.  I get scared often, but I try as much as possible to live one day at a time.  I can tell you that I feel very good now - even just a month out from chemo, my energy levels have picked back up.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel!