Newbee and Scared

I am sorry to hear that you were diagnosed Triple Negative. I was diagnosed in January Stage 1A with a tumor 1.1 cm. they removed five lymph nodes all were negative. I also had a mastectomy and I am currently halfway through chemo. I also will not have radiation. I am 35 years old and also a mother to 2 little kids. I am here for you if u ever need to talk!

This isn't a club we want anyone to join, but there is so much reason for hope.  TN is always grade 3, so don't let that frighten you more than the TNBC diagnosis has.  The bad news is that TNBC is not to be trifled with; it is a mean beast, and it must be treated, and soon.  The good news is that it tends to take to treatment better than the hormone positive varieties. 

It is possible to be just fine afterwards.  Just be your own advocate.  No one can speak for you as well as you can.  Good luck to you.  

I was dx the day b/4 my 38th bday.  April 8th will be two years out of chemo and Sept 13 is 3 yrs out from surgery.  I had dble mas. 

I am sorry that you have to join the TN club.  All i can say is go day by day, procedure by procedure.  Everything happens so fast it sometimes feels like everyone is making the decisions for you.  If you have questions or concerns ask for a time out and explanation.  I wish I could say that it is easy, but it is the hardest things I have ever done.  Choosing to remove my breast, go through chemo, the reconstruction.  I got MRSA after my first surgery, so I had some delays in reconstruction.  But it is working out.  I didnt do nipple replacement and I got tattoos that I am currently having redone by a cosmetic tattoo artist. 

Keep your head-up, take it one day at a time and always know that there are people out there that are there for you. 

Best of luck.

I was diagnosed in March 2009 at the age of 41 with a small tumor, grade 3 with clear lymph nodes. I too had two small girls at the time and a mom who had ER+ breast cancer in her late 50s. I tested negative for the BRCA gene. I wanted to reach out to you as I felt such a similarity in our stories. I am sorry you have to go through this but want to encourage you that you caught it early and chemo is very effective for most triple negative cancers. While chemo isn't a joy ride, I was highly surprised that it was more doable than I thought it would be. With the exception of a couple days here and there, I was able to maintain most of my normal routine which was important to me in terms of providing some sense of normalcy for the kids and husband. As for getting through chemo, your oncologist and nurses are there to help manage any side effects that come along during treatment. I tend to be the more stoic type but this was one time I really took all the help I could get!



It's completely normal to feel scared. I hope this feeling will diminish a bit as you actively receive treatment. Waiting and dealing with the unknown is tough. There is no way around it but through it. On the other side though, when treatment is complete and little by little you begin to feel like your old self, I believe you'll find that fear will not be part of you every waking moment.



Good luck with your treatment. Remember that you have an early stage cancer and as a result, a good prognosis.

Hello

I know exactly how you feel! I was 32 with a ten month little girl diagnosed weeks before her first Christmas. Very scared as no one in my family had cancer. All my doctors said it is great thy the nodes were not cancerous! I agree that chemo totally sucks but better than I thought it would be. Losing you hair is the worst part but everyone always commented on my wigs:) I am a teacher and worked the whole time. It can be done with a positive attitude.... Don't let it bring you down! Yes it's always scary and tomorrow I have to get my yearly Check up and I still need the Xanax to sleep so I don't panic. Best of luck and let us know!

I remember feeling very much the same, when I was diagnosed almost NINE YEARS AGO. I was 31 years old, my children were 2 and 4 at the time, and I can really relate to your post. My cancer was triple negative and grade three, 1.3 cm with negative nodes. I had a lumpectomy followed by 8 rounds of chemo + 33 days of rads. I currently have no evidence of disease and I am busy living life and watching my kids grow up!!! I actually rarely visit this website and felt an urge to do so tonight. I am writing to send a message of hope. There is life after BC and triple negatives can survive!

It's like de javu reading your post.  I was 33 when dx kids were 5 and 2, I was originally ER+ but further testing yielded TN.  I had a UMX and just finished chemo (six rounds of TAC) - I am getting stronger everyday.   I will be starting radiation the end of april.  My tumor was .7 mm, I had one positive intramammary node positive but no positive axillary nodes.  I found out I was BRCA1+ 3 days after my surgery.  I am having a hysterectomy next week.  I have done pretty good through this journey but when someone asks me "how are your kids handling this" I lose it.  I have become a complete hypochondriac though

I love the posts of then and now.  I can't wait to put this nightmare behind us.