Any Triple Negatives Not Have Radiation?

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lmcclure4477
lmcclure4477 Member Posts: 180
edited June 2014 in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

I am reading a lot of research that radiation is important for Triple Negative Breast Cancer. I did not have radiation because my medical team said I did not qualify and that insurance would not cover it. Everyday I wonder if I should've had it. My medical team is amazing and are great doctors so I do trust them. My tumor was 1 cm with no lymph node involvement. I am stage 1A. I had a double masectomy and did 4 AC and 4 taxol. They said because of the size of the tumor, no lymph involvement and clear margins (they said the cancer had to be more then 5 mm in the tissue they removed and mine was less then 1 mm). I have that what if feeling all of the time because I hear of all of these triple negative patients who get radiation. Any positive thoughts would be appreciated!!

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  • IslandGirl50
    IslandGirl50 Member Posts: 50
    edited July 2013

    I had a double mastectomy with reconstruction 2 years ago this month. Stage 1B. No lymph node involvement. I had the same chemo as you. No radiation recommended.

    I went to the oncologist yesterday for a check up. She says they are now recommending that women who have had mastectomies get a mammogram. This scares me. What if they rupture the implant during the mastectomy?

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  • lmcclure4477
    lmcclure4477 Member Posts: 180
    edited July 2013

    Wow really?? I was told I will get a breast MRI once a year and that they are actually better then mammograms because there is no radiation and they can see more in the breast but can also see the chest wall and lymph nodes.

    Congratulations on your two year anniversary of being cancer free!! It gives me a lot of hope!!

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  • TifJ
    TifJ Member Posts: 1,568
    edited July 2013

    I too had no radiation. My doctor simply said it wasn't necessary because I had a mastectomy, clear sentinel node and no vascular involvement. I had 2 tumors and extensive DCIS in the breast, but the margins were clear. I think one reason it may not be suggested for early stage, no node cancers is because once an area has been radiated- it cannot be radiated again- therefore is there was a small local recurrence rads could not be used. Someone please let me know if this is accurate or not?

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  • sftfemme65
    sftfemme65 Member Posts: 790
    edited July 2013

    I was diagnosed stage 2b, 3 positive nodes and did not have radiation.  My onc was against it.  Standard at the time was yes to radiation if you had 4 or more positive nodes.  I wanted it but it was a no go.  I'm over 5 years out.  I did a clinical trial with Avastin and was on it for 11 months. 

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  • SewStrong
    SewStrong Member Posts: 399
    edited August 2013

    Imcclure, Probably the reason you didn't get radiation is because you had a mastectomy. It is my understanding that if you have a lumpectomy, then radiation is called for. I had a lumpectomy and I will have to have radiation, starting the 14th of August. They don't want to give me chemo because my tumor was 6mm, but that is worrying me since I've heard that chemo is the thing that knocks this type of cancer in the head. I'm enrolling in a study for triple negative breast cancer. My first appointment is on the 9th. I think I'll get experimental chemo. My doctors thought the benefits would not justsify the possible side effects of chemo.

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  • jandbzmom
    jandbzmom Member Posts: 1
    edited August 2013

    Hi,

    Glad to see that this seems to be a similar theme... I had a double mastectomy with 8 treatments - 6 of one kind (chemo brain kicked in and can't remember, sorry!) and just completed 2 add'l treatments of Taxatare and Carboplatin.  My onc said that radiation wasn't neccessary.  I am currently battling rising cancer markers and these start going down so I won't have to have any more chemo.

    I am trying to stay positive and trust my Dr.  When I was diagnosed, my surgeon told me that if I was her sister, she would expect my onc to give me 6-8 chemo treatments but that radiation wouldn't be neccessary.  I had DCIS with 2 nodes at Stage III with 1 lymph node involved.

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  • tillthen
    tillthen Member Posts: 7
    edited August 2013

    I finished chemo CMF last November with no radiation because this is the second time for breast cancer 1986 & 2012. Also hysterectomy 2005 with chemo IP &IV for Fallopian tube cancer stage 3B And I read all available news on triple negative. I hope this helps .

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