No Chemo?

You have triple negative BC...it means that you will not be treated with anti-hormonals because it wont work (your tumor did not "feed" on your hormones) you wont be getting Herceptin because you are Her2 negative. After surgeryr to remove the cancer the option for chemo is to destroy any cancer cells that may be lurking that surgery did not all get out. I don't know if you are recommended for radiation but that is usually to prevent a local recurrence at the surgery site. In terms of systemic treatment to wipe out the possible remaining cancer cells...chemo would be the only option (if you do the conventional route).

I hope you don't think I'm telling you what to do, it is your body and ultimately you are the one who will live with the effects of chemo or no chemo.

My mother will be meeting with the MO soon but I believe her pathology report findings are TN.  I know the BS was surprised at that.  She is over 80 and doesn't want to have chemo; we will have to see what the MO offers her.  She had the lumpectomy and as of right now is planning on radiation.  I don't know if this is the right course but it is also a QOL issue.

You can see by my stats that I did not do chemo, or rads.  But it was not an easy choice.  I suppose I could have sidestepped the secondary issues and forged ahead with chemo, but ultimately, I went with my gut and alot of research into my personal histopathology.  Thank goodness for the internet.

But I didn't do nothing--I went on a protocol cobbled together from 5 different consultants and my own research, plus a few lifestyle changes (which haven't stuck!)  Anyway, there are very few tnbc patients who forego chemo cause tn is, well, tn.

What is your situation?

I am triple neg and 66 years old with hypertension diabetes and generally not in great shape (especially post DMX). I am seeing onc this week and will see what he recommends. I am going for quality of life and that may mean no chemo. It is a hard decision and it helps to read about what others decided

Wrenn, chemo is usually only a temporary adverse effect on QOL. Many women are able to work and live well during chemo other than a few days each cycle. I would check with your Onc for survival statistics with and without chemo. I feel it's a small investment of time for a potential advantage to living a long full life.

I have a pamphlet that says most women won't have a recurrence and that the most effective treatment for TNBC is chemo.
I can send this to you if you give me your email address. With you having found this at stage 1 you have so many attributes in your favor and you have the opportunity to add one more.

Sent you a PM inspired by. thank you so much. 

I'm not TN but as someone who is Stage IV due to recurrance, I'd do the chemo.  Yes, it is a temporary pain in the butt but it helps to prevent recurrances.  With TN there are very few options but chemo/surgery.  Stage IV triple negs have fewer options for extending their lives so anything to help prevent it from getting to that stage is vital.  Of course, if someone is very elderly or already very ill I can understand not wanting to do chemo.  You don't want to look back and say I regret not doing what I could to fight this disease before it becomes terminal.  That's just my two cents.  Everyone has to do what is best for them.

I had the same doubts about doing chemo too Patti. Everything you read about it makes you wonder if you are doing more harm than good to your body. The oncologists told me it was my choice and there was a 50% chance I was completely cured from surgery alone.

However - at 44 years old with 4 children I decided that 50% was not high enough odds. I didn't want to look back in a few years and know that I hadn't taken every option available to me and gone at it all guns blazing so too speak.

Plus my mother who also had breast cancer when she was 45 was never offered chemo immediately. She had it 3 years later when she kept getting reoccurrences. Sadly she passed away by 50. I knew she would be yelling at me from 'up there' to damn well do it NOW!!

I finished the 6 months worth last Friday. If I can make it through - anyone can!! Now on to radiation for me for 6 weeks.

I am also being tested for BRCA genes.

Good luck with your treatment decisions. x

It is your choice. You give no details of your circumstances so it's difficult to have an opinion. Everyone is different. TN often responds really well to chemo. I went with the chemo, no regrets.