TN and chemo

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latoya81
latoya81 Member Posts: 24
edited June 2014 in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

If chemo is suppose to work so well with triple negative breast cancer, then how come so many women go on to later have recurrences and die? Although I am in remission now, I don't see myself surviving this disease. There's too many women i am reading about that are dying from breast cancer. I just can't see myself being alive 15 or 20 years from now.  My oncologist told me that there will probably never be a cure for breast cancer. I believe her. It's very depressing knowing this.

With all of the money that is being donated every year to breast cancer research, I don't understand why haven't they found a cure yet.  I wonder where is all the money really going to.

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  • sylviaexmouthuk
    sylviaexmouthuk Member Posts: 7,847
    edited September 2013

    Hello latoya81

    There are far more women surviving breast cancer than dying of it. Think positively. No one knows what can happen to them on a daily basis and you cannot think 20 years into the future. Cancer is too complicated for there to be a cure in the form of a magic bullet. Chemotherapy is not a cure but it does, along with surgery and radiotherapy, bring us to a state of no visible evidence of disease.

    Why not post on Calling all TNS or Calling all Triple negative breast cancer patients in the UK, where you will read many positive stories and where there have been lots of discussions about risk factors etc. for developing breast cancer and what you can do to try to prevent it coming back.

    Wishing you well and concentrate on the fact that you are fine.

    Best wishes.

    Sylvia

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  • JaneB1
    JaneB1 Member Posts: 47
    edited September 2013

    Latoya81



    It is true that more women are surviving longer. The ugly truth though is that breast cancer is still a terrifying and deadly disease taking the lives of far too many far too soon.



    There are many researchers working on cures. There is a doctor at the Cleveland Clinic who has just received funding to start human trials on a vaccine that has been 100 percent effective in mice.



    But there are many entrenched interests that are happy with things exactly the way they are. There are lots of articles that are critical of the well known charities, the breast cancer runs and the breast cancer months etc. There was an article in the NYTimes a few months ago lamenting that the charities have made breast cancer seem curable and that there is insufficient attention paid to stage IV victims.



    There are also highly respected experts complaining that the charities are not contributing to research for cures but instead only to research for treatments. Why? Because if a cure is found, the charities are out of business. And the pharmaceutical companies can no longer sell their expensive long term therapies, which earn them billions. Remember the drug companies are the source of much of the funding for the charities. And, cancer is a huge source of revenue for surgeons and hospitals. So, sad to say there are plenty of companies and people for whom a BC cure would be a disaster.



    Add to that the fact that it seems nearly impossible to prove to entrenched medical interests that viruses can cause cancer. We now know that the herpes virus causes cervical cancer -- and there is a three-shot vaccine available to stop it. But it took many years and tons of proof before the medical establishment finally accepted this.



    Some BC experts firmly believe that viruses are responsible for a significant portion of breast cancer cases where there is no genetic predisposition. Yet many other experts scoff at this -- just as was the case for herpes and cervical cancer. Once the viral theory is proven, it is possible to develop a vaccine. But it all takes time -- as well as a tough hard slog against all of the many who benefit from the billions of dollars spent treating breast cancer, which would no longer be necessary with a vaccine that prevents it or stops it immediately in its tracks.

    I felt exactly like you when I was going through treatment -- with the "war on cancer" being nearly 50 years old, how can we not have made more progress on a cure. Why are we still treated with disfiguring surgeries and radiation and poisons that cause terrible and often long-lasting side effects? I am still wondering.
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  • Caylianswife1
    Caylianswife1 Member Posts: 10
    edited October 2013

    JaneB1, I could not have said it better myself. I have stage 4 TNBC, diagnosed off the bat with extensive bone mets and full liver mets, and now (while on A/C chemo it also spread to lungs) Finished A/C, now 5 weeks in to weekly Taxol. My appointment just today for chemo and seeing my Dr. Was quite sad. I have major swelling and enlargement of Lymph nodes in my neck and collar bone, Onc feels this is an indication that my cancer is progressing and Taxol is not working. I have a full body bone scan and full body CT scan this week to see if it's spreading. If so my Onc will have to come up with a plan, maybe new chemo. I plan to take things into my own hands if I am told that there is nothing more that can be done. I have already researched other means out of the country and set up a fundraiser to be able to do it. I am going to do what I have to do to survive. If it works or not... I am going for it. I want to live, and no Dr in the US or anywhere is going to put an expiration date on me.

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  • sylviaexmouthuk
    sylviaexmouthuk Member Posts: 7,847
    edited October 2013

    Hello JaneB1

    I read your post with great interest and I do agree with everything you have said. There is too much emphasis on producing more and more expensive toxic drugs and treatment. This is making money for too many people and surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy is not the ultimate answer. We need research to go in a different direction. That will probably not make money!

    Sending you my best wishes and stating it like it is.

    Sylvia xxxx

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  • sylviaexmouthuk
    sylviaexmouthuk Member Posts: 7,847
    edited October 2013

    Hello Caylianswife1

    I was so sorry to read that you are going through so much and I do hope you can find a way to get through this.

    Thinking of you and wishing you the very best.

    Sylvia xxxx

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  • Caylianswife1
    Caylianswife1 Member Posts: 10
    edited October 2013

    Sylvia,

    Thank you so much, my thoughts and well wishes are with all of you as well and everyone touched by this awful disease! It breaks my heart to see so many people going through the same thing as me since I now know the horiphic truth about this killer inside us. I didn't want to get into the Therapy that I am seeking because of the controversy it stirs up on this site. That also makes me sad that women all going through the same thing have so much negative to say to each other when it comes to personal choices of treatment. I say "To each his own, and wish everyone the best in their journey to heal" I also want to share a link, it's a website my sister has set up about my personal story if anyone wants to take a look. It has links to her blog and goes into the Therapy that I have chosen and why.



    Best wishes to you all.. :-)

    http://HeathersHealingJourney.com
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  • sylviaexmouthuk
    sylviaexmouthuk Member Posts: 7,847
    edited October 2013

    Hello Caylianswife1

    I do hope the therapy you have chosen will work for you and bring you some benefit. I have read a lot about it and it certainly makes sense.

    Wishing you all the luck in the world.

    Sylvia xxxx

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  • JaneB1
    JaneB1 Member Posts: 47
    edited October 2013


    Caylianswife1 and Sylvia -- sorry that I didn't see your posts sooner. I agree with everything you both said about cancer fund raising and the fact that we must find a cure for this horrendous disease.


    And Caylianswife1 -- I am so terribly sorry for what you are going through. I admire your courage and determination and hope that the treatment you are pursuing will be just what you need. You are very brave -- a real warrior. Please let us know how it goes.


    Sending prayers and positive thoughts,


    Jane

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