TNBC refused/didn't do chemo/rads with recurrence?

tarens · January 2014

I posted this over in the TN section, but I wonder if it wouldn't be more appropriate over here:

My 69 yo mother has stage 1 grade 3 TNBC. Her tumor was 1 cm and she has had a lumpectomy with clear margins and no node involvement. She is considering not doing chemo or radiation. We have consulted with 3 oncologists (4 really, but he was just an opinion over the phone). 2 said to do the chemo (one with AC and one with TC). One MO said he was 50/50 in her case and thought she should do what she would feel most comfortable with and one said if it was his mother he wouldn't have her do it. I have read and scoured these boards for women who have not had chemo or rads following a dx of TNBC. There are a few of you and as far as I can tell you haven't had a local or distal recurrence. I'm wondering about the women who didn't have the chemo or radiation and have had a recurrence. If you're out there, can you please respond and let me know how your cancer journey looks now and how you have progressed. Thank you!! Also, if you chose or weren't offered chemo and/or radiation and haven't had a recurrence I'd love to hear your story too.

Lissee · March 2014

Hi Tarens, I know of someone who had the same results, but was diagnosis 15 years ago. She did decided to do the mastectomy on both breast. Fifteen years later, still going strong, never an issue with forgoing the standard chemo/radiation. Also, noted that she was 49 years old at the time she was dx.

juneping · March 2014

tarens - i am new to BC so not really speaking from experience.

but i wanted to share what my MO told me and thought it could be useful for your decision making. my MO told me, nowadays, ppl live till their 80s, so for a doc to make a treatment plan, they target at 80 year old. so for your mom, mean they're looking at to keep your mom alive for the next 11 years.

i don't know too much about TN....but at the age of 69, she really needs to ask herself what kind of life she wants to live and weight the pros and cons. you can do chemo with the risk of some complications....or you can skip chemo and remain as is until something down the road. i think 69 to go thru chemo is kind of tough...but i am not a doctor. how's her health in general?

rumoret · April 2014

My mother was diagnosed with Triple negative breast cancer almost 15 years ago at age 69. She had a lumpectomy and had no nodes involved. She had chemotherapy and did not loose her hair, and she had radiation. She will be turning 84 years young on May 7th. ♥

pipers_dream · April 2014

farens, my aunt had BC over 20 ya the first time and 10 ya the second time, skipped the chemo and is now going fine. Well no, she had a bout with colon C last year too but is now fine. Never had chemo but did have rads. She never made much changes to her lifestyle, which is not horrible by today's standards, but she was a smoker until about 7 ya. She pretty much eats whatever she wants and does not exercise, though she is a hard worker so gets some exercise that way. As far as I know she has never tried an alternative remedy but she is sympathetic (mostly) with what I'm doing.

Momine · April 2014

June, my mom did chemo at 68 and rode her bike to and from the chemo lounge. She is now six years out from stage 3 ovarian cancer and in great shape. My aunt did chemo at 72 for three, separate, primary cancers. When one of them metastasized two years later, she did another six chemo treatments and has been NED since.

I do think it is extremely important to consider QOL, when making treatment decisions, and there are plenty of scenarios where turning down chemo makes sense. However, being 69, in and of itself, does not seem like a reason to me.

wrenn · April 2014

i am triple negative amd after the first infusion chemo was discontinued due to developing diverticulitis. Although i am a bit worried about not having treatment that one dose is still taking it's toll. I have digestives issues and neuropathy and fatigue. It is really hard on your body so i am happy to be opting for quality of life now. I think it is a gamble either way.

juneping · April 2014

momine - that's very impressive your mom and aunt went thru chemo at that age. To be honest with you if it were my mom I would probably suggest her to skip. She's 72....and I think age matters. I agree with wreen that its gamble either way. If I were in my 70s or even 60s....I'd be a lot more relax in terms of my discipline in life.

Momine · April 2014

June, if you are in good shape, which they were and are, and have no other health problems (cardio, diabetes etc) then there really is no particular reason to pay that much attention to age. In fact, my doc did a study from which he concluded that older women in good shape were often under-treated (because of their age) and had higher BC mortality than they should have as a result.

My mom also participated in an exercise study while in treatment. By the time she was done with chemo she had buns of steel Last time I spoke to her (she is 74 now) she was off to a hot yoga class.

Anonymous · April 2014

You may get more specific answers to your questions at the Triple Negative BC Foundation:

http://www.tnbcfoundation.org/

TNBC refused/didn't do chemo/rads with recurrence?

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