Diagnosed today. Scared surreal, in shock

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Tobycc
Tobycc Member Posts: 789
edited December 2014 in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

surgeon originally thought it was a contained ductal carcinoma

Grade 3 tumor size 1.2 cm present in 1 of 3 lump nodes 

TNM staging. PT1c,  pN1a, PMX

Head eyes blurry from googling. Will meet oncologist soon. Drain removed today 52, married, twin boys in college.  Major bread winner.  

Cardiac issues which will limit chemo options I guess

Have a ton of faith. Not good now though 

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  • Luah
    Luah Member Posts: 1,541
    edited September 2014

    Tobycc: So sorry for your diagnosis but you've found a good place to be here. We have all been where you are now -- scared out of our minds -- and understand what you're going through.  Please don't get too freaked out about the TN diagnosis... a lot of what you see on the Internet is old. There are many, many of us here who have gone through treatment and come out the other side healthy and happy. Once you get a treatment plan together you will feel more empowered and better about things moving forward. Be sure to join us on the Calling all TNs thread if you haven't already, it's very active and filled with information, inspiration and support. 

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  • bellywelly
    bellywelly Member Posts: 18
    edited November 2014

    Hi TobyCC,

    Have triple negative bc - grade 3, stage T2bN1. Just had a mastectomy in October and expect to start chemo next week. This is my second bc - first was in 2001. I was hormone positive then. You mentioned you have cardiac issues - I had a valve replacement in January this year. Heart is otherwise good. Would love to know what drugs they gave you on chemo and if that affected your heart at all.


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  • Tobycc
    Tobycc Member Posts: 789
    edited November 2014

    hi! I had a quadruple bypass in 2012.....at 50. I cannot do adriamyacin as it damages the heart. I did taxotere and cytoxen 2 pot of 6 times but developed a bad burn like reaction

    Did 3 of 12 taxol and same reaction. Seeing MO tomorrow. I also have an ICD. I do know adriamyacin does sometimes damage the heart

    I hope you find these threads helpful. It has been a lifesaver for me. What chemo are you doing?

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  • bellywelly
    bellywelly Member Posts: 18
    edited November 2014

    This site certainly gives me a good sense of what others are going through and that I am not totally bonkers for no good reason. Triple neg. is what it is. Finding someone with a heart condition who had chemo is a little harder. I so appreciate hearing from you and knowing what and why you took the drugs you did. I saw the MO earlier this week. She also said that Adriamycin can damage the heart in addition to which it would be given every 2 weeks, not every 3 weeks, which would put an additional stress on the heart. She suggested going with FEC-D (fluorouacil, epirubicin and cyclophosphamide) every 3 weeks three times followed by docetaxel (taxotere) every 3 weeks 3 times. The epirubicin can also affect the heart but apparently rarely (got to have some luck somewere!) I hope I start next week. Enough sitting around and waiting. Please let me know how you are doing and what the plan is with further chemo. And thanks for the reply.

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  • Redporchlady
    Redporchlady Member Posts: 113
    edited December 2014


    bellywelly - I do not have any heart problems and got thru AC/CT ok.  I am scheduled to start Taxol next week with Carboplatin.  Maybe that will be an option. 

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  • Tobycc
    Tobycc Member Posts: 789
    edited December 2014

    belly, there is also a thread called Callin All TN's which is helpful

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  • bellywelly
    bellywelly Member Posts: 18
    edited December 2014

    Redporchlady, Glad to hear that you managed well with the AC/CT and are starting the Taxol next week. Hope all goes well with that too. I have a "new" heart valve so that is the concern with giving the AC/CT - can cause additional heart problems when I already have a problem. Will discuss this with the MO this week though.

    TobyCC, thanks for the info re. Calling All TNs. Will check that out.

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