Calling all TNs

hi ladies. I’m ok. Just taking time off the boards lately. I have 1 more taxol carbo to go for my uterine cancer. Then on to pelvic rads. I just had a clean mamo this past week. In May it will be 3 years from dx. Hopefully I will be able to say that about my uterine cancer too. Here’s to wishing everyone an easy winter

thinking of you Shopgal

Cancer sucks. My very healthy 42 yr old friend was just DX’d with TN.

All,

Just got home from surgery yesterday and got pathology from surgeon today. Good news, no cancer found in lymph nodes. Bad news, “no response to presurgical therapy”. Basically, I had neoadjuvant chemo and my tumor didn’t shrink at all. Midway thru chemo I haf an MRI which indicated one of the two tumors had shrunk in half. So, now in the pathology report it was the same size as at the beginning. It had to either grow during Taxol or the first MRI was not correct regarding size.

Does anyone have any thoughts? I’m happy no cancer was found in lymph nodes but devastated that the tumors didn’t shrink at all.

Thx,

Rebekah

Hi everyone,

just checking in. i've ended up posting more at the monthly chemo threads.

Valstim, i’m sorry about your friend’s diagnosis.

Rebekah, it must be frustrating to have gone through chemo and surgery and have those results.

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i'm scheduled for dose 11 of weekly taxol this coming tuesday. a lot has happened since i last read through this thread.

tested positive for BRCA2 mutation. which from what i've read, it's rare to have a TN Tumor for BRCA2 carriers. has anyone encountered the same situation?

was told likely i'll have a mastectomy despite neo-adjuvant chemo (frustrating to be honest after aaaall this) because of this discolored patch on my skin that never went away. had an allergic reaction to carboplatin on dose 9, doctor removed it for dose 10. Was told allergic reactions to carboplatin are rare and that they usually happen at the start of infusion not at the last half hour. allergic reaction was JUST visible on my sinus area. nothing else which they also found strange. had heart palpitations on paclitaxel during dose 10 but ecg and 2D echo came out normal. so my MO is monitoring extra closely during dose 11 and 12.

tumor feels much smaller... just probably not small enough to warrant a smaller surgery. i am overwhelmed with surgery but have calmed down compared to two weeks ago.

currently just enjoying the extended break from chemo. the extra days i get to have my taste buds back and fresh air from the province/suburbs.

it has been quite the rollercoaster ride and i am being stubborn and hoping for a miracle with tumor response. every single survivor that i see posting here gives so much hope.

have a great weekend everyone!

Rebekah, I’m very sorry about your results. My MO was just talking to me this am about a quirky variance between my path results & my MRI’s. Scans just don’t seem to be as reliable as we’d like. I hope you get good advice and if it’s possible I’d think about getting a 2nd opinion on next steps. It looks like you did an aggressive treatment plan and more than one perspective might be helpful at this point. Good luck & pleasekeep us posted!

Hi, TN friends. I'm starting to feel the end of chemo jitters. Even with all the side effects and disruption to my life I felt like I was doing something to actively combat my cancer. Now that I only have one more meeing with my MO before I end chemo I'm realizing what comfort I got out of her examining me every 2 weeks and reassure me that my tumor was shrinking. I just want to fast-forward past surgery and get to the day I get the pathology report to see what is really going on in my breast. MRI's and ultrasounds aren't able to give them a clear view of how much the tumor invaded my pectoral muscle. I'm trying so hard to remind myself patience is a virtue ;-)

Rebekah - Of course you're disappointed that the tumors didn't shrink, especially if an MRI showed a 50% reduction. However I think it's really encouraging that your nodes were all clear. I'd hang on to the thought that could show the cancer cells weren't moving in big numbers out of your breast. Also, my MO likes to remind me that neoadjuvant chemo is really good at killing cancer cells that traveled out of the breast. Surgery and radiation can get rid of the original tumor - it's the travelers that they want to kill ASAP with chemo. What is your next step? Radiation?

mkn86 - I understand your concerns with surgery and disappointment you may not to get the lumpectomy you want. Maybe it can still happen? Surgery is my next step after my last 3 weekly Taxol and I'm very nervous. I am hoping for a lumpectomy, too, but because the tumor may be invading the chest muscle more than originally reported to me, it may not be possible. I hope you have an easy finish to chemo and are at peace with the type of surgery you end up getting.

Have a great week, everybody!

Welcome Fledg! I am also a victim of bone/muscle pain after chemo - I too believe it is Taxol related. To be honest, I hope it doesn’t last as long as yours has!

Glad to hear you are overall doing well a year out

Maybe some bone pain help????

http://chemocare.com/chemotherapy/side-effects/bon...

VL22 well now I have a back ache! Ugh...every ache and pain drives me nuts. My husband reminds me that I'm 40 so some aches and pains are normal. Thanks for the luck with surgery. Looking forward to it and also nervous!

just chiming in when I was on taxol I took Claritin starting the day before infusions. The regular one not the D. Worked wonders on my bone pain. It was recommend by my infusion nurses

Hi Janet,

Google: Clinicaltrials.gov, which lists all clinical trials, both actively recruiting and those planned. Enter triple negative breast cancer and/or triple negative breast cancer and vaccine, to get a list of available studies. If you then click on a particular study, it will give you a description as well as eligibility criteria. For active studies, it will also list the study sites. If you need help in navigating around clinicaltrials.gov, don't hesitate to PM me.

Carol

Best of luck, GreenEyes. Having confidence on your doctors makes all the difference! Ive to go to bed, but wanted to sauna hello and glad you posted

Happy Friday Everyone! I am back with an update after being off the board for a few weeks. After much consideration, we decided that doing surgery and then chemo and radiation felt best to us. On Jan. 16th I had a lumpectomy, sentinel and one auxiliary node removal, 2nd mystery spot located and removed and chemo smart port placed. Everything went really well and recovery has been good, very minimal pain. At firs the port was the most uncomfortable but nothing advil couldn't handle a couple of times. No true pain meds needed. Port no longer a bother and right breast (surgical side) is now somewhat tender, I am guessing from being more active now. I have my post op on the 31st with my surgeon. I met with Oncologist yesterday and received good news on the pathology results. Margins are clear, lymph nodes had no cancer cells, tumor size remained at 1.3cm. I had them retest estrogen levels as well......still Triple Negative but that's ok. I will do 4 cycles of chemo every three weeks (Cytoxan and Taxotere). I do not need the Adrimyacin. And then 5-7 weeks of radiation M-F. Stage is 1 So incredibly thankful for my medical team from the Mammogram that captured it on the images, the radiologist who spotted it, my amazing surgeon and my Onc, as well as all of the friendly medical staff along the way. While the process is not over, I feel a huge sense of relief to have the tumor out and heading towards the next steps of treatment. Thank you to everyone on this board who has shared with me and encourage. You have all been awesome and much love and encouragement to everyone at all stages of treatment. I am now looking at doing the Cold Cap and going to look for that board to find pointers since the hospital doesn't provide it, I have to get it on my own.

Hi, GreenEyes - welcome to a very supportive group. Congratulations on finding an oncologist that you are comfortable teaming up with. I switched surgeons after a couple of months (but pre-surgery) because we just weren't a good team. Good luck with your treatments - may the side effects of chemo be gentle :-)

Jsan11 - that's great news on the clear margins and nodes after your lumpectomy, all with minimal pain. Yay! I'm finishing up neoadjuvant chemo and hoping that I will be able to get a lumpectomy. Good luck with continued healing and may chemo treat you well :-)