Starting my journey...

Hi Naomi,

I too am triple positive. I also experienced pain on my side when I would lay on it. I've been through all the treatments. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask. I wish you luck!

Welcome and I'm sorry you had to come here. But your mantra is a good one.

I had a 6+ cm of tumor and 11 + nodes almost 7 years ago -- and I'm still here.

Chemo will not be as bad as you think -- it's not like in the movies. Just keep on top of your support meds such as for nausea and diarrhea. They work really well.

There are so many people with similar and more severe path reports who are doing well years and years later. I know it's hard to believe and hard to have hope but there is so much hope. The tools available to deal with a serious breast cancer diagnosis in 2018 are better than ever.

Saddle up and buckle down - you can do this.

MissNomerz, you can do this. One day at time, was what I held onto. Trying to conceptualize the whole chemo, surgery, radiation, drugs...it's just too big, too overwhelming. But getting up this morning, drinking my coffee, doing a day of chemo, getting some gentle exercise, loving my family...I can do that, one day at a time.

My sister was Stage IIIC, triple-positive, diagnosed nine months after me. We are both doing very well. Hang onto hope.

I was not triple positive but I did have micropapillary. I did a lot of research about micropapillary and I agree, some of the earlier info was a bit scary. You will probably notice, though, that there isn’t a ton of newer information and that’s because they have ultimately determined that it’s response to treatment is much like IDC...in some studies even a bit better.

The one thing that is true about micropapillary is that it is quick to spread to lymph nodes...as you know. I also had more lymph node involvement than they expected.

Sounds like you are set up to receive “the works”, which although tough is doable. Treat yourself kindly over the coming year and indulge in special treats when you can.

Take care

Welcome MissNomerz! I am a stage 3Cer as well. My stats are below. I can tell you, there is hope and you can do this! You are in the worst phase of this journey right now with info overload and treatment decisions coming at you fast and furious. Once you have started treatment things will actually get better. Hang in there.

Hi Naomi,

I am sorry you are joining this club. It is scary. However, there are so many great people here and so much useful information that it is great you found this place! The start of your story sounds very much like my sister's who is also Canadian. She was diagnosed at age 44, and her first symptoms were flaking skin on her nipple. The doctor gave her cream. The nipple eventually inverted. She went for a mammogram, then biopsy etc etc. Was diagnosed Stage IIIC with 16/23 lymph nodes involved. She was diagnosed IDC but the pathology report from her second biopsy came back strongly suggesting micropapillary carcinoma with "inside-out pattern". Her tumour cells are 100% estrogen receptor positive and 90% PR positive, but her Her2 status is equivocal.

Back when my sister was diagnosed (10 years now), we read statistics that filled us with dread, but now I know better. All the reviews and stats you will find are based on decades-old cohorts getting older treatments. But there are new treatments coming out all the time! Most of the treatments my sister has been on were not even available when she was first diagnosed. Further, while it is true that micropapillary carcinoma is more likely to have spread to the lymph nodes when it is detected, it is also more estrogen and progesterone positive. That is a double-edged sword because it means you respond well to hormonal treatments but also that you have to make sure you stay in menopause because estrogen is Miracle-Gro for your tumours. My sister moved to Stage IV after 5 years when the tamoxifen had stopped working on her estrogen levels and she had breakthrough periods. She didn't think about what the periods meant about her estrogen levels until it was too late. My sister is now in her 50's so recently her onc took her off her Zoladex thinking she'd be in menopause by now, and it would save her getting injections. But she wasn't in menopause. Three months off Zoladex before they realized, and in the meantime more progression. So you have to make sure you are really, truly in menopause all the time. If we had it to do over again, my sister would have gotten an oophorectomy. She wanted one but couldn't get it scheduled before the chemo, and thence she got through the mastectomy, chemo and radiation, she didn't want to go back in for another surgery. Now, she wishes she had because an oophorectomy's effect on estrogen never wears off.

Good luck with your chemo. You have probably found this out yourself, but we found it really useful to read chemo threads to learn tricks for reducing chemo side effects . It really helped to hear from people who were going through it and their tips really helped my sister a lot.