My Diagnosis is Barely A Week Old

I disagree about Google.

I think it is really important to be well informed. The main thing to make sure of is that the article you are reading is recent (last year or so) and from a good source. I am also triple negative. I have had an excellent response to chemo and just had a lumpectomy last week. Waiting for pathology this week.

While I really like and respect my oncologist, there are a lot of valuable things I found out from Google, not from my oncologist. I think every patient is different, and doctors respond to what you present to them... Some say "you are stage 3A" and some don't even mention stage unless you ask them. I like knowing the brutal truth and I like knowing it up front. I like knowing what I am facing. I am a good nerdy researcher and i am good at synthesizing what I read and I would rather be prepared.

When you know there are not a lot of followups beyond chemotherapy, you will get stronger in your resolve to do everything possible RIGHT NOW. It makes you tougher during chemo and more focused.

The GOOD news about TNBC is that if you knock it down, it VERY OFTEN stays down. If you get a complete response from chemo, you have a very good chance of dying of something else decades from now. If you are cancer free 5 years after treatment, it is very unlikely to ever come back. That is something pretty rare in cancer! The initial chemo also tends to work the best on TNBC and kill it.

You have a lot of control over lifestyle habits that can help or hurt you. You can eat a clean, low carb diet free of sugar and alcohol, you can exercise intensely, take supplements, etc-- all this will strengthen your body and benefit you. I strongly recommend consulting with an integrative or naturopathic MD who is experienced at supporting a person going through chemo... and who knows the nutritional tricks that will help... like Magnesium at bedtime for constipation... There is a book called Life Over Cancer, by Dr Keith Block in Chicago, with a wealth of information.

I fasted (fasting-mimicking diet) prior to every chemo because it reduces SEs and fortifies the immune system... and I found out about that on Google. I took Metformin and melatonin (thanks, Google). I ate vegan-heavy ketogenic (w/ low animal products), I took hyperbaric oxygen, and did infrared saunas, and used heat on my tumors intermittently (hyperthermia). These practices are all complimentary to the chemo and can weaken your cancer (making it more vulnerable to chemo) and chip away at recurrence rates. Most physicians do not mention these practices. When I asked my MO to prescribe metformin, he agreed readily, knowing that it was a validated benefit-- and I thought, hey, how come you did not suggest this???

I think an informed consumer does a better job of helping herself!

I wish you all the best with your treatment and will be hoping for a complete response to chemo for you!

Hello and best of luck to you Allison. Lots of us here are happy to help however we can.