Calling all TNs

All, thank you for your understanding regarding sharing the challenges I've experienced from cancer treatment. I hesitated because, again, I don't want to dissuade anyone from pursuing chemo. I just think we need to acknowledge the possible challenges while recognizing, as Santabarbarian pointed out, that one could, of course, forego chemo and regret that decision if cancer recurs.

Before the herniated disc problems & cancer treatment, I was down to my 1980 weight and expected to return to an active life as I did after two hip replacement surgeries in two days. Instead, my left arm is 25% larger than the right, I often worry about falling and I'm nervous about a simple grocery shopping trip. It's disappointing that things didn't work out as expected, Still, this month marks two years since I finished chemo and I'm NED so far and I find that very encouraging.

Lyn

Ag23, I’m so sorry. Did you have positive nodes back during your original diagnosis? Do all the fun things with your kids, live.

And yes, cancer sucks. So does chemo. Low counts and therefore self-injected neulasta/neupogen, neuropathy, no hair, no eyelashes, no eyebrows, no nose hair. Diarrhea and constipation, sometimes in the same day, fatigue, weakness, nightly fevers for no apparent reason, persistent cough, allergic rash, reawakened auto-immune disorder, and those are just the things I can remember off the top of my head, three years later. It’s not for sisses, but the alternative....

I don’t think people mean to say or text stupid things, but they do!

I still deal with muscle pain from chemo. Yes, I look fine, I’m young, but when I’m volunteering at a school event I can’t stand for three hours - sorry not sorry! Don’t say to me , “ I thought you finished treatment months ago?” You don’t get it and you’re annoying me.

Just like someone saying to me, “I guess sometimes you just forget you ever had cancer.”

Not really sweetie, get back to me in a couple years.

But there are those who get it, who I love and cherish.

People DO say pretty dumb stuff. my Aunt told me she was expecting my DMX scars to “be worse”; that it just looked like “deflated balloons” and was glad I’m “all better” only a week after surgery.

I guess while annoying; I’m happy they have no idea what we’re going through?

Chiming in to wish ag the best with finding treatment to slow the wrath of this beast.

so many of us feel so much worse afterward, and to tell a small truth, I feel it's because how breast cancer is portrayed in the media. My prior thoughts were yes treatment is horrible, you get through it, rest up a bit and then walla back to your prior life.

So not true, and if you choose to not have treatment the alternative many times is fast painful progression. I've regretted my aggressive treatment many times during these last 3 years, but the alternative for me personally was not an option.

I have an appointment with a naturepath next week, regarding all my joint pain. Hopefully I will get a combination of things that will give me some longer term relief.

So it goes.

Val

Hi Everyone,

First, Ag23, I'm so very sorry to read what you are going through. My thoughts and prayers are with you and the doctors who treat you!!

Triple Negative + BRCA1 mutation

I'm apologize if this question has been asked in this thread before, but it contains over 34,000 posts and it's difficult to wade through all of them. I do note that the original poster wrote in 2010 that she had a lumpectomy.

My question is simple (I think).

Anyone with Triple Negative, who ALSO has the BRCA1 mutation, only have a lumpectomy (plus radiation and chemo)...and not a mastectomy?

Thank you.

Ag23....as a TN with 2 young boys I don’t have any advice but wanted to let you know that I am thinking of you and sending positive your way.

For me, one of the few positives of dealing with bc is that i have met some really wonderful people that I would not have come across otherwise. The down side is that I get very thrown when things don’t work out ok for them. A couple have had progression and two have died. I go from feeling mostly positive to the absolute opposite. I know that I would never give up the friends that I’ve made but I wonder how many of them will devastate me.

hi;

I am just joining this thread, diagnosed yesterday from lumpectomy path results with Triple negative. Stage 1b. I know I will need chemo, and I have an appointment for a wig. Otherwise I am just frozen.

Hi Farfalla6.  I was diagnosed on 1/18 and I can relate to the frozen feeling.  The unknown is so debilitating. I think the hardest part is when you just find out and are waiting for the next step.  It is a huge roller coaster.  If you want to chat I am available. Just PM me. 

Did you have a lumpectomy or a biopsy?  

VL22, i've been thinking a lot about Wendy the last few days. We have a mutual friend but I didn't know her story until after she was diagnosed with recurrence last summer. Our stories unfolded in totally different ways, but I sure felt for her during her struggles since then and i'm so sad for her family.

Farfalla6, welcome to the thread. Please reach out if we can be of any help to you.

farfalla6 again. Pathology showed dense lymphocytic infiltrate, 70-80% immune cells. I’ve googled this like crazy and it seems like a good prognostic factor. Does anyone know about rhis

Yes, they said 70-80% tumor infiltrating lymphocyte

Farfalla, that's great news. Have they told you what grade? Or given you an idea of what the suggested treatment plan is?

I see you had pcr; did you have lymphocyte predominant