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Mishcat's avatar
Mishcat
Member
5 years ago

Newly diagnosed - Triple Negative Treatment

Hi everyone,
I was diagnosed with Grade 3 IDC - TNBC 3 weeks ago and had surgery to remove it last week.  I have been worried about the TNBC part of my diagnosis. I would like to believe that I have been extremely lucky to have caught it very early and found the 12mm tumour quickly.  Some of my results from surgery came back today and my surgeon confirmed that the margins were clear and the two sentinel nodes they removed were also clear.  Even though it hasn't been said to me, I figure (??) that this might mean it is at Stage 1?
The surgeon said that he will send me to a consulting oncologist to discuss these options but made a comment that perhaps chemo would be something to consider.
 I feel like I should celebrate but I am also conscious that there are next steps in my treatment and wanted to ask has there been any other ladies out there that have been in my position and what treatment was offered to them.

 I haven't had any gene testing but since all this happened some stories have come out of the woodwork about my mothers aunty's having had breast cancer on both her mother and fathers side and my mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer 6 years ago at very early stages when they took out her ovary and fallopian tubes and found it incidentally. lucky break! 

Sorry for the long post..just this stuff has been doing mind miles in my head! 

thank you in advance for any time you give to my question

coping
triple-negative-breast-cancer
  • Dory65's avatar
    Dory65
    Member
    5 years ago
    Hi Mishcat,
    My diagnosis was different from yours, but the following suggestions apply to all newly diagnosed with BC, in my opinion.

    Staging has to do with the tumor size, grade and speed of cell division, amongst other things. You need to understand your pathology report(s). My surgeon was very good at explaining it to me. I hope yours is too. I encourage you to be your own advocate. No one else is going to co-ordinate or cross-check information. You will be in the hands of three different departments. Surgery, oncology and radiotherapy. I am very glad I followed advice to get copies of ALL test results and pathology results and my GP later gave me copies of the letters from the surgeon, medical oncologist and radiation oncologist. These contain concise summaries of the diagnosis. I went entirely through the public system and have been very well looked after. However, one medical oncology intern made a serious mistake which I was only able to pick up because I knew my own pathology results. Anyway, I take my folder with me to every appointment now, just in case. Doing research and organising my data helped me calm my racing mind. Just keep to reputable sources and medical journals. I read Breast Cancer: Taking Control and DCIS: Taking Control by Professor John Boyages. Others have recommended The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer, How to Feel Empowered and Take Control by Trisha Greenhalgh, Dr Liz O'Riordan. Also see http://liz.oriordan.co.uk/ blog by Liz O Riordan, who is a UK based breast surgeon with breast cancer. Professor Boyages is based in Sydney. His books are excellent.

    Best of luck.x