Hello I’m Fiona and was very pleased to see a group for Triple Negative Breast Cancer as I was diagnosed with this in October 2019, a week before my 60th birthday!! So definitely not the birthday present I wanted.
However my cancer journey started in August 2017 when I was first diagnosed with breast cancer, following a routine mammogram. Thankfully the cancer was found early and was contained (DCIS) and I remember the surgeon saying ‘if your going to have breast cancer, this is the best type to have’!! I had a wide local excision followed by 15 sessions of radiotherapy and I made a good recovery and was then prescribed Tamoxifen which I tolerated well.
I can remember being very anxious prior to my 1st review mammogram in October 2018, but all was clear - what a massive relief. So I was a little more relaxed prior to my 2nd review mammogram in October 2019, but that’s when I received the devastating news that I had a lump in my other breast. It turned out to be Triple Negative and had also spread to my lymph nodes. So this was another primary breast cancer, rather than a secondary to the original cancer.
In November 2019 I had a WLE, plus axillary node clearance, which showed 2 of the 19 nodes were cancerous. I had chemotherapy, (Paxlitaxol & then EC), followed by 15 sessions of radiotherapy. Despite the awful situation with COVID, all of my chemo and radiotherapy went ahead as scheduled and I am so relieved that it did, as so many people have unfortunately had significant delays in their treatment.
Hi and welcome to the Macmillan Online Community although sorry that you needed to find us and especially sorry to hear about your diagnosis.
A cancer diagnosis brings many questions, confusion and lots of stress but talking with other people who are walking the same type of journey will help you navigate this rollercoaster.
The Community is organised into dedicated support groups and indeed I see you have joined our supportive Triple negative breast cancer group, this will be a good place to connect with others navigating the same type of cancer journey.
To go to the group just click on the link above. You can then introduce yourself by putting up a ‘New Thread’ or hit the box with the X on the top right (phones), you could just copy and paste the text from this your first post. You can also join in with existing ‘Discussions’ by clicking on 'reply'.
It’s always good to talk and the Macmillan Support Services provides lots of information, support, financial guidance or just a listening ear.
Most services are open 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week and it's free to call on 0808 808 00 00 have a look by Clicking here to see what is available and we also have our Ask an Expert section, but do allow two working days for replies from our expert team.
To find information covering diagnosis, treatments and pages covering most types of cancers can be found on our Online Information and Support Section.
All the very best
