Triple negative

Hi.  Easier said than done but try not to panic.  They've got this.  Lump gone, hopefully clear margins.  Chemo is very effective against triple negative and radio will be belt and braces.  It will be a tricky few months with chemo and RT but you haven't been given a death sentence - you can get through this.  Have a chat with your breast care nurse, or ring MacMillan they both may help you.

In the meantime virtual hugs and other ladies will be along soon with their tips and support.

Hello Trissy,

The limbo is undoubtedly  the worse. I don't know what results you are waiting for....the analysis of the tumour  perhaps?  .....the sentinel node......a tep scan? Whatever it is everyone here can empathise. ....the wait is awful. It allows your thoughts to go into overdrive and rarely do they give you a hopeful  outcome. 

But I am writing because I am also triple negative.  My tumour was found on Oct 1st 2015 and I am still clear of cancer.  I had an oncology check on Monday this week. I have a few aches from healing scar tissue but my breast is quite a good shape and the oncologist was very happy to leave it six months until I have another mammogram.  Like you I was advised to have chemo and radiotherapy as a precaution to prevent the cancer reoccurring. It wasn't  pleasant but it did pass over a period of nine months. At the end of the course there are no additional drugs to take for triple negative.  I was advised to lose weight if possible so I lost two stone. I was also advised not to eat dairy products or use toiletries containing parabens and aluminium.  I have tried hard to follow this as it puts me in more control. If I had ignored it and the cancer returns I would never have known if it would have worked..

I do understand your concerns. You are young and the people we read about in magazines are always the unlucky ones who sadly die . I wish magazines would run articles about ordinary people who survive. When I was first diagnosed,  a lady at my church who I had known for several years came up to me and told me she had had a mastectomy 28 years before. She tells no one and was still choosing to wear a softie. Someone had told her I had had bc too so she thought I'd  like to hear her story.....28 years.....Yes,  I was encouraged .

 Let us know how things go on the 17th. I recommend you use the monthly chemo club and then the radiotherapy to share your experiences with others at the same stage as you. If you can't sleep .....chat with the group on Awake. They have a lot of experience but they laugh too.

Take care. Love Karen

.

Hi Lacomtekp, do you think that you were given the advice about parabens, dairy and aluminium because you were triple negative or was that advice for all BC?

Sorry Trissy, I'm unable to advise about triple negative but Karen sounds like she's got it covered and hopefully she has made you feel better. I totally agree, however, that the waiting for results and the initial period after diagnosis is the worst time. It does get easier, promise! 

Hi ...

...and breeeeeeeeeeeath! .....and again... it is understandable that your thoughts have gone into free fall, this has come as a huge shock, but you are looking at a treatment plan.

You mention your husband and son. How have they reacted? Has anyone been able to attend your appointments with you? If you really feel you need to be 'strong' around your family, you need a safe place and people with whom you can let it all out. Right here is where you can be fragile, angry, worried, voice your fears, ask questions, get support, a hug, a shoulder and where appropriate a silly smile.

There is someone around day and night...in the wee small hours you can seek out the Awake thread. There are different bits of this site and some threads are busier than others so a reply might not be instant but there are quite a few folk on BC and soon, you too will be able to reach out and reassure others as you come to terms with the process you are going through and remember how these angst filled times were.

I understand that you want to face all possibilities and make plans and that even if you have people you can talk to, there may be some things that are just too difficult to address. Right now, I would say make plans, but plan for good times, plan who you can rope in to help for any rubbishy days during your upcoming treatment etc

Keep talking...to us...your bcn etc

Take care

Sorry Noswad.....

I have no idea whether the advice I was given was specific or general.  I suspect that the dairy might be connected to the triple negative and the parabens free for all but I'm  only guessing. I only know I'm  trying hard to follow the advice. 

I expect you know that if a triple negative cancer stays away for 5 years there is a good chance it will stay away. Unfortunately there is only the chemo and radiotherapy to keep it away for the first five.....So any little  extra that helps has to be worth trying,  don't you think?

Hope all is going well for you.

Love Karen