Triple negative breast cancer

Good Evening sorry not seen your post sooner.

First i'd like to welcome you to the community none of us ever expected to be a member of but its an amazing place and you'll soon feel at home.

Please DO NOT google, the information can be wrong and out of date, i made the mistake of looking 6 months into my treatment and scared myself to death, turns out it was all wrong.

I was diagnosed with TNBC last year after a routine mammogram, i was 47, took me by total surprise and it was all a bit of a whirlwind. I am now cancer free.

Best advice i was given was to take it a step at a time, if you haven't already you will have a pre assessment before you have your first chemo, which are you having do you know? if you have any questions write them down and take them with you because if you're like me you'll forget. Take each treatment as it comes and remember every one is different so just because someone has a side effect it doesn't mean you will.

Also go take a look in July Breast Cancer Chemotherapy Chat Group a new one will be started for August but you will fond people in there who are going through the same as you or who have been through the same as you. I found this group great support and made some lovely friends. It helps to know you aren't going through it on your own and that people get you because they've been or in that position too. 

Ask lots of questions, people will give you lots of support and advice and sometimes we even laugh.

Good Luck, you'll do this.

Take Care.

Hi , 

thankyou so much for replying to me . They have gone through my pre-assessment with me and told me I will be having chemo in 8 rounds of Fec ? If I’ve spelt it right . They will monitor my lump to see if it shrinks if it’s not shrinking how’d they like then will bring my surgery sooner than 6 months . I’ve already had biopsy’s on my lymph node just waiting on results and had titanium clip inserted . We are a similar age Ive just turned 45 found my lump after I’d finished my ironing , I knocked myself with the ironing board when I was putting it away and it hurt . After I’d finished outing the clothes away it still hurt so I felt it and that’s when I found it . 

How did you feel whilst having chemo I know no ones is the same but still ? 

Hi

I'm 2/3 of the way through chemo for TN and have largely been well. I had a different regime than you though, I had Carboplatin and Paclitaxil for twelve weeks and now I'm on EC.

I didn't bother with the cold cap but I've still got quite a bit of hair (shaved my head early on). I sorted my wig before treatment started. 

I've got two children aged 10 and 8 and they have been great although my youngest gets frustrated when I'm in bed. 

All in all it's been nowhere near as bad as I feared. 

Xx

Morning  

FEC is the name of the drugs that are used: F- fluorouracil (also known as 5FU)

                                                                       E - epirubicin

                                                                       C - cyclophosphamide

epirubicin is red in colour and will turn your wee that colour for a couple of days after. My Chemo nurse announced to me as she got it off the trolley, "this is the one that will kill the b***** " lol she also told me that its the one that causes the worse SEs so to drink plenty to flush it out of your system. 

Actually having the treatment is a bit or a shock, you expect it to be horrible but to be truthful it isn't, you'll walk out thinking, was that it. But make sure you take any medication you are given, i didn't and spent the first night feeling really sick. Take the meds you are given and hopefully it will prevent it from happening.

You might also find it useful to write down how you feel then you can tell them on your next treatment and give you something to make it better if necessary. I think not knowing how you're going to be is the worse. I remember thinking on the first Sunday after my treatment I'm not going to be able to do this, but by week 2 i was feeling better and by week 3 near enough back to normal. So when the rest of the treatments come you know what to expect.

Its not easy but i had far more good days than bad, listen to your body and when you need to rest make sure you do. Chemo works, so when you feel poopy remind yourself its the chemo doing its job.

Hi

I was diagnosed with TN last year and had 4 rounds of Docetaxel, followed by 4 rounds of FEC.  I have to say I found the FEC easier than the Docetaxel.

The Docetaxel did work and it shrunk my tumour down from 2.7cm to 1.2.  I had 3 out of the 4 FEC and the rest had gone.

I was given the all clear a week before Christmas.

I also agree, once your treatment starts you'll feel much more in control.  You'll get into a routine with everything.  My advice would be to initially write down how you feel every day so that when you have your following chemo sessions, you can see if there's a pattern to how you're feeling.

I knew 2 days after chemo I felt a bit off for a few days and then started to feel better but we're all different.

Good luck with your treatment, you'll look back in a year and be able to give someone else some encouragement x