Hi, I’m 33 and was diagnosed with tnbc on 3 September after initial biopsies for a breast lump I found in July came back clear. Currently having neoadjuvant chemo and immuno (just completed one cycle). I am coping with the physical side effects as best I can but really really struggling mentally/emotionally. I can’t stop thinking that a) the treatment won’t work, or b) if I’m lucky and it does work, the cancer will just come back. I don’t know how I can live with this fear and anxiety every day. I am also single and have no children and feel like my hopes for the future have been crushed. I have told my loved ones not to look up the stats around tnbc and so I sometimes feel they don’t grasp why I am so scared. I also haven’t found the medical team to inspire much confidence, though I know they cannot make empty promises and are doing all they can for me.
Has anyone had similar experiences and found a way to manage these feelings? I really don’t feel like I can go on like this.
Firstly, I just want to send you a big hug. 
️
I can’t pretend to know much about triple negative breast cancer, as mine is a different type, but I do understand that overwhelming fear when you’re first diagnosed.
I’m 55 and was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer earlier this year. Mine had already spread to my liver and bone in my pelvis. Being told my cancer was incurable was absolutely terrifying, and naturally I wondered what my future would look like.
I started chemotherapy and targeted treatment in July, and after just three cycles my PET scan showed a complete metabolic response. No active cancer was detected on the scan. I’m still having treatment, and I know that doesn’t mean I’m cured, but it does mean the treatment is working.
I suppose what I’m trying to say is that when I was first diagnosed, I couldn’t have imagined receiving such encouraging news just a few months later.
I can’t promise you everything will be okay, and I certainly wouldn’t compare our cancers, but please don’t let statistics convince you that your future has already been decided.
One thing I’ve learnt is that cancer is as much a battle with your mind as it is with your body. Some days I’m positive, other days the reality of it all hits me.
You’re only one cycle into treatment, and there’s still so much ahead of you. Please tell your medical team how much you’re struggling emotionally. You deserve support with that side of things too.
I’m sending you best wishes and hoping that, in a few months, you’ll be sharing some encouraging news of your own. ️
It’s scary being diagnosed with tnbc. I wonder if it would help you to give our nurses a call? Their number is below.
The problem with the prognosis stats for tnbc is they are out of date. Pembrolizumab (which I assume is your immunotherapy) has only been approved for tnbc since (I think) 2023. It made a significant difference for patients in clinic trials, hence its addition to the previously standard treatment. The statistics showing survival rates are from before this treatment regime.
I am not even sure oncologists fully appreciate the difference if can make because it’s not been around long enough. Of course they can’t make empty promises because no one can predict exactly what will happen for any one individual.
If you would like some hope, hang on to my story. I have stage 4 tnbc. I was originally diagnosed in Feb 22, it was thought to be early stage with no lymph node involvement. What no one knew was that the tumour had grown into a blood vessel and I already had secondary cancer in my liver, spread through blood. My initial treatment was 4 rounds of EC and 12 weeks of paclitaxel. By the time the liver secondaries had been found, pembro had been approved and I was eligible. I reached a full remission and have had no evidence of cancer and no other treatment since Feb 24. For me, it was a brilliant drug.
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I have metastatic Triple Negative Breast Cancer, in remission
