Really sorry to hear your news it does make you feel really numb. My Nottingham score was 8/9 and it had gone into the lymph nodes. However that was 2011. I agree with Happyrosie and I hope that you can get some answer to your questions. Take care both of you.
Goodness I'm truly sorry to hear your diagnosis. 😢I hear your devastation!
I had a stroke in November 22, September 23 I had triple bypass surgery and January 24 I've been diagnosed with breast cancer, tests still on going.
I'm telling you this because I know from experience life can seem unfair, but it really is surprising how we can cope and rise up to the challenges we face, digging deeper than we could ever imagine.
I hope both you and your husband have a positive outcome to the challenges you are facing.
i know it seems scary but take a deep breath and relax. Don’t let fear consume you. I am not a doctor but triple negative is not that rare, it will most likely need chemo. You have a choice: go into it with fear OR try to surrender to the situation and work with your body and mind to heal yourself. You have more influence on your state than you think and you will make it through.
An excellent book I recommend is The Gift of Cancer by Brenda Michaels and how she healed herself after 2 bouts with cancer.
Visualise every day that you will be healed and that your body becomes clear of all cancer cells.
On a practical level, don’t be shy to get second and third opinions and pick the doctors you feel good with. Also, don’t let them give you MRIs 8 weeks out! They can easily put you ahead of line by marking it’s urgent.
Good news about the lymph nodes but now you need to know if they will start chemo first then surgery, or the other way around. If tumor is large, you might get chemo first. I have a friend who had this triple-negative and after 3 mo of chemo, the cancer was completely gone!! This is what they call pathological complete response. So it’s totally possible and don’t panic. They did a lumpectomy after that and now she’s totally fine.
so, be practical and take care of you emotional side too. Resolve any traumas or issues you might be carrying within you and don’t be afraid. Fear paralyzes us but self empowerment and a positive attitude will make you succeed!
Read up online about this cancer and make sure you’re informed and have a list of questions when you meet with doctors.
I was diagnosed with exactly the same in March 2023 accept I had two tumors in the left breast ‘bifocal’ triple negative grade3 tumors. I went through 16 rounds of two different types of chemo and then mastectomy. One good thing about triple negative cancer is that it is very responsive to chemotherapy, and the higher the grade the more responsive it is. I had nearly a complete response to the chemo which killed all the cancer apart from 1mm left in the one tumor. Because I did not have a complete response I was advised to go on Xelodo (chemo pills) for a further 6months to clean out my system just in case. I have had further checks and scans and I am cancer free and in remission now. I have 3 months left on the chemo pills and then they will continue with fat grafting from my thighs as I do or have enough fat on my stomach where they normally take from for reconstruction I was also terrified when I first found out, but the oncologist assured me that I will be fine and they will get it all
It’s amazing what they can do these days and medication has advanced so much. Trust in the process, eat to support your chemo, walk every day, see a psycotherapist or find support to keep you positive…this is a mental battle as much as a physical battle♥️
My father also had prostate cancer a year ago…also triple negative and the operation with no problems and his blood markers are fine.
If you have any other questions or concerns please just ask and I would love to help♥️
I know how scared you are right now. I had exactly your diagnosis in 2004, when i was 43. I am now 63. I have three children, the youngest was only 9 at the time, my only daughter
I don’t know about the pathology side of things though, I’m in the U.K. and wasn’t given that info back then. Mine was the same and it was HER2 negative. The only difference was I had cells or the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes in 4 out of 7 that they removed or biopsied. Mentally it was awful for many years, I was so scared, lost so much weight. Had lumpectomy with no clear margins, I also had some DCIS as well as the aggressive invasive ductal carcinoma. I then had mastectomy and in 2008 went for a reconstruction.
I had chemo, 8 rounds every 3 weeks, followed by 6 weeks of radiotherapy (this was part of a trial, I don’t think it’s that long now). I spent many years worrying. Was followed up 3 monthly, then 6 monthly and yearly until 10 years. I’ve had my scares along the way, all of which were nothing sinister. I still worry too…..
Im so sorry to hear about you and your diagnosis (and your husband too, it is extremely sad) but wanted to tell you something positive about my story that might help you. It made me so grateful for life and appreciate every day. All I wanted to hear were positive stories and there were many. Through a breast cancer charity in the UK I was put in touch with others like you and me who were out the other side of treatment. That really helped me. I struggled being positive but I did try and here I am, 20 years later and you hear so many more positive outcomes now.
Chemo was not as bad as I thought it would be though my infusions took hours because I had small veins which became difficult, I did lose my hair after giving up on the cold cap, it grew back quickly, I did have a couple of wigs which helped greatly with confidence for me, though not for everyone I’m sure.
I would also read others stories and started meditation, visualisation. I went for reflexology once a month, that was my treat and I also took 11 months off work, but we are all different. Just do what’s right for you.
Treatment must have come on so far in 20 years. In the UK we can get help and advice from Marie Curie or the MacMillan nurses, I hope you and your husband might be able to access similar, take all the help you can and I sincerely wish you both the very best, take good care and I sincerely help all goes well for you.
The site is worldwide, but in the UK, we do not get anything as detailed as you get, and half of your message, we unfortunately do not understand because of it.
Over here if it is triple negative it would be surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but you have to be positive and get through it, especially with your husbands problems too. We are women who have had to fight through the ages, and now its your turn Find all the cancer help you can at home i.e. The American Cancer Society etc..
Good Luck, stay on here and let us know how it goes xx
I'm so sorry about your diagnosis. I was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer in 2019 and my husband was also diagnosed with Prostate cancer two years later. If you'd like to chat, please reach out anytime
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I was also terrified when I first found out, but the oncologist assured me that I will be fine and they will get it all
Find all the cancer help you can at home i.e. The American Cancer Society etc..
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