@yakyak9 - I'm TNBC & BRCA2+. When I was in my early 30's I was dx with "borderline ovarian cancer" (explained to me as pre-cancer). Instructed that if I wanted children I should start as soon as received clearance, because it was fast-growing and I should have a hysterectomy as soon as I had the size family I wanted. They said I should also be pregnant with #2 when #1 was 6 months old - I waited 2.5 years between children. When #2 was 6 months I had the complete hysterectomy. Then at age 68 found lump in left breast and underarm. When I think about it the previous 6 months, they were extremely stressful - my father was rapidly declining and I was taking over a lot of the responsibility of both my aging parents and working a full-time job. My father passed away at 95 at the end of July and early September I discovered the lumps. Since this was still during Covid and I was working from home I spent a lot of time researching first BC and treatments, then the search narrowed when it was dx as TNBC, then after finding I have the BRCA2+ gene I then added that to my search. I used as many reputable sites as I could to see what were the standard treatments and potential side effects and the impact to recurrence. I never looked at this as a "death sentence", so I never looked at survival numbers. Being BRCA2+ and TNBC the chances of recurrence on the other side were high so I opted for bilateral (flat/no reconstruction). I had chemo (great results in shrinking the lumps before surgery); then surgery; then "miniscule spot" found in pathology so recommended radiation - which I did. Now I'm on Lynparza (for the BRCA2+) gene - everything I've done SHOULD reduce my recurrence of BC to about 5%.

Nothing I've gone through has been unbearable. I was in pretty good health before, and am still pretty healthy. I was slightly nauseous and tired from chemo (easy fix - ginger and naps), also shaved my head when my curly hair got too matted; surgery was surgery, just took time to heal, I also researched things to do to make recovery easier; radiation was real easy (except the treatment cream stained a couple tops). Even taking the Lynparza has required minimal adjustments for side effects.

There is longevity with both parents - father deceased at 95 and my mother is 97 and still doing well. We are living in great times to reap the benefit of all the research that has been done. I remember when there was just "breast cancer" now they know all these variations exist and how to target the treatment to these variations.

Best of luck in any future treatments you may need, stay on top of all follow-ups and be sure to ask questions and ask them to explain so you understand. I also have a document that I keep updating with my journey - questions and doctor responses.