Stay strong tnbc26💕
It is overwhelming but doable. I was diagnosed in 2017 and 2022 with tnbc. I just cleared the 5 year threshold and it returned. There’s been major strides in treatment regiments which is a major plus for tnbc. I cannot stress enough the importance of staying positive and self care. Mindset is everything, stay positive and strong. It may seem that time is flying by but you hit this! From your post it appears you did not have chemo treatments before your lumpectomy. If you don’t mind sharing, what stage were you diagnosed with?

It is alot to process at first.
My TNBC was lobular stage 2. I had chemo, masectomy, radiation, xeloda and zomeda. I am almost to my five year mark.
My tumor was large so they did chemo first to shrink it. It shrunk by almost half. The fact that you had lumpectomy already is good, they can tell more by the pathology of tumor to have the right treatment plan for you.
Thinking of you and sending a hug.

@tnbc26s1survivor, I moved your post to this existing discussion started by @roxy66 just a few months ago:
- Triple negative - newly diagnosed and looking for your experiences https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/triple-negative-newly-diagnosed/

As you can see, only 6 months ago @roxy66 was exactly where you are today. I hope you saw the supportive replies from @dolphina3 and @rahrah6263. I'm also tagging fellow triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) members like @olivia7850 @ssmab @moshi and others to share with you and walk this journey with you.

Things do move fast. It's a steep learning curve. We've got you. 🙂

@tnbc26s1survivor, do you know what type of chemotherapy you will be having? What helps you to bring calm, if even for a moment, in this fast moving train?

@tnbc26s1survivor It's scary, but I have three friends that were diagnosed with TNBC, had lumpectomy, TC chemo, radiation and all are still cancer free a few years later. None of them experienced any terrible symptoms during the treatment. I was diagnosed Feb 2023 with early-stage TNBC and went through the same process, and unfortunately, my cancer came back in 5 months. I then asked for Keynote 522 protocol, which is stronger and went through 8 months of 2 different combo of chemo's, immunotherapy and then mastectomy. The Adriamycin, which was the last chemo I did, seemed to finally shrink the tumor. The pathology from the mastectomy showed the TNBC was gone, but I now had ER+, so I am on AI Inhibitors for 5 years. I want to let you know that I am 74 now and to me, the chemo experience was really not as bad as I expected (never had any nausea, just some wicked tiredness after each Adriamycin infusion), and radiation was nothing. Chances are that your initial protocol will work so stay positive, eat well, drink fluids and electrolytes and keep moving!

@tnbc26s1survivor
Hello tnbc26s1survivor,
Those of us who have had breast cancer really understand how overwhelming it all is after you are given a diagnosis. It’s all so scary and upsetting but I hope what I did during that waiting time may help you. I started thinking the path I was about to take was all part of my new “Journey to Wellness.”
Here is a little about my story: Right after I turned 70 in the fall of 2022 I had a Breast MRI and I found out that I had Invasive Lobular Cancer in my L breast which was Triple Negative and Invasive Ductal Cancer in my R breast which was ER +. The triple negative tumor was believed to be stage I or II and the Estrogen + tumor was believed to be stage I. Just about the same time I had 2 spinal compression fractures due to osteoporosis. I felt like a complete mess. We decided to go to Mayo Rochester for multiple reasons. I had to wait 3 weeks for my first Mayo appt and of course I was a nervous wreck during that waiting time. What really helped me was thinking that I was starting my “Journey to Wellness.” You have already started your personal “Journey to Wellness,” since your lumpectomy is behind you.
Due to the spinal compression fractures my Physical Therapist suggested that I lay on a board on a bed every single day for 15 minutes to help heal the fractures. I decided this was the perfect time to focus on my health and to tell myself that I would be well after the treatments that I was to experience. I called it my “Optimistic Self Talk” and I still do it almost every single day! Before I went to Mayo, during those 15 minutes I would first say a prayer, then tell myself that I would be well, that my surgery and any treatments would make me healthy and well. Things to that effect.
Once I was at Mayo they agreed with my decision to have a bilateral mastectomy. After the diagnosis I really had the feeling that a bilateral mastectomy was the right decision for me. However once I was examined at Mayo, they told me I had to return home for 5 weeks before I could have the surgery because I had a big hematoma in my L breast from the needle biopsy in my hometown. They had to wait for it to heal because it could have hidden something in pathology. So again I figured this was part of my Journey to Wellness and I continued praying and doing my Optimistic Self talk daily.
After I returned to Mayo and had the surgery I found out that both of my tumors were stage 1a and both were grade 2 with a low Ki 67. Plus a small DCIS tumor showed up in the pathology after my surgery that was not visible in any of my scans. So my feeling that I needed a bilateral mastectomy was a good one. They told me that the tumor of most concern was the ILC that was triple negative. They told me that most TNBC tumors respond well to chemo but they were not sure if I was to have chemo or not due to the tumor, the stage and my low Ki 67 score. So they took my case to the tumor board. They decided no chemo for me. They said Lobular cancers don’t respond as well to chemo and my low KI67 of 5% plus my age factored into the decision. I am on Tamoxifen for the ER+ tumor I had.
It has been 3 years since my surgery and I have been in remission since that surgery and working to stay that way! They told me in the Mayo Breast Cancer Survivor Clinic to stay well I should eat 7 to 9 fruits and vegetables a day, I should limit sugar, avoid or limit alcohol, and I should exercise to stay well. I am doing all of these things plus my Optimistic Self Talk daily! I truly feel it is helping me.
I wish you all the best tnbc26s1survivor! I like that you put survivor in your name! You are a survivor! Sending Love and Wellness wishes to you and to all on this site.