Triple Negative Breast Cancer: What treatments are you having?

What meds for infusion were you given for stage 4 tnbc ?

I don’t know much about these magnetic treatments, but there is a page where you can connect with other TNBC patients here on connect.
This diagnosis carries with it shock and grief, and I hope that you have a good support system. Connect can help with that. Here is a link.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/triple-negative-breast-cancer/
Have you discussed treatments with your doctor? Are you looking to PEMF as an additional treatment?

Seeking info on PEMF treatments but have expander. Confused by info I've found on various sites, some suggest no issue, others advise not to have this. Looking for answer.
Thank you, PSD

I agree with you about chemo. If you are healthy chemo is doable. I was 68 when diagnosed after testing they said I was okay for chemo and it wasn't that bad. They give you pills for nausea and you will feel fatigued. I would have chemo again if I have a recurrence. Mine was stage 2A no lymph nodes size 5.8 cm.
Good luck and best wishes for all going thru this journey.

Hi, @medical01 Can you tell me where this information is from? I had surgery and chemotherapy (taxotere and cytoxan) ending the last of January 2022 after a triple-negative diagnosis a year ago. I am trying to be realistic going forward, which means finding out the full extent of what I *can* know about risks and statistics while still nurturing a life-affirming attitude so I can make the best use of my time every day. While I can't know my own future health, it does help my perspective to to be as aware as possible of the medical facts as they stand at the present time. That's the long way around the core of my question, which is this: I am just wondering where your information is from. As I have searched to find out prognosis statistics on triple-negative breast cancer, I have found Mayo's online information to be the most straightforward and least patronizing, which I appreciate as a patient. (I live in Washington state, so I am unbiased in terms of my care team having no affiliation with Mayo!) But you have some details in this write-up I have not seen before, although admittedly it has been a couple of months since I have done intensive searching–and besides, I am a layperson and thus I don't have quite the same access to medical details as a professional! Anyway, I appreciate what you have shared and would be interested in what I can find out further. For instance: One question I'd ask if you are "in the business" is what's the backstory on Zometa (zoledronic acid), which I am being given every six months for two years following the end of my chemo. My oncologist says it will reduce the chance of a metastasis by 1%. I'll take any reduction, but I am wondering if the Zometa's effect is primarily seen in reducing the likelihood of cancer in bone instead of in other areas.

I looked at cancer that way too 😏. Someone posted once that she would be very scared by a 10% chance of getting breast and I thought to myself that 10% is better that the 1 in 8 odds that women already face in the U.S. for breast cancer over a lifetime. That's the elephant in the parlor…

A corporate recruiter friend used to say that, when one has a good job, the personal unemployment rate is 0% and when unemployed the personal unemployment rate is 100%. His point was, ignore (not deny, just don't focus on) the statistics that are scary when they're of no value personally and concentrate on the personal statistics one can improve and move forward either way.

Ah, the old 'known knowns, the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns.'

For a lot of wonderful things that occur, there were the minutes before it happened where there was no hint that it would occur. That includes medical breakthroughs, a powerful new insight into something the body does, the minutes before two people meet whose meeting leads to the birth of a new baby on the planet. My brother used to like to think about what he called 'the minutes just before a miracle' which was his favorite part in any true story. We used to tease him about it but it was, in an odd way, an appreciation of uncertainty and paying more attention to life's clues.

Thank you for the reply and link. It would seem that reoccurrence rate is the same rate or less than getting breast cancer in your lifetime which is 12% ? I guess that is how I’m looking at it. Thank you so much !!

The rate of reoccurrence in the first 5 years with TNBC will depend a lot on the details from the pathology report, from the mastectomy. The tool linked above (and again here: https://breast.predict.nhs.uk), from the UK's National Health Service will give you some idea if you put in all the data from your pathology and the treatment path you chose. (Reoccurrence rate is the difference between survival rate and the deaths from other causes rate, the dotted yellow line on the graph.)

We will all be living with uncertainty, though. Everyone does whether they realize it or not. For us, it is simply undeniable. And that can be hard to deal with, emotionally, for anyone.

My wish for anyone going thru this is that they can find a way to be ok with uncertainty. I had Hodgkin's at age 35 and wasn't equipped to handle the uncertainty then. It really tore me apart, for several years after completing treatment.

Just listened to the first part of a podcast where they were discussing uncertainty, more broadly, and how to come to terms with it through meditation. I've tried but never really felt ok doing meditation, but I got some insight from listening that I think will be helpful for coping with the next few years (assuming I make it thru a few more). Maybe you will find it helpful, too. Here's the link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/25/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-ruth-ozeki.html

Some doctors don't monitor tumor markers. I'm glad to see that your's at UCLA does. My oncologist at Cleveland Clinic does as well though pointed out that inflammation in the body might cause a rise and be unrelated to any cancer development so not to be alarmed. But there are women who've posted on Mayo Connect that the only early warning signal was a rise in tumor markers…that likely saved their lives. I think that I'm inclined to think 'the more data, the better in general. All of us on these forums are in my prayers and best wishes.