Triple Negative Breast Cancer: What treatments are you having?

I have never heard of miracle fruit. Wonder where I can find it? Asian Market?I have a lot of ginger ale on hand . Popsicles too! Never heard of ginger ale popsicles? Thank you 😊

Miracle fruit, yep that's the actual name, has helped a lot of patients on chemo deal with nausea. It's the red berry that interferes with one's ability to taste the sourness of sour things, temporarily. It's a bit of a practical joke as you give someone a miracle fruit berry to eat, followed by a slice of lemon and the lemon will taste sweet. There are miracle fruit cafes in Japan where people ear the fruit and sample sour things that don't taste sour. A nursery in Florida used to donate its excess fruit to local chemo patients but is growing fewer trees currently. It can be ordered online from some vendors though.

A simpler thing for less extreme nausea is frozen Popsicles or frozen gingerale pops. That's a standing recommendation from one of the best doctors I ever knew. There's something about the bland, non-acidic popsicle that works better than frozen fruit juice to settle the stomach. Frozen gingerale, or honey-sweetened ginger tea, also works a lot of the time. But use fresh ginger if possible rather than bags of dried stuff. Or make the tea drop diced crystallized ginger. The sweetness helps rehydrate and real ancestors electrolytes. Or so I was told by the good doctor. If you can sneak in a pinch of salt, so much the better.

I am so sorry to hear about your reoccurrence. I just finished up 2 years active treatment for TNBC. I started out with 8 rounds of two other chemos together every other week and then 12 rounds of taxol, so I can't speak to the hair loss on your particular chemo, but what helped me a bunch for the nausea was fasting.

I can't find the study I read in 2020 but I basically copied them, going the day before infusion with just liquids and then eating dinner after infusion. It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be.

Also, I'm not sure from your post whether you had a port for your first occurrence,so my apologies if you already know, but lots of us can taste the heparin when they flush your port before and after the chemos. Chewing gum or sucking on a hard candy during is a lifesaver and makes it go away.

My TNBC has reoccurred after 2 1/2 years. I had a right auxiliary lymph node dissection with a 1.5 cm fibrodipose tissue involved. Having my port placed on Friday with chemo starting Monday April 25th. It will be a combination Gemzar/Carboplatin protocol which will be 4 cycles with a total of 8 treatments over 3 months followed by 5 weeks of rads. Did anyone loss their hair on this regimen? What kind of side effects occurred? Any tips on helping me make my chemo easier? Thank you 😊

Thanks. I am here to learn.

Welcome to connect, I am going to post a link to another conversation about triple negative breast cancer. This is a difficult diagnosis to receive, I am glad you are getting through the treatments. It might be helpful for you to talk to others with this diagnosis
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/triple-negative-breast-cancer/

Tuve un ductal carcinoma in situ en el 2012 y recibí 35 radioterapia y me hicieron lumpectomia. En el 2021 regresa otro igual al mismo seno izquierdo. Me hicieron doble mastectomía y dejaron los pezones. La patología reflejó un cancer invasivo en el mismo seno, estadio 1 y ya estoy terminando la terapia adyuvante de 16. Me restan 3. Mi oncólogo dice que TNBC es su enemigo. Me preocupa que debo hacer con luego de este proceso para prevenir este cáncer tan difícil. Recomendaciones y tratamientos alternativos.

Get on bed that fits into a huge glass tube. U had been given a sippy cup of water. Then u can watch movies or listen to music. Or sleep 😴. Later my wound healed in real time. I had necrosis. A blk patent leather scar. U can almost watch scar become smaller every day. AMAZING!

Here's some information about hyperbaric oxygen therapy https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy/about/pac-20394380

@mari can you share more about what HBOT is like and how it helped you?

@gbnana Totally understand your decision to not have chemo, and I may do the same in the future. However, you may want to consider a "hybrid" approach. I share my experience as an example: Last Feb, I was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal/Lobular Carcinoma, Triple Negative, Stage 1A, Grade 3 (early, but aggressive). I am 64 years old. I was to have a Triple Negative gold standard harsher chemo (Paclitaxel?) every week for 12 weeks. Discussed with my oncologist and agreed to a lesser chemo (Taxol/Cytoxen), which would be just as effective for Stage 1A. Was to have every three weeks; 4-6 treatments. Treatments 1-2 were fine. Mostly just very fatigued. Treatment 3 triggered sudden onset, severe peripheral neuropathy in hands/feet/legs. Although my Mayo oncologist encouraged me to continue with a reduced dose, I completely stopped the chemo at that time, and they immediately scheduled me for surgery. Double mastectomy. MRI and surgery found no live cancer cells remaining. The incomplete regimen of just the three chemo treatments had made a difference! They say my prognosis is "excellent". I tell you this for your consideration. I'm glad I did the three treatments. I'm glad I stopped when I did. The neuropathy is almost completely gone, and I am presently cancer-free. I have the utmost respect for your decision to not have chemo. It is barbaric. However, I did want to share my experience for your consideration. Whatever you decide will be the right decision for you. Every blessing to you for a smooth journey and healthy outcome.