I am the Warrior (What is Triple Negative Breast Cancer?)

What is Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC)?

From the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation: 

"These subtypes of breast cancer are generally diagnosed based upon the presence, or lack of, three “receptors” known to fuel most breast cancers: estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). The most successful treatments for breast cancer target these receptors.

Unfortunately, none of these receptors are found in women with triple negative breast cancer. In other words, a triple negative breast cancer diagnosis means that the offending tumor is estrogen receptor-negative, progesterone receptor-negative and HER2-negative, thus giving rise to the name “triple negative breast cancer.” On a positive note, this type of breast cancer is typically responsive to chemotherapy. Because of its triple negative status, however, triple negative tumors generally do not respond to receptor targeted treatments. Depending on the stage of its diagnosis, triple negative breast cancer can be particularly aggressive, and more likely to recur than other subtypes of breast cancer."

To break it down, here are some plusses and negatives about TNBC:

• It's aggressive, meaning the cells are rapidly dividing. (-)
• The cells are rapidly dividing, which means that chemo is extremely effective. (+) 
• It means that some treatment options won't work for me, so I have fewer treatment options. (-) 
• It is an increasingly common breast cancer diagnosis for younger women, like me, and they don't know why. (+) (edit: this is probably more neutral than a plus?)
• Recurrence of cancer post-treatment is common. (-)
• Once past the 5 year cancer-free mark (~June 2023 for me), it becomes much less common to have recurrence-- far less than for those with regular breast cancer. (+) 
• The symbol for TNBC is literally 3 pink ribbons in a row. (-) 

Due to the rapidly-dividing cancer cells, and thus chemotherapy's extreme effectiveness, my treatment will begin with chemo (versus a lumpectomy or mastectomy, which is how more common breast cancers will begin treatment).

After chemo, I will take a few weeks off to let the drugs get out of my system and to do evaluative tests before surgery. I do not know yet the extent of my surgery (but I can imagine what it will be and I am okay with it).

After surgery comes radiation, which I am told is akin to spending the day at the beach with your skin exposed to the sun (naturally my response here was, "Oh, so radiation will be like a day at the beach!" I have been since disabused of this notion.).

And finally, I will round it all out with a few more weeks of chemo. Actually, I am participating in a clinical trial for Immunotherapy, so I may or may not be having this drug, or a saline-solution placebo, infusion throughout and at the end. I will post more about Immunotherapy in a later post.

Selected quote:

"Well that is a kick in the teeth." -- S.