new here

I'm newly diagnosed and very scared.  I'm 35 and discovered a lump the day my second daugther was born.  2 months later I have the triple negative diagnosis.  I had a ct scan last week that was clear.  Tomorrow I'm having my port put in, Wednesday a bone scan and Friday I start chemo.  I'm praying to God that my bone scan is also clear.  I also have a lymph node that causes pains and aches in my arm.  My doc said it's because it's sitting on a nerve, but I'm still very paranoid that I have bone mets!  Every morning I wake up thinking I've just had a bad dream, but within a few seconds the reality sets in. 

My husband is a Marine, we are stationed at Ft Leonard Wood.  I'm receiving all of my care at Barnes.  I will have chemo first, then surgery and radiation.  My tumor is 3cm, as long as the cancer has not spread, they said I'm stage 2.

Hi Vshowe,

I was also diagnosed after having a baby. I found my lump when he was 6 months old; I was 32 then and it has been over two and half years since. I know it is pretty scary and I'm really sorry that you have to go through this. But I am happy that you found us. You will find a lot of information here and more importantly you'll find people that understand what you are going through.

Have you been tested for your BRCA status? This is a genetic mutation that makes you prone to breast cancer, among others, and it is important to know if you have it not only in terms of risk but also in terms of treatment. I am BRCA1 positive myself and knowing this helped me decide that I wanted to have a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction. I also had chemo and radiation.

The standards for treatment have changed recently more towards having chemo before surgery as Donna mentioned (neoadjuvant chemo) as it allows your doctors to see if your tumor responds to chemo. TNBC is responsive to chemo in many cases and the best way to know this is by doing chemo while the tumors are still there. So ask your doctors about this.

We are here if you have any questions. Also if you want you can send me a private message and I'll be happy to answer your questions.

Best,

Natalia

Vicki,

When I had the BRCA test I actually got the results in less than 2 weeks time, even though they told me it would take longer.  Maybe you'll also get the results sooner too.

I also found the port area to be sore for a couple of weeks following the surgery.  After that, I don't feel it at all.

Praying for a clean bone scan for you tomorrow!

Donna

Vicki--I will pray for you.  I finished all my treatments in March.  All of it was do-able and I was still able to keep my grandkids and do all the things I needed to during my treatments.