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Is triple negative breast cancer curable?

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LatoyaL View Drop Down
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    Posted: Feb 05 2013 at 5:40pm
I was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast cancer back in 2008 and would like to know is the disease even curable?  I am still remission, but I am still afraid of relapsing.  I was told by someone that after you've reached 5 years of being in remission,  recurrence doesn't usually happen after 5 years.  Can someone tell if that is true or not?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TriplePositiveGirl Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Feb 05 2013 at 6:34pm
Hi Latoya,

From what I've been told by my doctors, due to the aggressive growing nature of TNBC, if you have hit the 5 year mark without recurrence, your odds of having a recurrence are significantly reduced, but not completely eliminated. I think I read that after 5 years of disease free survival, the % of recurrence is less than 5%. You should feel pretty good if you have not had a recurrence since 2008! 

Best of luck for continued good health!
Lisa
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote becca Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Feb 05 2013 at 6:35pm
My dr told me that it usually somes back in the first few years and that it is curable. I am 5 years out from DX and she told me that , yes, it is an agressive cancer but that does not mean it can't be cured :)
 
Becca
Age58 DX 12/07
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Lumpectomy 1/08/08
Stage IIIA grade3
5/19 nodes
chemo 5/08 radiation 7/08
clear pet 9/08
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Thanks Triple Positive Girl and Becca for responding to my question
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Dear LaToya,

There is no "for sure" with TNBC, BUT I believe the 5 year mark can be very important. My daughter was diagnosed in 2004 and August will be her 9th anniversary of NED after her treatment and surgeries. 

LaToya, I would encourage you to try to find the beauty in each day and try to focus your energies on the good things i your life. I recognize that it is 'easier' for me to say "don't worry about recurrence" as I have never had cancer. I still accompany my daughter from, time to time, to her surveillance appointments and there is always anxiety prior to the consultation and a sigh of relief afterwards. For her the angst never fully disappears.

I personally believe that every woman who had had TNBC needs to remain vigilant and that vigilance, I recognize, can create anxiety. 

There is no "perfect" in all of this but as you approach your five year mark, I believe your chances are a lot better for a long life without cancer.

warmly,

Steve
I am a BRCA1+ grandson, son and father of women affected by breast/oc-my daughter inherited mutation from me, and at 36, was dx 2004 TNBC I am a volunteer patient advocate with SAGE Patient Advocates
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My daughter passed away from triple negative breast cancer after a little less than a 2 year battle. I am writing this to hopefully help some other dad's learn from my experiences and to help save their daughters.
These are the lessions, which I have learned from my experiences with triple negative breast cancer:
(1) There is no cure for triple negative breast cancer.
(2) The average life expectancy is around 18 months, once you are diagnosed. My daughter lasted a few months longer than this.
(3) This type of cancer is particularly frustrating for the doctors. The reason is that it mutates so rapidly to the current cancer fighting drug. The doctor takes a biopsy of the cancer. He tests for a set of drugs and finds one that works. The treatment starts and our experience is that this drug will usually work for 1 to 3 months. After that the cancer will mutate and you have to do the biopsy again to find the next combination, which may work for a few months.
(4) The only cure, this is important, is to immediately have surgery to remove all possible sources for the cancer to start( uterous & breasts ), if you find any cancer at all. My daughter did not want to do this initially because she wanted to beat this and to have another baby. In the end, she finally agreed to the surgery but unfortunately it was too late. The cancer had spread to the lymph nodes. It was a very small number of cells but in time it had spread to her entire body. Once the cancer passed the brain boundary in about 18months, it was simply a matter of weeks before it was over.
(5) Do not waste your time with attempting a clinical trial. We tried to get into them but my daughter's white blood count was too low. I drove her across the country to a medical facility to start a trial only to be turned down, once we arrived. It took months of work to get her into the trial. Finally, the doctors simply refused to give her the drugs. They said that it would kill her by then. You have to understand that the trials have one purpose: that is to get approved by the FDA for reimbursement. The companies do not want people in the trials, who may not be successful( fit an optimal profile ). The taints their results. I did hear of one neighbor, who was able to get into a trial quickly. She was fortunate because her doctor knew the head of the study team and favors were done outside of the trial with waivers.
(6) The sad truth is that none of the current cancer drugs work on triple negative breast cancer. Only recently, has it achieved any awareness by the medical community.
(7) All the chemo and radiation will wear you down. It took such a toll on my daughter. In the end, she decided to stop treatment and live a normal life for as long as she could. The cancer took her about 5 months after this decision. I don't blame her. She underwent so many surgeries, tests and chemo treatments. It wasn't a life really.
 
So, in summary, my daughter's death did save other family members lives. Several nieces were found to have triple negative cancer over the past several years. I called their families and immediately advised the radical surgery to remove the breasts and uterus. All of them are alive today and cancer free. It has been 2 years and counting for them. Their fathers have thanked me many times.
 
I miss you Courtney.....evey day.
 
Dad
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I echo what Steve says he is very on top of things cancer related not to mention many more he is very educated in this field,he is the best and gives wonderful advice.
Hang in there we all have to...
Hug's
Denise
DX Idc 10/07,st2,gr3,2/6 lymphnodes
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote SagePatientAdvocates Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Feb 07 2013 at 1:13am
Dearest Courtney's Dad,

Welcome to our TNBC family. I am deeply,deeply sorry for your loss. Words are inadequate but you have my profound and sincere condolences.

My grandfather was 19 when his wife, at the age of 18, gave birth to my Mother. We are a BRCA1+ family and my maternal grandmother died at age 47, of ovarian cancer, when I was two years old. My mother was 28 at the time and it was so painful for her to talk about that experience that she almost never did. When she was 42 she was diagnosed with breast cancer (most likely TNBC). I was 16 and then after four tough, tough years she passed away when I was 20, from metastatic disease to her bone/spine/liver. 

Courtney's Dad, I remember the following like it was yesterday. My grandfather and I went to the funeral home to make arrangements for her. He did not say one word. Whenever the funeral director asked a question he pointed to me and I spoke for the family. My grandfather and I went for a walk together after we left the home. We must have walked for ten miles and the only thing my grandfather could say was "Stevie, there is no greater pain to man than losing a child. I hope you never experience it. I was devastated when I lost my wife but somehow I was able to handle it better because losing a grandparent, parent or even a spouse is in the "natural order of things"... a child is not." He did not speak another word that night. Just sobbed-for hours. He was 65 at the time and he, from that day forward, could not utter my Mother's name without crying. He never really discussed it again except on her birthday when he would sob in my arms, without speaking. No words were needed. I am 6'3" and he was 5'2" and I would just gently kiss the top of his head, every few minutes and whisper "o.k. let it out."

As a father of six children I adore, I can't "go there"-thinking about losing a child. When my daughter was 36 and diagnosed with TNBC I thought I would lose her and for several months I truly thought I would lose my mind but I needed to be strong for her so, somehow, I was.

So here we are some 49 years later and I am crying as I type over the pain and suffering I see in your post and thinking back to my grandfather's losing his adored daughter who was my adored mother. And thinking back to my devastation as my world was turned upside down. My mother was a single parent and she was my best friend. She is still present in my life in many profound ways and always shall be.

But, Courtney's Dad I must respond to some of the things you said in your thread. Please understand, your views are your views and I respect them, completely. You have come to your conclusions and expressed them and I feel I need to express mine, with what I hope is sensitivity to your well-meaning remarks. But Courtney's experience is not the experience everyone, with TNBC, on this site has had.

I believe, with all due respect, that you are presenting a too-pessimistic scenario for the women in our TNBC family. And yes, I am a Patient Advocate working on a volunteer basis with women with TNBC and I have seen even more drastic situations at times than you have described. But I also see my daughter who is an 8 years survivor of TNBC. And others who are here for 10, 15 even 20 years. Can anyone say these women are not cured?

TNBC can be very sensitive to chemotherapy and women can live long, long, productive lives. I believe my daughter will be one of them who does. You have poignantly described your daughter's awful journey and my heart aches for you and for what she went through. A trip through hell. 

But your conclusions may not apply to many, many women here. Denise has already responded and others may as well, hopefully all with consideration and respect. That is the hall mark of this site. From my experience here, I do not believe that anyone, in my opinion, is going to be disrespectful of your words. It is just that TNBC is not a one-size-fits-all disease. In recent years we have found out that it consists of at least six sub-types. Everyone's experience is different and yes, it can be lethally aggressive, but at times it does respond to treatment.

One of the major problems on our site is that quite often when a woman has had TNBC and is now NED (No Evidence of Disease) she chooses not to post on the site anymore, preferring to get back to her life and not write about cancer. That is totally understandable and while I wish more NED women posted I understand and support their positions.

Courtney's Dad I write you with love in my heart for what you went through. I appreciate your perspective but I, respectfully, disagree with some of your conclusions. I encourage you to spend some time on our Forum and you will see many inspiring stories and yes, unfortunately, there are more that we will never read but, trust me, as an advocate who is still in contact with many NED women they are out there, they just don't post, but they are alive and well. Please take a look at some of the long-term survivor threads and then perhaps, you will better understand my perspective. It is also possible that you are in such pain and have gone through such horror that it will not matter to you, at this moment. And I understand that.

We are all wishing you some peace as you grieve.

warmly,

Steve

p.s. I am sending you my contact information. If you are unhappy with my remarks please let me know privately. I promise to listen respectfully. Let's not turn this to a public disagreement that will defeat the goals of this site which are support, education and love.




Edited by steve - Feb 07 2013 at 1:32am
I am a BRCA1+ grandson, son and father of women affected by breast/oc-my daughter inherited mutation from me, and at 36, was dx 2004 TNBC I am a volunteer patient advocate with SAGE Patient Advocates
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Dear Courtney's Dad,

It sounds like, from descriptions of what Courtney and several of your nieces went through that your family may have a BRCA mutation like mine.

I am an advocate in the Komen Advocates in Science program and Komen kindly published my family's story on their website.


The only way for you to know if the BRCA mutation is present is to test. I strongly advise a meeting with a Certified Genetic Counselor (CGC) to find out more information about the BRCA mutation. It is recommended by the NCCN that all women under the age of 60, with TNBC, be tested for the BRCA mutation, even absent a family history. 


If Courtney was BRCA+ it means that either you or her Mother were BRCA+. Same with your nieces. They had to inherit the mutation from one of their parents. And the parents should be tested. Normally they would start with the parent who has the family history. In my family it was me and I tested BRCA positive. It is also possible that there is some sort of familial mutation, non-BRCA, involved. And that mutation might be difficult to find with commercial testing.

The other thing that is important in all of this is that I have met many parents who were guilty about passing this mutation to their child but I have never met a child who was angry with a parent about passing the gene to them. Everyone needs to understand that this is Genetics 101. There was nothing malicious about my grandmother passing the gene to her adored daughter and nothing malicious about my mom passing it to me. My mother adored me and would had never done anything to hurt me or future generations. The gene mutation I have (BRCA1 187delAG) is an Ashkenazi Founder's mutation and it has been going on for literally thousands of years, it is estimated. Probably caused by a poor gene pool, diversity-wise, as a lot of Ashkenazis would marry first cousins. Personally, I do not feel guilty about passing the mutation to my daughter. What I do feel is incredibly sad that she has it and developed TNBC
and decided to do various risk-reducing surgeries in an effort to save her life. Some day, I pray there will be other options for women with the mutation.

It is very important, if the mutation is present in a family, for the folks, at risk, to speak to a CGC and get tested, if indicated. That may include the men in the family. There may be consequences for men with the BRCA mutation such as increased risks of prostate cancer, male breast cancer, some GI cancers, perhaps melanoma etc. In my view, BRCA+ men should do surveillance, as guided by a high-risk clinic. The consequences for a BRCA+ male are much less onerous, normally, for a male than a BRCA+ woman. For example, I have been told that my risks of getting breast cancer at my age is roughly one out of seven, or 14% about the same as for women in the general population. But the risk for my daughter was 85% and the breast and ovarian cancers for BRCA1+ women are often early onset cancers. That is why BRCA1+ women are often told to have their ovaries removed, after they have had their families. There are no accurate diagnostic tests to find ovarian cancer early. 80% of all ovarian cancer is found as Stage III-IV disease, in this country, and that is a major problem. But the importance of having ovaries removed should be explained by a CGC and surgery performed by a gynecological oncologist, who is familiar with the special BRCA surgical protocol. If a woman has TNBC but doesn't have the BRCA mutation it is often not recommended for her to have gynecologic surgery. It would be an important, but very expensive study, to see what the incidence of ovarian cancer was in our TNBC community compared to the general population. As far as I know it has not been done. It has been done in the BRCA+ community and the incidence of ovarian cancer, as a separate risk from breast cancer, is about 45-50% for BRCA1+ women and 25% for BRCA2+ women.

I personally do Breast Self Exams, and recently had a clinical breast exam, a Breast MRI and a mammogram. I also screen for prostate cancer on a regular basis. I also have a history of pancreatic cancer in my family and I am doing surveillance for that. Because of that surveillance a small cyst was found on the neck of my pancreas. It looks benign, I am told, but I was advised to monitor it yearly and that is what I am doing via Abdominal MRI with pancreatic protocol. I just had one of those. No fun, but I feel better having done it. 

I also am not telling any man here what to do. I am not a medical professional and so do not give medical advice but I do suggest that men, at risk for the BRCA mutation, see a CGC, get tested and if BRCA+ positive, try to get involved with a screening program, ideally at a high-risk clinic. Some of the ones I am familiar with are at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Mayo Clinic, UCLA, UCSF, Stanford Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital and there are others.

Coutney's Dad..sorry to write more references to your post but I got up thinking about what you wrote and wanted to post some additional information that possibly could be of use to you and other members of your family and to BRCA+ women and their loved ones in our TNBC community. I simply cannot assume that you or everyone here knows about the BRCA mutation; that is why I have written. It seems that when a BRCA1+ woman has breast cancer, 75% of the time it is TNBC but the converse is not true. 75% of women with TNBC do not carry the BRCA mutation.

wishing you as good a day as possible,

Steve


Edited by steve - Feb 07 2013 at 8:52am
I am a BRCA1+ grandson, son and father of women affected by breast/oc-my daughter inherited mutation from me, and at 36, was dx 2004 TNBC I am a volunteer patient advocate with SAGE Patient Advocates
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lynda65 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Feb 07 2013 at 9:25am
Dear Courtney's Dad:

I am sorry for your loss. My sister, Barbara died 20 1/2 years ago. She had been diagnosed with Inflammatory Carcinoma. She fought for 2 1/2 years and was 50.

I am 65 and was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer May 2012. I went through chemotherapy and radiation. I completed treatment 12/26/12 and am 44 days a survivor.

I don't have the BRAC mutation. The doctors told me as far as they know I am clean.

I wake up everyday and embrace the day. I live life to the fullest and believe I will live a long, healthy life.
We have to believe.

Take care of yourself and your family. Embrace your grandchildren.

Lynda
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote beck Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Feb 07 2013 at 9:55am
im at loss for words, cant amgine what your feeling i have a 39 yr. old daughter i have tn .. so sorry for your loss.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TriplePositiveGirl Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Feb 07 2013 at 1:49pm
Steve,

Your emails to Courtney's Dad are very moving and informative. I do hope he reads these. Its also important to mention that most of us who have TNBC believe we will survive this disease. We have to have hope.

To all reading this post:

 I know it must be awful beyond words to lose a child to cancer (or any disease for that matter), which I think has colored Courtney's Dad's opinions about this disease, its treatment options and overall outcomes for women with various stages of this disease. I do hope that anyone reading this post takes this into account, especially newly diagnosed women who are just beginning their battle with this disease. MOST women do survive and live long healthy lives. DON'T EVER FORGET THAT FACT.

Lisa
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Dear Everyone,
 
Thank you for your kind responses.
 
My experience with the Triple Negative Cancer and travels to seek treatment around the country were extensive. We attempted to enter many trials but unfortunately were turned away for one reason or another time and time again. It was very exhausting and disheartening to say the least. The last plane trip with my daughter for a trial was to Montana. She could hardly sit up and we had her in a wheelchair throughout the trip. It was amazing to see her desire to live. We literally carried her on and off the plane due to the small size. Wheelchairs would simply not fit.
 
However, to go back to the beginning, when my daughter was first diagnosed with cancer we took her to one of the best facilities in the country. Unfortunately, she was not tested for triple negative(not a common test run for cancer patients initiallly ), therefore, she was given the standard chemo and radiation treatments, which don't work with triple negative cancer. So, 6 months were wasted until they realized that something was wrong. It finally doned on them to test for triple negative cancer. Once that was found, we were told that the chances of successful treatment was very low and that we should expect my daughter to live 18 months at best due to the type of cancer. It was amazing how accurate they were.
 
Now, that we know about the generic triple negative gene is in our family, all of children, nieces and nephews have been tested. The gene comes from my father's side of the family. They were of Eastern European ancestory. We now know that several of his brothers carry the gene too. It has been passed to their daughters. This type of cancer affects the females but not the males. The males are the carriers. We know this genic triple negative gene is common in the Jewish population of New York City. The genetic tests show it comes from a particular region of Eastern Europe.
 
Anyone, who has this type of cancer, my recommendation is simple. Please have the operations to remove the breast and uterous ASAP. If you have the gene and not the cancer, please have tests run every few months, if you choose not to perform the operations.
 
I do not wish this to happen to any other father or daughter. For now, surgery and testing are the only cures, which I am aware of that work. Chemo and radiation will slow it down. It will not cure it.
 
One last thought to share is in regards to the last physician in Montana, who looked at us and told us that my daughter could not participate in his trial. We had flown there months before when she was healthy enough but were turned away. After working for months, I was finally able to get a waiver to get her in the trial and we flew back. He had tears in his eyes as he told us that it was just too late to do anything. By then my daughter was too weak to fly back to Texas so we drove across the country stopping at a hospital for a night to get her treatment to complete the trip. We got her home to her bed. She died the next morning on her 10th wedding anniversary on Thanksgiving day.
 
I remember thinking back a few years. I would say to myself how lucky I was to have healthy kids and a life without so much pain. Those days are a dream now.....
 
I wish everyone well and hope that no one has to go through this.......one day in the far, far future.
 
CourtneysDad 
 
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Dear Courtney's Dad,   I am so sorry for all that you, your dear daughter and family have suffered.   It is clear that you did all that you could possibly do. What a great Father you must be. You are showing a fine example of just what it means to be such a loving person and to all who those who do not have any one to represent this for them it is quite wonderful to see. Thank You for posting about Courtney...Annie
Annie TNBC Stage IIA Gr 3 1cm lesion 2/5 lymph nodes+ lumpectomy,FEC & D 30Rads finished(08/2009) BRCA- Chronic Cellulitis due to Radiation-- L.Mastectomy Jan 2012
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Katdoll Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Feb 08 2013 at 4:57pm
I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here, but I want to confirm (for myself as much as others) that TNBC is curable and that there is hope for everyone who has battled this disease.  I am from a BRCA1 family with four TNBC survivors.  One has been cancer free for 18 years, so I think it is safe to say she is "cured."  My sister hit the 3-year mark six months ago, my cousin just got to 2 years, and I am very close to the 3-year mark, so only time will tell with us - but our odds of a cure get better as time goes on and are very good already.  Also, there is promising research happening right now that will result in more people being cured.  So everyone who has battled this disease has a chance for a cure. 
I have learned not to focus on whether I am cured but rather on the fact that I am a "survivor" with the ability to enjoy the blessings of each day as it comes.  It think this is one of the gifts that cancer can bring: the keen knowledge that you are mortal, the ability to accept your mortality with less fear, and the increased ability to love your life every single day.  Yes, it is possible that there is cancer left in my body and that it will "come back" someday and maybe even take my life.  But that is just a possibility, and I will not let it dash my hopes or change the way I experience the gift of my life. 
 
I join Steve and CourtneysDad in urging that people who have a BRCA mutation or significant family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer obtain advice from qualified genetic counselors and health care professionals about their risks and how to reduce them.  The website www.facingourrisk.org is a great place to learned more about hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, as are the resources Steve suggests.
 
I wish peace and hope to everyone who has battled TNBC, is supporting a TNBC survivor, or grieves for someone who passed away from TNBC.
Tested positive for BRCA1 mutation (187delAG) in 4/09 @ age 44; BSO 9/09; diagnosed w/TNBC in 10/09; 1 cm Stage 1 TNBC IDC, grade 3 + 1.5 cm DCIS; BMX 11/09, nodes clear; chemo (AC/T).
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote LatoyaL Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Feb 08 2013 at 7:35pm
Thanks a lot Steve for your advice.  You've helped to give me some peace, because I've been really worrying myself like crazy, in constant fear of having a recurrence.
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@Courtney's Dad, I very sorry to hear that your daughter lost her fight with this disease.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Lillie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Feb 09 2013 at 10:05am
Dear Courtney's Dad,
 
We have a 'tribute' thread on this site.  It is a way of remembering our friends who have died from triple negative breast cancer.  Would you be willing to post Courtney's name in the tribute section?  
 
I have posted the names of 4 or 5 friends who lost the battle with triple negative cancer.  Every one of them lived less than 2 years after diagnoses.  Every one of them fought to beat the cancer, but it wasn't meant to be.  There are times when the chemo doesn't work, or the cancer is caught too late, or the body is too frail to handle the chemo.   
 
Courtney's Dad, these are true facts that I post.  We would love to REMEMBER Courtney in our tribute's thread.  I am so sorry for your loss and may God hold you close and comfort you and your family, as you grieve.
 
Love and God Bless,
Lillie
Dx 6/06 age 65,IDC-TNBC
Stage IIb,Gr3,2cm,BRCA-
6/06 L/Mast/w/SNB,1of3 Nodes+
6/06 Axl. 9 nodes-
8/8 thru 11/15 Chemo (Clin-Trial) DD A/Cx4 -- DD taxol+gemzar x4
No Rads.
No RECON - 11/2018-12 yrs NED
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CourtneysDad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Feb 09 2013 at 10:42am
Dear Triple Negative Breast Cancer Friends,
 
It is kind of you to request the tribute to Courtney.
 
However, my purpose to joining this site, which didn't exist when Courtney was alive, is to help educate people on options to consider, to educate from my experiences and to dispell misconceptions about the disease. Here are some additional lessons learned:
 
(1) There are a number of websites, who have people on the phones and online, that simply say " I'm a cancer survivor and you can be one too. "
* I found that when I called these sites and asked for assistance regarding recommended hospitals, physicians, methods of successful treatment, promising drugs in clinical trials, etc., I simply got this answer " I am a cancer survivor and you can be one too. "
* Here I was, a desparate father seeking answers and recommendations from people to save my daughter. I wanted specifics from treatments, which worked for them, to other things to try. I found none that. I simply found the same answer when I pressed further " talk to your physician ".
* The truth is when I talked with my physician I was told that they can try many things from chemo to radiation but ultimately the honest few looked me in the face and said " you have 18 months or less with this type of cancer. "
(2) There are many types of cancer, where the existing technology works. Unfortunately, Triple Negative is not one of them. It is different in many ways and takes a different approach than the current chemo drugs and radiation treatments.
 
I trust in my heart that there is a medical researcher somewhere in the world with a mission in life to cure this type of cancer. He / she has probably lost a loved one because of it. Therefore, they have a personal commitment to finding a cure. I know that this person is out there. I kept looking for this person around the world but didn't find him/her a few years ago. I hope that they exist and will one day find the cure.
 
I can dream.............
 
CourtneysDad
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Joined: Feb 06 2013
Location: Texas
Status: Offline
Points: 27
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (3) Thanks(3)   Quote CourtneysDad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Feb 09 2013 at 11:08am
Here is the answer to the original question( to the best of my knowledge over the past 5+ years of searching ):
 
" Is Triple Negative Breast Cancer Curable? "
 
No - if you use chemo and radiation. No known chemo drugs or radiation treatments will cure Triple Negative Breast Cancer.
* If anyone knows of a specific drug/s, which has worked for them( please don't respond with " see your physician or I'm a cancer survivor " ), let us know. I would love that there is an answer to this question. I tried to keep my daughter alive for exactly this answer. The best research was in developing a custom vacine to your specific Triple Negative Breast Cancer a few years ago. I have not read anything about this recently. I was looking into doing this for my daughter at the end. It was very expensive( +$250,000 ) but I was willing to try anything. It was just too late for her and the technology wasn't ready a few years ago.
 
Yes - surgery and you catch it before it goes into your lymph nodes. If it has gone into your lymph nodes then the surgery will not be of any good. The cancer is in your blood and will show up in other organds in time.
 
Good luck......hope that this helps someone because of what Courtney went through.
 
CourtneysDad
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