I'm Jules, 40, from the UK and I'm now a not-so-newbie to the site.  I'm so pleased to have found a forum for 3negs as there seems to be so little info on the net about treatment options available and research being undertaken. 

 

I was dx Aug2006 with 3neg grade 3 invasive ductal carcinoma (tumour 17mm) but I have a history of Hodgkin's Lymphoma treated with VAPEC-B chemo plus 20 x radiotherapy to mantle field 14 years prior to BC dx.  I have a strong family history of breast/ovarian cancer (though my mother has tested negative for BRCA1) but I have been advised by both my local and regional oncologists that the BC was caused by the particular radiotherapy I received in 1992. 

 

It has recently been proved that women treated with radiotherapy (to the mantle field/chest area) at under 35 yrs for Hodgkins Lymphoma are at very high risk of developing breast cancer before they reach 50. For this reason the UK's NHS oncologists and BC consultants now recommend that such women should receive annual mammograms and advice on measures of risk reduction.  I've been having annual mamms since the programme was established in 2004 and this is how my BC was discovered at an early stage just 2 years later in 2006.

 

In Aug06 I had a full mastectomy, left side, with level II node clearance (nodes were found clear) and in Oct06 I started chemo of 6 x 3-weekly cycles of IV Docetaxel (Taxotere) plus 6 x 3-weekly cycles of Capecitabine (Xeloda) - chemo finished mid Feb2007.

 

All has gone well post-chemo but because of the high risk of recurrence I opted to have a prophylactic right side mastectomy at the end of Oct2007. I was given the 'all clear' after a CT in Dec 2007.

 

I would be pleased to hear from/chat/share info with anyone who has a knowledge of Breast Cancer after treatment for Hodgkin's Lymphoma and would be pleased to talk to anyone who can point me in the right direction for any research on this very small sub-group of BC.

 

Thanks for listening  and very best wishes for 2008

 

Jules