I think most of us have long been aware of the Canadian study which suggested that after 8 years tnbc patients could be considered ‘cured’ if they had had no recurrence.Has anyone else noticed that many docs are now saying this about 5 years?I first saw this on another forum,I think there are a couple on here but more personally I was astonished when my,usually cautious, oncologist suggested discharging me now[4 and a half years after dx] and said that if my 5 yr mammo was clear,my surgeon would do the same in Oct.I dont understand it.When I was dx I was told these annual checks would be for life!I was too stunned to ask much but when I queried the 4 and a half years he said that tnbc was at its most aggressive in first 2 years then levelled out until by 5 years the risk was ‘negligible’ in those who had had 3rd generation[?] chemo.
Anyone else got any info on this?It would be amazing if true.
I would be interested to know more also. Thanks for posting.
hi hope i dont sound to thick. iam 42 and since my early 20s been having yearly mammograms because of a strong family history with bc. does this mean after 5 years with no signs of bc returning that i will not be able to have yearly mammograms. thanks gaynor xxx
No Gaynor-this is just for people who have had a particular type of breast cancer and is related to statistical chance of breast cancer coming back for those women.I assume from your post that you havent actually had/got bc and your ongoing checks should continue.As will mine for as long as I want to[I pay for mammos]I am just talking about what appears to be a slight shift in medical opinion.
Stay well
Valx
hi val.
i was dx with bc in oct 2009 with grade and stage 1. i could not feel the lump it was a routine mammogram that picked it up. the mammogram was clear the year before. iam just so glad that i have been going since i was in my 20s. thanks for your help and advice xxx gaynor
Hi I was diagnosed with bilateral triple neg bc in Sept 2008. I asked my onc about the ‘magic number’ and was told there was no such. I was told that triple neg is more likely to return within two years and obviously the longer there is no evidence the better. I was told initially I would be monitored for ‘life’ but have since been diagnosd as BRCA2 carrier so am back to hosp appts regarding double masectomy.
I do think we triple negs are left a bit in the dark after surgery,chemo etc. Great to read all of the positives on here they have kept me going.
Take care
Brendax
I would be interested in more info on this too - as you say Val, it would be amazing.
Loula
The reason I posted was that I was originally told that I would be monitored for life but at my last onc appt he said that thinking had changed.It cant be to save money as I have always paid to have checks privately so I dont have to wait for results.At the same time someone on another bc forum said last week that she had been told that if she stayed free of bc for 5 years she would be ‘cured’.I have read a couple of similar stories here and will look to see if I can link to them.If it isnt the case I dont understand why my onc would say he didnt need to see me again.
hi fellow TNers
i was at a study day ‘oncology masterclass for TNBC’ a couple of months ago and was shown evidence that most relapses for TN was within the first 2 years and if you didnt have a relapse within 3 years you were unlikely to get one as the relapse rate dropped dramatically and that if you had no evidence of relapse by 5 years they would consider you to be ‘cured’.
at my hosp they monitor us at the clinic for 5 years (clinical exam and mammo) and annual mammo for another 5 years or more until you reach age 50… however i have brca 2 so would then be on 18 monthly screening based on my gene status rather than my tumour status.
ill see if i can dig out the info i got from the study day… it was quite convincing as 3 of the speakers went over the same thing and showed similar slides showing how recurrence rates dropped off between 2-3 years.
in addition to those BRCA peeps i have read that we have even better outcome too.
Lxx
Hi Ladies
My oncologist told me that if it didn’t come back within 2 years I should have a massive party as it probably wouldn’t come back at all…now, did he mean 2 years from finding lump (found March 2009) or 2 years from removal of lump (removed October 2009). Either I should have had a party by now or be planning one! LOL
Faye
Hello everyone,
I saw my onc last night and he told me the same, with triple neg BC, if it doesn’t come back within the first 3 years from the end of chemo then it is unlikely to come back at all.
Also another interesting thing he said is that if you have had a full response to chemo, i.e. no evidence of disease by the end of chemo (before surgery and rads), then your are less likely to have a recurrence. I was intrigued by this statement and queried: “if someone still has cancer cells after chemo, they would have further treatment” to which he said, not necesseraly as more chemo might not make any difference.
So it’s not all bad for us TNBC…
xx
Yes ive heard the same 5 years ? ! I used to hate the thought of getting old but now I HOPE & cant wait to reach 50 in one piece recurrance free I can only hope
Mekala