Hi everyone my wife has just been diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in her bones. We are still waiting on the scan results but we are very worried as she is only 36 and have two boys aged 4 and 1. we have been told it’s incurable and the bc was triple negative so that complicates things. She was diagnosed with bc 11 months ago and went through chemo, radio and a mastectomy as well as tablet chemo. We thought it was all gone and she was getting better. Is anyone in the same situation and can offer advice? My wife is heartbroken about missing the boys growing up and leaving me but we have no idea how long she can be here for.
Hello Chris, afraid I’m not in a position to offer advice as although I have secondary bc in my upper spine, I’m not triple negative, but I didn’t want to just move on and ignore your post. From what you’ve said you’re still waiting on some results, once you have those hopefully your wife won’t have to wait too long for a treatment plan to be put in place, and I think most ladies on here agree that helps a lot. I’m sure someone in a similar position, or who can offer more than advice than me, will post soon. Sending you both a big hug…Kate xx
Sadly Chris, all I can do is send a hug to you and your wife and hope that someone can come on here to help you. Truly difficult times for you and the family, but hang on in there for scan results - waiting, wondering, your minds in turmoil, we can only imagine how you are both feeling right now.
Wishing you strength xx
Thanks,
We will find out the scan results tomorrow then see if it’s spread even further than we already know about. Then we might get some answers about time and treatment plan but the doctors and said definitely more chemo probably carboplaton (spelling?) and possibly immunotherapy trials. It’s seems the cancer is very aggressive as it’s spread while she was on chemo. The chemo she had which was two different iv types didn’t have much effect on the original tumor so they stopped it early and went straight to surgery.
I truly wish your wife, yourself and family the best possible outcome, such difficult times for you.
I hope someone might be able to come here and advise, and maybe once the Bank Holiday is over, there may be someone on the BCC Helpline you could talk with? I think sometimes they have volunteers on the phones who have personal experiences of particular situations, and maybe they can help. I do hope so, and that you get all the information and support that you so need.
x
H Chris, Its so unfair that you are facing this with such a young family, cancer really has no conscience sadly.
We do have triple negative ladies across the forum so I hope someone will come along soon who can give you move advice than we can.
If you haven’t already then I suggest ringing the helpline here, they may be able to put you in touch with someone who is in the same situation that you can talk to.
Chemo is the main treatment for TN so your wife will likely be on it in one form or another from now on but never give up hope, it may not be curable but it can be very treatable, ladies here are 10 plus years on with secondaries.
Xx
So today we got the results of the scan and found out that the cancer has spread into her lung however the dr’s are not too worried about that. When my wife asked how much time she would have we were told it would be months instead of years due to the aggressive nature of the cancer having spread while my wife was having chemo. Gutted doesn’t cover it, my wife is devastated but determined to prove them wrong.
Devastated for you Chris, and your dear wife. No words can be enough today, but I am truly so sad.
It isn’t much help, but please tell her that people who don’t even know her are in her corner, and we’re behind you all the way. With great affection to you both and your children. x
Hi Chris So sorry to hear of your wife’s secondary diagnosis. I have primary triple negative cancer and am a member of the Triple Negative Warriors UK Facebook group. I strongly recommend your wife joins this group as she will find many other ladies in the same position and similar ages as it typically affects the 30 - 50 years age group. There is lots of support and you can find out about the treatments and clinical trials available to those with a secondary TN diagnosis. Research into Triple Negative BC is moving very fast now and not all hospitals are up to date so the Facebook group is invaluable as it has over 600 members from across the UK happy to share their knowledge and to offer love and support. There is plenty of hope and I know of people on the site who have proved their medical teams wrong.
I am so sorry Chris to hear about your wife and saddened by the impact on you all x
I too have triple negative breast cancer that has metastasised to my skin and is spreading quite rapidly. Although I am now on Eribulin chemo, after 2 cycles I cannot yet see an improvement.
I looked up the work of professor Andy Tutt which looks hopeful though still early days. Have you thought about a second opinion to The Christie, Royal Marsden or Guy’s. Also molecular intelligence is a good way of understanding the makeup of the tumour and options for treatment or trials.
i have good days and bad days and although a bit older than your wife (55) am not ready to contemplate dying. If she would like to communicate/chat, I am very happy to do this.
Hoping and praying for some positive treatment and support
Hi Chris, I too have triple negative breast cancer that has spread, I was on chemo and my scan also,showed a further spread. However, I then moved to a different chemo regime and this has managed to stabilise things for a while. it is a devastating diagnosis and my oncologist initially gave me 6-12 months. I am now 13 months in and feeling really well. I am older than your wife but do not believe this changes anything with this tnbc terrible disease. I hope her oncologist upis able to offer a different regime that will make a difference. Best wishes.
Thank you all I’ll keep u updated as things develop x