Hello all,
I had a lumpectomy and SNB on 10th May and got the results last Friday - definitely TNBC, nothing in the 4 nodes taken and no evidence of lymphovascular invasion. Originally I was told it was 2 lumps next to each other 18mm by 15mm and histology said 21mm in total. The consultant said there was another 4mm as well but the margins were clear. So all of that sounded okay / better than expected to me.
I have my oncology appt tomorrow and know I will have chemo but I’m not sure if questions to ask - I’m not very good at thinking of things beforehand and then end up fretting in the middle of the night. What sort of things should I be asking??
Although I’m dreading chemo and outcome of genetics, I’m very anxious about recurrence.
Any advice would be gratefully received.
Hi milly70
I’m TN too, though no one mentioned it during my primary treatment. I think they focused on the hormone receptive tumour I had. It’s very early days for you so questions can be difficult to ask at the time but you can always ring your breast care nurse later.
I have two pieces of advice from 5 years’ experience:
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Forget the idea that TN is hard to treat. Things are changing rapidly. At least 2 new drugs have appeared on the scene, along with immunotherapy and other treatments, so treatment options specific to TN are now available, with good success rates.
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No amount of knowledge or understanding is going to change outcomes. Exercise is proven to be effective in primary treatment, as well as dietary changes and psychological improvements like meditation, yoga or mindfulness. But the real difference is made by your treatments and you can’t do much there (even Dr Liz O’Riordon who now does podcasts etc learnt that even breast cancer surgeons have to trust their teams to get it right. So decide - are you someone who needs control by being armed with knowledge someone may listen to OR can you let it go, trust your team and have relative peace of mind? You can save yourself from a lot of anxiety with trust.
Wishing you all the best,
Jan x