Merry Christmas to everyone on this thread xxx
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Hi @mumsy how is it going for you? You must be on the last cycles of Capecitabin, right?
Iām on cycle 4 now, and have no major side effects. My hands are quite dry and reddish though but Iām not sure if itās because of the pills or the dry airā¦
I have also started at cancer rehab center, they booked me with dietitian, physiotherapist and for a couple of group sessions with people my age.
Hi @chita. Hope you had as good a Christmas as possible. Mine was lovely but tiring.
I finished the cape on 4 December. And on 5 December I got the all clear from my last CT scan. I felt hugely relieved but anxiety and low mood have set in since then. I just donāt know how to process everything thatās happened to me.
I go back to work in a week and Iām so anxious about it. So many people and busyness that Iāve lost the habit of. Iām going back in a phased return as I havenāt worked really since October 2024! Iām trying not to think about it because it upsets me.
But I am so glad to be off the treatment and for the side effects to be slowly disappearing. My hands and feet are still very dry and red and I am utterly exhausted.
How long do you have left?
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Hi @mumsy ! Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful time 
Nice with finishing the cape! And huge congrats on the clear scan! Good that you had the scan, I only have a planned mammography next summer (a year after the surgery). Iāll try to ask for one as well when I am done with the cape.
The weird thing is that the nurse doesnāt know how many cycles I should have - 6 or 8, and my doctor moved, so I will have a new one. Did you have 8?
I so understand the processing part, I really struggle with that too. They added me to a bunch of group sessions with people my age in the cancer rehab center, I hope talking about it all and seeing others experiences helpsā¦
I think going back to work might help to feel normal again, even though it will take time to get used to it, of course. Good idea with doing it gradually 
I worked part-time through the whole treatment but when it was over, I felt that I had collapsed and started to burn out, so I went on a 100% sick leave. Not sure when I am ready to go back, Iāll try to listen to my mind and body. But yeah, I donāt know yet how to integrate this whole experience into my life now and just keep living normally again.
My hands and especially cuticles are veeery dry, I am constantly putting oil on them..having dry winter air inside doesnāt help either. But itās not that bad, I can handle it, itās been so much worse before with the treatment.
I wonder if there is some thread dedicated specifically to life after cancer and processing this whole experience. I guess we are at this stage right now.
Hello everyone 
I have found this thread, read through the 300+ posts - and - feel particularly inspired by @anna_x51 and @diamonddapple as well as all you other TN ladies ā¦ I am 51, perimenopausal and I found a lump in my left breast in December ā¦ I was diagnosed last week with Grade 3 Ductal Invasive Triple Negative breast cancer ā¦ I had a biopsy on my lymph nodes, and the results came back as benign - but - my hip and core on my left side (the same side as the breast cancer) ache/hurt constantly so Iāve convinced myself that the aggressive beast has already spread!! Naturally, Iām a positive person but I am absolutely petrified and canāt help thinking the worst 
At the moment, only my husband knows as I want to be able to have all the information to-hand (treatment plan, staging, if itās spread, etc) before telling my daughter (sheās 20, and currently lives in Australia), my family, my close friend and my work) ā¦. but itās exhausting pretending to be ānormalā ā¦
The MDT are discussing me tomorrow and I have an appointment with the Consultant on Thursday ā¦ because of my experience so far with ULTH (Lincoln) and the delays, Iām frightened that the Consultant meeting on Thursday wonāt tell me anything that I donāt already know ā¦ that there will be more delays and this aggressive type will have already grown from when my biopsy was done two weeks ago!
I ended up going privately for the mammogram, ultrasound, biopsies and results because if I had waited for ULTH ā¦ the first appointment from my urgent referral on 2nd January was this week coming!! Transferred back to NHS now.
Apologies ladies for this essay!!! Just āhelloā and this is my story so far ā¦.. being part of a club that I never wanted to be part of ā¦.. 
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Hi @big
I am so sorry to hear that you have joined this little club of ours.
Everyone says the waiting is the worst and it is. I think its normal to think the worst and have all those brutal thoughts running through your head. Its what I did, I think it was my way of coping. I kept myself really busy to try and distract myself.
As soon as I met my oncologist (amazing woman, straight talking with a sense of humour) and had the treatment plan in my hand I felt relieved.. daunted obviously but so relieved and then once treatment started and I was embedded in the routine and care of my chemo nurses it got easier. They are so supportive and told me ābe kind to myselfā and ātake everything in tiny bite sized chunksā. At first that is hard to do, as it is truly terrifying when you find a small lump and in 5 weeks its a tennis ball, but it wasnāt anything that MDT and chemo nurses hadnāt seen before.
When you see your oncologist tell them about the hip pain. They may want you to have a mri. I had an mri at start of treatment as I had terrible back pain prior to finding my lump and the mri highlighted 2 damaged discs. I still have back pain and hip pain but my dexa scan and 6 monthly ct scans are normal, and it is just back and hip pain, I am 53 with high mileage and my body creaks and grumbles.
I am sending you a big virtual hug. let us know how your scan goes and when you get your treatment plan, and if you just need to vent to get it out there. I found it cathartic, just writing on this forum to all the other wonderfully supportive tnbc folk here! Best wishes, Anna xx
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Hi. I was diagnosed in November with TNBC. I 100% agree the waiting is awful. Once I met the oncologist and they talked through the plan my anxiety did reduce. I had to have a few more tests ECG, MRI scan, liver function etc but it was all explained to me by the oncologist. I think once you sit with them they tell you so much but mine definitely did it in an understandable way. (Not medical jargin!).
My particular treatment is 12 weeks of PC chemo weekly and then 12 weeks of EC chemo 3 weekly. Alongside both I have immunotherapy every 3 weeks. Iāll then have surgery to remove and see whatās what after. Iām just telling you this as it might help whilst youāre waiting. Everyone is different though. Treatment is treating me ok so far and Iāve managed with side effects. My advice would be for you to find support groups. Iām based in Manchester and Maggieās is a charity and they run specific support groups for TNBC patients and it felt so much better talking to people with the exact same cancer as me in person. They do have places over the country so look for them. Also to ask questions to nurses and doctors if you donāt understand something or want it clarifying. Youāll be dealing with enough stress and worry, there is no need to add to it. Good luck and fingers crossed you get your plan soon. 
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HELP!
Advice needed and positive vibes tooā¦
Diagnosed with TNBC today, bc diagnosis 23rd January! 18 years after my first (2008) but guess what different bloody boob this time!
Iām a nurse so to say yes itās knocked me big time, itās the shock of the C word! but I also knew in my heart after a finding a new lump again! This time different as it developed a cyst which was biopsied and clear but itās route breast cancerā¦
Fast forward three weeks after further pokes, seeing the breast surgeon and a breast MRIā¦I have a confirmed diagnosis that itās TNBC with no lymph no involvementā¦BUT my MRI has suggested I need further biopsies as itās picked up M3 beneath my tumour?ā¦.tumour measurement 14mm!
Last time I did surgery then chemo and radsā¦..this time chemo has been suggested first?
I guess this is advancements in understanding TNBC, so Iām after your help?
thank you xx tricky road butā¦.im not giving in and neither are any of you, and it was this site that kept my head above water first time around when my kids were 2 and 5, theyāre now 20 and 23! Xxx
Love to you all from the bottom of my heart 
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Hello @buddies ā¦ I was diagnosed with TNBC just-under two weeks ago, and my consultant has told me that the first step is chemotherapy to shrink the 22mm lump ā¦ I had an axillary biopsy yesterday and I have a CT scan booked for next Tuesday, both to see if it has spread and then my treatment plan can be decided ā¦ from reading literature and the Breast Cancer Now site plus the registered charity TNBC site (Iām NOT going down the Google doom-scroll), this is normal for TNBC (chemotherapy first) ā¦ I know that every case is entirely different, but pretty-much the norm for TNBC nowadays ā¦ I hope that this helps maybe a little
Hello @littlejoe16 ā¦ apologies for only just replying ā¦ thank you so much for all the information that you shared ā¦ it is and was (when I first read it) a huge help ā¦. genuinely
Iām now just going through the testing process of axillary and CT scan ā¦ also mainstreaming (genetic testing) ā¦
The process to treatment feels slow, but I understand why and the need for gathering as much information to inform my treatment plan ā¦ Iām just continuing to work, gym, family, all the stuff Iād normally do ā¦ no change!
I hope that youāre ok
Hello @anna_x51 ā¦ huge thanks for your reply, and I do feel grateful for this TNBC group because it seems as if our process and treatment is somewhat / quite different to the hormone-receptor breast cancer so itās reassuring to have contact with women going through or have gone through the same thing
Iāll keep in touch and let you know how Iām doing as this road progresses ā¦. thank you again, so much 
@big helloā¦.thank you so much for your reply, truly means a lot! So good to have someone in the same boat! Just makes the journey easier xxx
Please keep in touch x always here x
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I agree @buddies ā¦ I have found this particular thread super useful even though Iām at the beginning of this TNBC road ā¦ there are inspirational ladies on here who have experienced this type of breast cancer and come out the other side ā¦ for sure, re: keeping in touch ā¦. thatād be lovely
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Hi donāt apologise for the delay. I dealt with the waiting the same as you by keeping busy. Hope your wait isnāt much longer. Here if you need anything and I am so far still doing ok thank you. X
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