Stage IV TNBC

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all doing well.

I may as well jump right in. Someone very, very close to me has recently received a stage 4 TNBC diagnosis....two small tumours on her lungs. She's mid seventies and in otherwise really good health.

I've committed the cardinal sin of researching her diagnosis on Google and am sick with worry as a result. I know this is the most aggressive type of BC with limited treatment options compared to other BCs.

We've just embarked on oral chemo and radiation but I know the long term prognosis is very poor (12% five year survival rate).

I guess I was wondering if you have any advice for the journey ahead? There are so few positive stories for this type of cancer.

Thanks for reading all and I truly hope you and your loved ones are doing well.

Moderator Ben over 4 years ago

Hi Macha101,
Welcome to Cancer Chat. Firstly I'm very sorry to hear about the situation with this person.
It sounds as if she and you are still waiting to find out all the information about this, so once you get that then you will hopefully have a better idea of what to expect. It's always best to speak to the person's doctor/specialist for this, as answers on Google can be quite general.
It is a little cliched but try to take things a day at a time, wait to see the situation, and then you'll hopefully have a better idea of how to support her - while of course also looking after yourself.
Hopefully this forum can offer some support to you as well, as I'm sure there will be others here who have been through or are going through something similar.
Wishing you all the best,
Ben
Cancer Chat Moderator
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Offline Macha101 over 4 years ago in reply to Moderator Ben

Hi Ben,

Thanks for your reply....you're right it's still early days and chemo and radiation has just started.

The doctors have rightly said not to look at Google but I did anyway. They said the cancer had spread to the lungs, was a type of cancer that was more common in black/pre-menopausal women and had a genetic component (yet to be confirmed if the BRCA gene is present) so I know it has to be either stage IV inflammatory breast cancer or TNBC. But I am keeping my learnings to myself and letting the medical professionals guide us.

This person was like a mother to me. She looked after me since I was six weeks old when my own biological mother got sick and subsequently died of BC many years ago. I don't want to say she is my mother but that is how I view her...

I am just reaching out in the hope of hearing some positive stories of others who have faced this diagnosis.

Thank you for your advice Ben.
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