TRIPLE POSITIVE GROUP

Congrats to .Special K, Lago, PBrain, and Geewhiz!  Love seeing those anniversaries!!

Thanks everyone!!!  So nice!

Ditto what SpecialK said...thanks guys 

wow congratulations to special k, pbrain, Lago, geewhiz and ashla! 😄

lago - have you decided about your AI plan when year 5 is done?

Thanks everyone!  I now cry at the "happy birthday" commercials for American Cancer Society.  ;-)

And Ashla, the communications team at my job came out with a horrific campaign for pinktober the year I was diagnosed.  They had beautifully done posters all over the campus with a difficult message of "I lost my Mommy", "I lost my sister", etc.  They were splashed everywhere and it was that scary time where you are waiting for the MRI results to see if there are more tumors, and the path on the primary biopsy--are you triple negative, her 2+ whatcha got?-- and you still don't know tumor size or node involvement.

I know the message is important, but sometimes these people all have to step back and think.  In a company with over 3000 employees on our campus, there were likely a few of us suffering through their pinktober campaign.  My timing was piss poor because I was still gathering information and seeing posters about all the death and destruction the disease can cause was definitely not helping me.

debiann - yay for you!  I hope each day is better than the last - it is a tough recovery.  Take it easy if you can!

My mom is 80 years old, triple positive and had a mastectomy this week. They tested 1 lymphnode and it was benign. She will see the surgeon to get the pathology report on Tuesday and will see the Oncologist some time after. If what I am understanding about Herceptin is true, she will not be a candidate for that treatment unless she is at a grade 3 or more. We do not know her grades and stages. I know if i am patient I will find out what the Oncologist recommends, but I was hoping to find out what you think some of her options might be. Thanks!

Hey Debiann - good to see you - hope your recovery goes as easy as possible!  Wow that is a long surgery and I don't know what "dropped foot" is - I will have to google it.  Funny about cats - I have two - one is a lover boy and always wants to be by my side - the other is very playful but not a cuddle cat.  However, he will not leave me alone since my first chemo - he sits next to me and purrs so loud that I have to turn the tv up lol.  

Welcome Pstolli - the requirement for herceptin is HER2+ on the pathology - was she her2+ on the pathology for her biopsy?  I don't know if her age would have anything to do with it but I am sure someone will chime in that does know.  My pathology on both the biopsy and BMX came back as grade 1 - which is highly suspect for her2 cause it is usually at least grade 2, and as you can see I am doing herceptin. 

Ugh Pbrain on those posters!  That must have been horrible.  Maybe you should suggest that there should be a suggestion group composed of BC survivors to help decide the pinktober promotions going forward.  

Until BC I never realized how much on tv in October contains pinktober stuff.  It does bother me and it bothers me that it bothers me - you know what I mean?  I like Specialk's goal in this as far trying to get more of the focus on research rather than awareness - that is what I am telling everyone now.   

We already know that she is Her2+.  We don't know the grade.  Thanks

Pstolli

Her age and overall health will be a major factor in her treatment plan. Things are changing in the protocols for triple positives lately but a given has been if you are determined her2 pos , you get herceptin. 1 year if you can tolerate it. Given. 

The rest of us traditionally got the works... Lumpectomy or mastectomy , chemo w/ herceptin, rads if you kept breast and even for some w/mx , and anti estrogen meds for at least 5 years. Now perjeta has been added and they seem to be dropping some of chemo if the path  looks good.

JeniferE

Have not heard of shortened regimes except when people are not able to withstand the side effects.

I had neo adjuvant chemo ... Taxol instead of  your taxotere...and had a complete response but there was no discussion of shortening anything unless  absolutely necessary.

Hi Ladies,

A quick note to send a big congratulations to those meeting milestones! Yeah and yeah again!

And welcome-but I am sorry you had to join us-to the newbies. This is the best place-even if you lurk and jump in occasionally or post every day--or ask for help with what normally would be considered not for public discussion.  So what should I do about the massive dripping 'rrhoids? 

Pinktober. I still hate it. Even though I try to focus on research. My first year I had completed 4 rounds of DD cytoxin and adriamycin. Went to have the MRI to tell me the amazing progress the Mega Mass had made in the shrinkage route. None. Not squat. And there were 2 new shadows that were not present on ANY of the MRIs, mammos, yada yada yada from before. 3 weeks later--still in Pinktober the MRI was repeated because it had to be wrong. And I started DD Taxol and herceptin. Nope. Mega Mass remains, and another shadow joins in. And PBrain---that must have been a mass thought among health care that year. The facility my surgeon uses-in another town, the facilities in my community, and the cancer center ALL had similiar ideas. "Do it for your sister! She loves you!" "Do it for your mom". "Do it for yourself" "Please, mom do it. Don't die!" I personally call bull butter. Lovely friends still give me T-shirts and pins and I wear them. I am humbled at the love and support I continue to receive. 

On a totally gross and disgusting note. My $#%$^# ex-husband still has not responded to finalize the property settlement. But sent a text earlier telling me he would pay to have my cell upgraded. Upgrade my cell versus coming clean with what he actually owes. Nope. Not a chance. 

JeniferE, I wanted to second what lago said.  I view having chemo first as some extra insurance in getting rid of any cancer cells that we can't see on imaging.  I feel the bigger of my two tumors shrinking, which is great, but I don't know what's happening to the other one, or the lymph node.  And I don't know if even one or two cells had traveled elsewhere, as that wouldn't show up.  And it only takes one to get out there and start doing its thing.  So I think if 6 is the prescribed course of treatment then we should look forward (ha ha) to doing all 6.  

I see that we're on similar paths and started chemo within days of each other.  I'm sown in So Cal, south of Santa Barbara.

I had neo adjuvant chemo almost 2 years ago, and had a pCR, which was confirmed by surgery.  When I had 29 nodes removed during ALND surgery, none tested positive for cancer. There are others on this site that have also had pCR, hopefully they will chime in also.