TRIPLE POSITIVE GROUP

thanks, I'm not too worried about it. How big is the shot? I would rather have strong bones and honestly, I try to be religious about the calcium, but it's probably 70/30, so I wasn't stunned.  Bone scan was negative. Hip pain must just be from Arimidex, or something I did while walking in that boot for 8 weeks. 

Onward and upward! Cymbalta must really be working....went to a yoga class tonight and made it through pain free! 

My Prolia comes in a cartridge with a small sub-q needle that looks just like the Neulasta injection.

amylsp-welcome to an unwelcome situation! Hope all goes well with your chemo. There is tons of info on the threads that were so helpful to me, and still continue to be.

Lago-I have to look, lol. In fact, I focus on it while they do it. Just got my flu shot last week and that was a piece of cake so that's good. SpecialK-I never had neulasta. They said my side effects could be mild flulike symptoms and some joint pain. I was just sitting here thinking how stupid I was to schedule it for Monday if I might feel crummy all week. I'll just hope for the best. 

Stuff I can't watch is taking out stitches. Just freaks me out, and I tried not to look at the expander injection needles, or when he drew out fluid. Kind of made me want to throw up.

Welcome amylsp.  I started chemo in August and am halfway through my fourth round. I will have surgery after my sixth round is done. Welcome to the group, though sorry you've had to find your way here.

welcome amylsp!

Just stopping by to say hi. Hope all of you.. especially those in active treatment... Are  doing well!

Three years ago on Halloween had my sentinel node biopsy and had Pumpkin , my power port, inserted.

Today I did yoga, went to gym and will do a mountain hike before greeting trick or treaters:) It does get better:) Hang in....

Happy haunting & be safe everyone:)

Hi everyone, I'm another newbie!  I was diagnosed last month and feel like I ought to receive an honorary PhD in small triple pos tumors for all the research I've done!  It's how I've been coping with all the treatment uncertainty that comes with a (happily) small Her2 pos tumor. After a few MO visits all with different opinions, I got referred by Kaiser to UCSF  for a Dana Farber clinical trial of Kadcyla vs herceptin/taxol. It will be a couple weeks until I know which treatment I'll get, so I'm trying to enjoy this pre chemo time and not worry too much about the future. Easier said than done!  I'm delighted to have found this wonderful group of women to learn from and support!

princess....Cymbalta is actually an anti anxiety med. When I was diagnosed, I sent myself into a panic disorder,so the doc prescribed it. She chose it because I would be getting taxol, which causes joint pain, and a bonus to Cymbalta is it helps relieve joint pain. It also intersects with tamoxifen, so I had to stop when I started it. By that time, though, I really didn't need it.  I have noticed in the last several months that I feel stressed over little things and didn't feel like I was moving forward very well. Then, when my onc died, it was really hard. So I talked to my PCP who suggested that now I was on Arimidex, I could feel free to take it again. I didn't right away, but when I started to have all kinds of joint pain, everywhere, I decided it was time. The lack of joint pain has helped me feel so much more normal. 

A note though....it is not fun to withdraw from. You have to do it slowly over a period of time. Gives you weird brain zaps.

Lago....in the tummy? Ouch.

I've done a flu shot for a lot of years. Haven't really had the flu.

Happy Halloween from Dirty Harry and me!

TTfan, welcome.  I hadn't heard about Kadcyla before, so if you do end up on that protocol I will be very curious to follow your progress.  It sounds like a treatment that tries to hone in on just the HER2 cells without destroying everything else. That would be some real progress in the chemo world.

Hello, I am new to this forum and just need to hear and speak to others going through this.  I was healthy 46 year old mom enjoying life.  Mammo's, paps every year.  This year the woman taking my mammogram asked me the normal questions (any pain, discharge or numbness in either breast?) and I mentioned, when I sleep on my right side, my breast hurts.  She decided to take a 3d image and that is when the found the 5.9cm tumor hiding under dense breast tissue.   Could not feel it and it had been missed for several years, my doctor told me with the size and spread, it's been there a good 4-5 years.  Great!  After biopsy, IDC diagnosis, I opted for a double mastectomy when my gene test came back positive for several mutated genes.  My double mast surgery was 9/29.  I've been diagnosed 3B Triple Positive.  Seven of the nine nodes taken were infected.  The first oncologist I went to said basically "here is your treatment plan, but even when you are through, there is only a 25 percent chance you will live for a year".  I was shocked.  Today I spent the day at Cancer Treatment Centers of America with my kids and husband and they feel they can help me.

My concern is, advanced stage, triple positive. I'm not seeing many remission stories.   I've researched Herceptin since that seems to be the plan to try to stop the HER2.

Anyone out there gone through the treatment for this advanced stage?

Hi Annemarie85!

I agree with kathec. Don't know the full details but what he/she said doesn't quite make sense. 

I know women who are stage IV for more than 10 years!!!

They are making great strides with her2 pos breast  cancer !

Welcome TTfan and Annemarie. As others have said this is a great place to get help and encouragement from others who have been there. There are a lot of wonderful ladies here!

Is there a risk of having less effectiveness of radiation with expanders in place?  I have asked to meet with radiation oncologist before my surgery, but wondering if others have info on this?

I've been having this mild hip pain which I can't attribute to injury (other than extended periods of carrying a toddler on it) and I got myself all worked up last weekend. (You know - you convince yourself it's cancer and start planning your future accordingly. All night long...) Since I didn't get any sleep, I called my MO first thing the next day. Except she's on a 6-month leave so I end up talking with an alternate who assures me that my chance of relapse  is "slim to negative" and that I should contact my family doctor. Pre-cancer, a sore hip wouldn't have taken me to the doctor's office. So I went to a chiropractor that I like and he says it's mechanical, possibly an imbalance of muscle development from cycling (which keeps your leg moving on a single plane of motion). But he's not a cancer expert. I'm not feeling as anxious about it but should I take this more seriously and try to get some imaging done? Or wait and see how the adjustments go and if strengthening improves the situation? This hip also gave me trouble during pregnancy so it's possible it's just a weak area for me, and that could be compounded by my ESD (as Lago calls them) Tamoxifen. SpecialK, did you get any answers on your hip pain?

Hi newbies, sorry you've had to go through this, but this forum has been extremely helpful to me throughout.  I'm now finished with chemo, finished radiation last Tuesday & started Tamoxifen yesterday.  Only major SE lately is joint pain, mostly in my hands.  Still experiencing my arms falling asleep at night, but the RO and MO both tell me it will pass.  I had asked the MO about whether I should get a flu shot and she said no.  Think maybe it's too soon past chemo.  Thanks to all those who've helped me get this far and given me a heads up on what to expect and questions to ask.

Hi! I'm a newbie here. I am finishing up neoadjuvant chemo the first week of December. Then, we'll do some scans, and I'll have to decide on my surgery. I think the surgeon was hoping that my 5 cm lump would shrink enough to do a lumpectomy rather than a mastectomy. Well, after AC X 4 and Taxol/Herceptin/Perjeta, I can't really feel the lump anymore (but I'm assuming there's probably something small lingering around there). But, I'm wondering.... Yes, I'm triple positive and the lump was Grade 3 -- is a lumpectomy enough for a cancer that was "growing like kudzu in the lab" as MO put it? After surgery, I'd be doing rads and more Herceptin, then presumably hormone therapy (Tamoxifen -- I'm premenopausal). Just wondering what others think.