I am a 12 year TNBC (Triple-negative breast cancer) Thriver. There are three segments to my journey.
The Journey To:
The journey started when I was 31. I was referred to a surgeon because of a large lump in the right breast. It turned out to be a fluid cyst, which was aspirated in the surgeon’s office. He explained that a fluid mass was less likely to be cancerous than a solid mass, but he diligently created slides with each aspiration over the years, that were sent for analysis. That was the beginning of a 26 year time frame of having multiple fluid cysts aspirated from both breasts. The cysts eventually led to cancer when one of them was solid, resulting in my cancer diagnosis at age 57.
The Journey Through:
The second journey started with the diagnosis of invasive ductile carcinoma, stage 2. My surgeon, who was an old friend by then, started to discuss surgery options: lumpectomy versus mastectomy. Before he could say anything further, I said, “Take it off, because I don’t want anything for it to come back in. And while you’re at, it can you take the left one too?” Sixteen days later I underwent a right mastectomy and sentinel node procedure. After the procedure I had TNBC diagnosed in my initial oncologist appointment. Fortunately, there was no lymph node involvement, but due to the aggressive form of the disease, chemo was suggested as optional. The decision was mine to contemplate. I chose to have six months of chemo to be administered every 21 days. They explained that I would lose my hair, so when it started to go, I had friends bring clippers to buzz my head. I lost every hair on my body but fortunately, it grew back. Taxol was rough on my legs, and now there is lingering neuropathy in my feet.
The Journey Continues:
The last journey is reconstruction. After many doctor appointments to learn methods available in my area, I thought there had to be something better. I researched online and discovered DIEP (deep inferior epigastric perforators) surgery. I chose to seek procedure by the surgeon who pioneered the procedure. Two years after my original mastectomy, I travelled out of state to have my left breast removed and the reconstruction of both using my own abdominal tissue. Because I had taken time to get healthier and lose a bit of weight, I got through surgery and recovery more easily.
