The doctor at Stanford confirmed what my local doctor told us. I should do chemo. And then she gave us some new information. My cancer is what they call "triplenegative". A the time she told us this info I didn't know much about triple negative breast cancer (TNBC)
Here are some things that I have learned about TNBC:
1) Only 15-20% of all breast cancers are TN
2) It cannot be treated with estrogen, progesterone, or HER2 (growth factor). Thus, triple negative. The most successful treatments for breast cancer target these receptors.
3) TNBC can be particularly aggressive. (mine is)
4) If it returns in less that 5 years it is more likely to recur or metastasize. (mine did in 2 years)
I had the 3 drugs that work the best, so there is not a set protocol for what to do now. The only treatment that can work is chemo, but which drugs?
