I had just felt a small lump in my left breast and assumed it was benign because I have no family history of breast cancer. After a mammogram, an ultrasound and a biopsy the diagnosis was confirmed. My treatment team decided that my plan is surgery, egg retrieval, chemotherapy and then radiation. Next year I will schedule reconstructive surgery. Luckily, I did not need a mastectomy and it seems so far that the cancer is just in my left breast. 

TNBC is the most aggressive form of breast cancer and is always "grade 3" meaning that it grows at the fastest rate. Since the cancer does not respond to hormones, no hormonal treatments are available and therefore treatments must be aggressive. The survival rate after 5 years right now is about 91%--the only scary part is that if the cancer comes back the outcomes are much worse. So the hope is to take care of it once and for all now.

I had a lumpectomy on 3/18/21 and a sentinel node biopsy. The tumor was about 2cm. They removed it and the margins were clear.

Since chemotherapy decreases fertility, I was able to do an egg retrieval process prior to starting the treatment. This began in April and meant 2 weeks of multiple self administered shots, daily labs and a vaginal ultrasound every other day. Luckily, the process went well and they were able to retrieve 15 viable eggs. So, if chemotherapy makes it difficult for conception in the future, we have some security. 

I am currently doing 4 rounds of Taxotere and Cyclophosphamide chemotherapy. I just completed the 3rd infusion on 6/1/21. I have been using a cold cap to try to prevent hair loss. The cold cap is a device you put on your head during chemo that chills your scalp. I have been able to keep a lot of hair so far but have lost probably 50% or so. Chemo effects everyone differently and my TC chemotherapy is not as intense as many other versions of chemo but it is hard. Nausea, loss of appetite, lack of energy, bone pain and skin issues have been hard to manage. I'm taking steroids to keep my immune system up and those impact my sleep. I've been having some neuropathy in my feet but have been doing acupuncture weekly and that has been very helpful. 

I will start radiation 2-4 weeks after my final chemo infusion. It will be 5 days per week for 3-6 weeks depending on the state of my labs.