Monday, July 13, 2009

Triple Negative Breast Cancer

My friend started her breast cancer treatment this past Friday. It is always, at least to me, easier on my brain for me to be the one affected by something instead of my family or friends. It makes me feel very helpless to not be able to 'fix it' for everybody.

I only learned about Triple Negative Breast Cancer about six months ago. What that means in a nutshell is that the cancer is not hormone receptive. So the normal drugs used to surpress estrogen, progestrone or HER2 won't work.

My friend is taking part in a clinical trial at Stanford. She is doing the chemo treatments first and then they will determine if she will still need surgery. I hope she doesn't, but I think, I myself, would always be afraid in the future that the cancer had a better chance of coming back if they didn't just get it out of there.

On the other hand I know my friend has done her research and is taking the treatment course that has the best possibility of success.

Maybe one day there will be no more lumpectomies or mastectomies and we can keep the boobs we were born with. Some women may not be happy with their real boobs but I for one would have liked to have a better option than mastectomy or die.

I hope for my friend and all the women to come that the medical community will continue to make strides so that more women in the future don't have to consider these choices.

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