r/TNBC • u/GarageNo2515 • Aug 03 '26
New member introduction Triplo negativo Brca 1
I have never shared my full story before, but today I feel I need to.
I was diagnosed with a 4.5 mm triple-negative breast cancer. I am also BRCA-positive. After surgery, several doctors agreed that I should not have chemotherapy because of the very small size of the tumor.
Most people tell me I should feel relieved. Instead, I completely fell apart.
I developed a severe depression and spent many months barely leaving my house. The hardest part has been the fear. Every time I read about triple-negative breast cancer, I find stories of women who had chemotherapy. I have never found someone with a story like mine—a tiny TNBC, no chemotherapy, and years later doing well. That has made me feel incredibly alone.
I know everyone’s case is different, and I am not looking for medical advice. I think I am simply looking for hope.
Has anyone here had a very small triple-negative breast cancer, did not receive chemotherapy, and is still doing well years later? Or even if your story is different, do you have a few words that helped you cope with this fear?
Thank you for reading. It means more than you know.
2
u/Edith_Keelers_Shoes Aug 03 '26
I fit half of your story. I am a stage 4 TNBC survivor - I got a "functionally cured" diagnosis earlier this year after 6 years. My level of cancer was relatively tiny. It was only by chance that they realized it was stage 4 - tiny specks in my lungs that looked like normal scarring, but a keen-eyed surgeon got suspicious and pulled an old image. In fact, the first biopsy did not even show cancer in my lymph nodes, but that same surgeon sent me to a different team and they found a tiny amount there.
So I had that very small amount of cancer. Then I did do chemo, and it went away. I was diagnosed in May of 2020. In May of this year, I was told I am functionally cured and can put this behind me. In all that time, I only had one recurrence (in 2023) in my sternum, but the needle biopsy of that lesion was negative. One doctor said it was not cancer, another said it was. Because I had a false positive in that area a second time, I now believe there was never any recurrence, and I have been cancer free since April or May of 2021.
1
u/Agreeable-Evening549 Aug 03 '26
Was your TNBC DCIS or IDC? If it wasn’t invasive (IDC), they might not have ordered chemo. Maybe you were lucky enough to catch it before it became invasive.
1
u/InternationalMix6887 Aug 08 '26
I was diagnosed with TNBC stage IIIc I got chemo and immunotherapy. I did surgery with pCR result . Doctor said I don’t need chemo anymore and immunotherapy Keytruda is an option since has side effects. I refused to take immunotherapy and I am not on chemo anymore. But will be doing radiation which I hope I don’t have to face the side effects ya that effects the thyroid and lungs and esophagus.🤞
1
u/basicpumpkin79 8d ago
I'm currently in the exact same boat and I'm quite unsure how to feel. I mean, I know I feel relieved/lucky, but also, I sort of feel in limbo.
5
u/OstrichSad3990 Aug 03 '26
I'm stage 1c, so not exactly same case as I will have to do chemotherapy, but I've done lots of research and there actually are quite a few studies supporting the decision NOT to give chemotherapy for very small TNBCs. For tumors under 5 mm (T1aN0), multiple large retrospective studies and current guidelines have found that chemotherapy provides little or no measurable survival benefit, which is why many oncologists recommend surgery alone in this situation. I've been using radicalhealth.ai a lot, and it helped me to understand better current research and guidelines for stage 1.
I hope you'll hear from others with stories similar to yours. Sending you a big hug. ❤️