Stage II Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Chantal's Survivor Story
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage II
- Biomarkers
- Triple-negative breast cancer; BRCA1 mutation
- Sex
- Female
- Treatment
- chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, risk reducing surgery and surveillance
- Outcome
- Cancer-Free / NED
Treatment course, step by step
- Neoadjuvant chemotherapy started quickly after diagnosis: 4 rounds of a Red Devil regimen every other week
- planned 12 weekly rounds of Taxol stopped after about 4 weeks when a port catheter migrated into the tricuspid valve and triggered an emergency event
- port removed in mid-June
- carboplatin every 3 weeks for 4 cycles / about 16 weeks total chemotherapy
- double mastectomy with lymph-node dissection and expander placement on 30 August 2021
- expanders removed on 4 September 2021 after skin necrosis/allergic reaction to methylene blue dye
- radiation after healing
- total hysterectomy on 12 October 2021 as BRCA1-related risk-reducing surgery
- surveillance with oncology visits, Signatera testing, and bone-density testing.
What happened, in summary
Chantal was 24 and already knew she carried a BRCA1 mutation when she felt a sudden painful lump during a beach trip. Just 1 month earlier, her preventive MRI had looked normal. Because the lump was visible and clearly new, she sought testing quickly. Biopsy confirmed aggressive Stage II triple-negative breast cancer. The stage was driven by local breast disease with lymph-node involvement, not distant spread. Treatment started fast. She received 4 rounds of a Red Devil chemotherapy regimen every other week, which caused severe nausea, constipation, bone pain, fatigue, low blood pressure, dizziness, and vomiting. She was then supposed to receive 12 weekly rounds of Taxol, but treatment stopped after about 4 weeks when her port catheter migrated into the tricuspid valve of her heart and triggered an emergency. The port was removed in mid-June, and she finished chemotherapy through her veins with carboplatin every 3 weeks. On August 30, 2021, she had a double mastectomy, lymph-node dissection, and tissue expanders placed. Four days later, dying skin from an allergic reaction to methylene blue dye forced another surgery to remove the expanders. Radiation followed after healing. Because of BRCA1 and her family history of ovarian cancer, she also had a total hysterectomy on October 12, 2021. As of December 2023, Chantal reported no current cancer and ongoing follow-up with her oncology team.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by The Patient Story. Read the original in full
How we source and attribute stories Accuracy and limitations
These are lay summaries of published cancer stories, for information only. No two cancers behave the same way, and nothing here predicts your own diagnosis or replaces advice from your oncology team. Read the full disclaimer