Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Susan's Patient Story

What happened, in summary

Susan was 72 when she shared a long history with breast cancer. Her first diagnosis began in 2000, when her husband, a physician, felt a small hard lump in her left breast. A fine needle aspiration missed the cancer 3 times, but surgical removal showed the lump was malignant. At MD Anderson, Susan had a lumpectomy with additional margin surgery and sentinel node biopsy. Five lymph nodes were removed and all were negative. Her oncologist recommended chemotherapy and radiation. She received 6 IV chemotherapy treatments 3 weeks apart, though she no longer remembered the regimen name. Anti-nausea medicines caused allergic reactions early on, and one treatment was especially hard when antiemetics were missed. She then completed 6.5 weeks of radiation and continued follow-up mammograms every 6 months, then yearly. The results stayed negative, and 10 years later she celebrated a cancer-free anniversary. In 2015, Susan was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. In 2021, a change in the appearance of her nipple led to mammogram and biopsy. This cancer was different: estrogen-positive and progesterone-positive, and not metastatic. Susan chose bilateral mastectomy without reconstruction, with aesthetic flat closure, because the tumor was under the nipple. As of August 2023, she was on a 5-year estrogen blocker and continuing to adjust emotionally to life after surgery.