All breast cancers aren’t created equal and the triple-negative kind is one you need to know everything about. According to recent studies, even though only about 20 percent of breast cancer diagnoses fall into this category, African American women are disproportionately affected. Additionally, the data shows that Black women have higher mortality rates because their treatment options aren’t always explored quickly enough.
If you’re dealing with triple-negative breast cancer, you need to know what discussions to have with your doctor.
What Exactly Is Triple-Negative Breast Cancer?
The typical forms of breast cancer are affected by one of three hormones - estrogen, progesterone, and human epidermal growth factor (HER2).
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Triple-negative breast cancer, however, is not caused by any hormonal changes.
That means the disease will not respond to the hormone-based medications that doctors usually use as a first option for treating breast cancer.
It’s essential to get this type of cancer under control quickly because it progresses quickly and is most likely to spread from the breast tissue where it originated. Triple-negative breast cancer is also typically diagnosed at a higher stage than other types of cancers.
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How Is It Diagnosed?
The only way to diagnose triple-negative cancer is to go through all the steps to rule out the other cancer types. Those steps include identifying the location of the tumor or tumors and taking samples.
These samples will then be tested to confirm the presence of cancer, the type, and the stage.
It would be at the typing stage of the process that your doctor realizes
that you have triple-negative breast cancer.
What Are Your Treatment Options?
Having been diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, your doctor will want to discuss the different treatment options with you. These are the ways in which your cancer might be treated.
- Radiation - In this type of therapy, high-energy radiation is used to eliminate cancer cells in the body. Depending on the stage of your cancer, it might be deployed by itself or after surgery.
- Chemotherapy - This option is helpful when the cancer cells have spread throughout the body. If you’re going to undergo surgery, neoadjuvant chemotherapy will be used to shrink the tumor so surgery will be easier. After the surgery, adjuvant chemotherapy can be helpful to continue treatment, especially if you had a large tumor.
- Lumpectomy - A lumpectomy is a type of surgery where your doctor removes the tumor from your breast as well as nearby lymph nodes. The nodes will be assessed for the presence of any cancer cells to establish if the breast cancer has spread.
- Mastectomy - A mastectomy is more invasive and involves removing the breast entirely. In this surgery, the lymph nodes are also removed so your doctor can determine if your cancer has spread.
- Immunotherapy - This kind of therapy is often used to complement a surgical option. The medication you take is designed to encourage your immune system to fight cancer.
Bear in mind that the first treatment option you try might not be effective so ask your doctor how you’ll know to be concerned.
Communicating quickly will make it easy to determine the next course of action.
You should also ask about side effects and how to manage them.
While triple-negative breast cancer is more aggressive than the other forms, treatment can still be effective.
What’s important is that you get started on the program as soon as possible. If you have questions about your treatment, talk to your doctor. It’s also good to let them know if you’re experiencing side effects that you didn’t expect.
