r/breastcancer

Any triple-positive breast cancer patients here using Signatera? I’m considering starting it soon( completed active treatment in April and on anastrozole for over a year) and would love to hear your experiences. What prompted you to start, has it been helpful, how often do you test, and does your oncologist support it? Any insights would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I’m 41 and was recently diagnosed with stage IB, grade 3 IDC. I’m ER+, PR+, HER2 3+, and unfortunately a lymph node biopsy showed a small (2 mm) focus of metastatic breast cancer.

My oncologist is recommending TCHP (Taxotere, Carboplatin, Herceptin + Perjeta) every 3 weeks for 6 cycles, followed by surgery and the rest of the treatment plan. I’ll also need to have my port placed before chemo starts.

Here’s where I’m really torn. I have an 8 year anniversary trip planned to Cabo and I keep going back and forth between wanting to just live my life and enjoy one last “normal” trip… and feeling guilty for even thinking about going. Like, shouldn’t I be home getting ready to fight this instead of packing a suitcase? 😩

I talked to my oncologist about delaying treatment for 2–3 weeks for the trip, and thankfully she said she doesn’t see an issue with that timing.

Part of me thinks, Go. Make the memories. Enjoy yourself while you feel good. ❤️

The other part of me is like, Girl, you have cancer. Maybe stop booking vacations and start being serious. 😂

For anyone who has been through TCHP:
✈️ Would you take the trip?

🧳 Did you travel before chemo and feel like it was worth it? I’m scared I’ll take this trip and won’t be relaxed.

🤔 Looking back, would you have traveled or stayed home?

I’d just love to hear from breasties who have actually been through TCHP and can tell me what you would do if you were in my shoes. ❤️

I celebrated one year of remission in August (stage 2 IDC, ++-), but last week my monitoring MRI showed a mass. I had it and a lymph node biopsied and today both came back positive. Same breast, a few cm from original surgery site. I’m 39!!! And I just beat it!! What the fuck!!!

I sobbed. I’m going to die. I have a full body scan next week to see if it’s stage 4. If it came back this fast after clean margins, negative lymph nodes, five weeks of radiation, and endocrine therapy, why wouldn’t it be somewhere else? My oncologist says this is highly unusual. Of course it is. My recurrence risk based on genomic testing was supposed to be 6%.

I had a clean mammogram in February and my oncologist felt nothing on manual exam in July, and I’ve had two negative signatera blood tests this year, the most recent being in July.

I should have gotten the DMX instead of a lumpectomy. I should have not wanted to try to keep the nipple. I feel like it was hiding and I wouldn’t be facing this if I’d just done the DMX. I feel like this is my fault.

So I bought some beads and upcycled some more- and I have been finding my peace in making bracelets a-la “Little Words Project”. The goal is to have short phrases (“you got this”) or single words as inspiration on them. I have one that says “Breathe” from the actual LWP that has gotten me through so many cancer panic moments.

I am NOT looking to make money on these; in fact I plan to give them away somehow (maybe my local cancer center?) so those who have them can see them and be inspired. My personal favorite is “Forward” because sometimes this journey is literally moment by moment.

I have 14 pink ribbon beads. Any thoughts on words that would be good to use? Should I not do this? To be clear, I have been through the trenches here.

So far, I have:
-FIGHTER
-STRENGTH
-FORWARD
-SURVIVOR
-BADASS
-EXHALE

Thanks for allowing me to bounce ideas here. ❤️

Hi everyone,

My reconstruction surgery is coming up and I am so conflicted on what to do.

I don't think I am ready to go flat. I think i would fall into a depression if I do.

I am thinking of getting implants but I went down the breast implant illness rabbit hole and im spiraling.

I'm scared of the possibilityof getting breast implant illness. I'm scared of diep.

It's such a difficult decision and I can't seem to decide.

Just wanted to know what you ladies chose and why.

Do you have any regrets and wished you had chosen another option. Complications?

Anything you would like to share.

Thank you so much.

So grateful for this group!

I mean, is it too cold to sit through the infusion or should I just shell out money to buy the gloves? trying to save some money and want to see if people have done something like this 😂

Hey,

I could feel my hair was different last week. Not sure what but I could feel it chaning.

I had a bubble that got stuck on Sunday. Pulled it out and a small strand with the roots came out. Never happened before (only the bottom part of the hair strand would come out if I pulled on it in the past). Not surprising since it was almost 2 weeks ost chemo.

Then Monday came (yesterday). I woke up and I just knew that I'll have clumps coming out. I could feel it. Took my hair brush and had 4 enormous clumps come out. I was basically brushing my hair off.

I knew chemo was drastic but this is so sudden. I could already feel the volume having had reduced by a lot.

Same thing today (Tuesday). The clumps keep coming out. I've got no energy to even think about shaving (live alone) and still work at the moment. Used the final shreds of energy to order a wig ASAP and need to dig my silk scarf out, not sure where I've placed it.

Was it so sudden for everyone? No one warned me. I knew it won't be pretty but it is just boom and hair falling off like leaves.

Tl;dr I didn't think hair loss will be so sudden. Movies were not lying. Was it the same for everyone? ​

Edit : thank you all. Feel a bit better now. Yes, it means it kills the cancer cells too so let's hope that with each hair clump lost a clump of cancer cells gets killed. ​​

Sometimes we just have to have a laugh at ourselves. What is your most embarrassing moment during treatment? I'll go first.

This literally just happened! I just finished the radiation appointment where they align the machines right before the first treatment. I was on the table getting up ... and I farted. It came out of nowhere! I'm so embarrassed and had to do everything to stop myself from laughing. I know the tech heard it!

I'm working on a project for my support group. I'm creating what I've been referring to as the "Breast Cancer Bible." It's a document of all the things I wish I knew, or that I learned along the way. I want it to be a comprehensive resource for survivors by survivors.

I have sections for surgery, chemo, radiation, mental health, life after active treatment, etc. I'm looking for input. What are the things you learned along the way? What are the tips or tricks that helped you out during treatment? What wisdom would you like to pass on to those diagnosed after you?

I’m wondering if anyone else experienced something like this after finishing chemo and having surgery, because I feel like I’m losing my mind a little bit.

I was diagnosed with stage III TNBC earlier this year in March and just spent the last six months going through 20 rounds of chemo/immunotherapy. I finished chemo in September and had my lumpectomy and lymph node surgery last Thursday.

I thought getting through surgery would feel like this huge relief. Everything following surgery was a blur immediately after and now, I have completely crashed mentally.

I’ve had this overwhelming sadness, anxiety and sense of impending doom that I cannot seem to shake. I wake up feeling anxious and depressed. I cry non stop and for seemingly no reason. My mind wanders through random memories from years ago that have absolutely no significance to me. I have trouble even focusing on a low-stimulation TV show because my brain just keeps going. I can’t read a book. I’m supposed to be relaxing and recovering and I can’t even do that right. Sometimes I just feel deeply sad and scared about my life, what has happened to me, not to mention the future, pathology, reoccurrence, etc.

The weirdest part is that this doesn’t feel like me at all. I’m normally a pretty positive, resilient person. I handled six months of treatment better mentally than I’m handling these few days after surgery.

I’m doing everything I can think of. I’m eating, hydrating, sleeping, showering, getting dressed, resting, talking to friends and taking my prescribed anxiety medication when I need it. I went out for a few grocery items and am going to try and get my nails done tomorrow or something. I reached out to my oncology team, and they said this could very well be cumulative after everything my body and brain have been through and offered to connect me with social work/resources.

I also know I’m still waiting on pathology and finding out whether I achieved pCR, so there’s obviously a huge amount of uncertainty hanging over me. And even though surgery was a major hurdle, I still have radiation, immunotherapy and whatever comes next depending on pathology.

But I genuinely was not prepared for this emotional crash.
Has anyone else had intense depression, anxiety, intrusive/existential thoughts or just felt completely mentally “off” in the days or weeks after surgery or finishing chemo?
If you did, how long did it last? Did you eventually start feeling like yourself again? Was there anything that actually helped?

I think more than anything I just need to hear that I’m not the only person who went through treatment in survival mode, finally got through a huge milestone, and then somehow fell apart afterward.

I’m a 30-something diagnosed with triple positive breast cancer, tumor over 5cm and in two lymph nodes. After surgery (mastectomy with reconstruction) and I go in to the surgeon, and I’m getting info on everything that has to be done.

I’ve got reconstruction, at least 9 enhertu infusions that have to be done every three weeks—I did enhertu already and the nausea sucks for me—and radiation M-F for three or four weeks… I thought I was going back to work and now I’m wondering how the hell I’m supposed to do that with all the appointments and the side effects that will be waiting for me. My FMLA is gone from NA treatment and surgery. HR at work isn’t going to help me, my onc and surgeon and plastic surgeon don’t have resources to explain how I’m supposed to navigate this... or what the rules are with ADA, etc.

Has anyone else run into this or is it just me?

I have been on Zoladex for a while. And if you’re currently taking this injection, you know the needle is freakin’HUGE!

I’ve had ice packs applied prior in attempt to numb the area — it’s never been an effective method of pain management for me, it always hurts, and I always have tenderness and bruising afterward.

I’ve also had no ice applied in the past — holy fucking painful!

Well today I think I cracked the code — I asked to take it laying down on a bed (instead of a chair) and it was virtually painless! Granted, I do have a high threshold for pain but I’m telling you, today’s appointment was so easy and pain-free!

It was a bit challenging for the nurse because if you’re slim, it may harder for them to pinch the belly fat in this position, but it was still doable.

If you’re on Zoladex, I urge you to try taking it laying down next time!

Sending love to you all 💕

I had my first round of AC chemo on Friday and felt fine up until Saturday afternoon. Since then I've barely been able to eat anything without it trying to come back up. I'm on five different meds for nausea and they aren't helping. The doc is calling in a 6th and tells me I should turn the corner in a few days and feel better and that I'm doing everything right since I went for IV fluids yesterday. This does not make me feel better right now.

I don't want to power through. I don't want to hear how strong I am. I don't want to hear that I'm doing things right. I don't want to hear my family say they wish they could go through this for me so that I don't have to. What I want is to be able to eat something and not have it make a grand reappearance moments later. I want this to be over. I pray no one else in my family ever has to go through this. I don't want any of them to take my place.

I know I'm almost there and only have 3 rounds left, but I'm tired of feeling sick all the time. I drank a protein shake earlier that hasn't tried to come back out yet, but I'm still hungry and afraid to eat.

I don't want to do this anymore. I'm tired. Fuck cancer. Fuck chemo. Fuck nausea that I can't control no matter what I do. I'm ready to tap out and hope the chemo I've had already was enough. I still have to get through surgery and radiation too. But I can't quit or I'll always wonder if I did enough, and that pisses me off too. Fuck this whole thing. It sucks and I hate it.

I have triple negative BRCA 1 related breast cancer. I’m enrolling in a clinical trial where I might do all TC instead of TC and AC. If I end up doing all TC, I’m considering trying cold capping. However, I work in a hospital and I’m also hoping to stay active as much as possible and I get very sweaty, so the idea of only washing my hair once a week sounds kind of awful. The idea of adding two hours to chemo appts also sucks. But I also don’t want to not do it if it’ll have long term negative effects on my hair. Has anyone cold capped while also still trying to exercise and only washing once a week?? I’m a wash my hair every day person so this is foreign to me

I feel like I live in a Groundhog's Day cycle. Each day starts the same and end the same, and there's a bunch of lingering emotions during the in-between hours that I can't really explain. It's like I'm living, but really just waiting for a shoe to drop somewhere. It's not even like a fear of recurrence, so much as it is, "wait, this it?" Maybe I need to look for a better job or pick up a new hobby? I swear it just feels like going through cancer was a BIG BAD dream. Living day to day just feels weird to me. I know... therapy. I'm on it!

Not sure if Fuck Cancer is quite the right flair for this.

I bought blueberries for my kiddos and it arrived with a custom sticker:

Booberries. Of course the oo are big fat round boob-berries 🙄

My booberries got amputated last year and I have yet to collect my big plump round fake booberries.

It is an obvious October Pink Drive thing.

The infuriating thing is that the donation for that expensive 🍑 tub of blueberries is so small I don’t know if the custom stickers were even worth it. You have to buy 5 tubs and still you won’t have enough money from the donations to buy a crappy offbrand small chocolate bar.

I’m a 67 yo female post lumpectomy scheduled to start 5 days of radiation on Monday. Any helpful tips/suggestions?

I had a lumpectomy followed by oncoplastic reduction in February 2026, and I finished 15 fractions of whole breast radiation (no boost) in early May. Post-RT, I’ve developed some radiation induced fibrosis, which I’m managing with myofascial release therapy and an aggressive stretching routine.
But the real issue, and the thing that’s preying on my mind in light of my first post-treatment mammogram in December, is that I’m also dealing with constant low-level radiation related hypersensitivity/allodynia of my nipple-areolar complex (NAC). I kept thinking it would start to go away a few months after I finished RT, but unfortunately it hasn’t. Day-to-day it’s mainly an annoyance, but any compression or direct pressure to the area is seriously uncomfortable, as I discovered when I was trying to replicate mammogram compression. Topical lidocaine doesn’t touch it, nor do OTC or prescription pain meds.

My upcoming mammogram was ordered as a screening mammogram, so I thought it might be reasonable to ask my MO to change it to a diagnostic mammogram with ultrasound. After all, I’m almost 70, I have a cancer diagnosis, I have radiation-related changes to my breast tissue, I have heterogeneously dense breasts, and I had a lumpectomy and oncoplastic reduction with a fair amount of tissue rearrangement, all of which are valid reasons for performing a diagnostic mammogram. At least that’s what I can gather from reviewing the American College of Radiologists guidelines.

Alas, the response from my MO’s NP was that “Supplemental modalities (diagnostic mammos, ultrasounds) are only as add-ons in appropriately selected patients — not as a compression-free alternative to mammography," (Note: I never asked for a “compression-free alternative” to a mammogram) and blandly suggested that I “might be able to talk to the radiology technicians for comfort measures during the procedure, [sic] perhaps they can provide a cooling spray or help the patient control the level of compression to ease into it.”

Unfortunately I already know that a “cooling spray” isn’t going to help, and  I’ve also discovered that none of the breast imaging locations in my medical group offer “comfort measures” such as Mammopad or Patient Assisted Compression.

Furthermore, I’m not willing to just suck it up, grit my teeth, and work through the pain during the procedure, especially after what I’ve read here about other people’s experiences. I believe I have a legitimate concern, and I also believe that a diagnostic mammogram with ultrasound the best way to address the possibility that regular compression might be intolerable. 

I managed to get an appointment with my regular MO instead of her NP (probably because I was being such a pest), and I’m wondering what might be the best approach to successfully advocate for a diagnostic mammogram. My natural tendency is to simply state, “This is what I want, and I know the request is supported by ACR guidelines. If you are not able to accommodate this request, please help me understand why it isn’t possible and to document the reason.”

As an aside, I’m also going to ask for a referral to pain management to have my discomfort properly diagnosed and treated. It might be that I would benefit from Botox or a nerve block, but I won’t know until I see the appropriate specialist.  

I’d love to hear what other folks have done under similar circumstances, and if you were successful in advocating for yourself.

Well, I was on my way to my 2nd Radiation session only to receive a voicemail that the machine is down and might be down tomorrow too. Has this ever happened to anyone else before?? I’m kind of freaking out, because I know the treatments are supposed to be consecutive. I just spoke with one of the receptionists at the clinic and she didn’t seem too concerned about it and said “these things do happen”. I swear, if it’s not one thing it’s another!