[NanaJoni]

I had two tumors in the same quadrant - less than an inch apart (one was deeper in the breast tissue). One was triple negative and the other ER-/PR-/HER2+++. My surgeon's comment was: "your treatment will be complicated by this". Actually turned out not to be so complicated - I was given the TCH regimen (treating both types) with Herceptin (to take care of the HER2 tumor). Since the only treatment for triple negative is chemo and I wasn't able to complete but 4 of 6 treatments, I did radiation for 6 weeks. I also did Herceptin every three weeks for almost a year but had to stop with only 3 treatments to go due to radiation pneumonitis. Now I wait - since triple negative is very agressive and usually recurs within the first 3 years after diagnosis, I've got two more years of high risk (and associated worry) before the risk lowers to compare with rates for the other types of bc (er+/pr+, etc). I am hoping we covered all the bases and were as agressive as possible but the triple negative is much more scary than the HER2+++. I've put it all away in a little mental lockbox with a big concrete vault around it so it doesn't occupy my thoughts all the time. Occasionally it squeezes out of from under that concrete lid and I have a little meltdown, but mostly I can keep it there (this mental imagery really helps me deal with the fear of recurrence). I'm BRCA negative, too, so just one of those weird things that happens on this journey.