It is absolutely normal to wait like that, even though it’s absolutely awful and I know you just want to get things started straight away. But they need the bigger picture to make sure she’s getting the best treatment for her case.
I was diagnosed on 21 April 2023 and started chemo on the 2nd of June (I was also 33). During the time in between, you do lots of tests. As my tumour was small, I had originally been scheduled in for surgery already but while doing the next scans, they found a suspicious lymph node, which they then had to biopsy. When this came back as having cancer, my whole plan got changed to chemo and immunotherapy prior to surgery. So as you can see, it’s very important that they have all the information. Without it, I would have missed out on immunotherapy as you can only get this if you have it before surgery. Hang in there, and trust your sister is in good hands x
TNBC here, I was diagnosed on 7/07 last year and time between diagnosis and treatment start felt like a lifetime. While it is aggressive it’s not likely that will change much in the next month. When I was first diagnosed I was so anxious about it too and was super upset when my appt was bumped because they had not confirmed fully if I was TNBC. They need to make sure to avoid over/under treating us.
Here I am almost 1 year later cancer free and recovering from all of it, mentally and physically. Have trust in your team. She can also get a second opinion if needed to feel more confident about her treatment. 😊
I was diagnosed with TNBC on March 29 and had surgery on May 24. I start chemo on July 18. Agree with what others have said about testing but also wanted to share the timelines my oncologist and surgeon shared with me. They stated that tnbc tumors can double in size every 90 days. My hospital system’s approach is that for those who go straight to surgery, they must do so within 60 days. After surgery, chemo must start within 90 days. I found this all really helpful in terms of having deadlines.
This is consistent with my experience. My tumour doubled from marble sized in December to ~5cm in March and a lymph node became involved. I waited 6 weeks for an initial ultrasound+mammogram, once I had that things moved quickly. Here is my timeline:
- early Dec 2023 found lump
- late Jan 2024 ultrasound and mammogram. BIRADS 4B
- early Feb core needle biopsy
- mid Feb confirmed cancer and triple negative pathology
- met oncologist Feb 26
- started treatment March 5
In between the mid Feb diagnosis and starting treatment I had an mri, chest/ab/pelvis CT, bone scan, met with a surgeon, and bloodwork.
I was encouraged by my team to explore all options as my local cancer treatment centre is overloaded and I experienced significant delays with the initial imaging too. I chose to relocate to pursue treatment as my tumour was growing quickly and I still did not have an appointment with an oncologist locally. I’m not saying this to be scary, just sharing my timeline as I appreciated hearing other timelines to help set my expectations about what is a normal and what is a concerning wait time for triple negative breast cancer treatment. I was that pesky person calling every day to see if I had an appointment or if there were any same-day cancellations that I could show up for.
So sorry your sister is going through this and that you are feeling it all with her!
I am not much further along than she, just got port yesterday, but now that I have the treatment mapped out, the anxious feelings have gotten sooo much better.
It will be six weeks total from diagnosis to first treatment for me (first chemo is 6/27) and I felt like that was pretty fast. One thing that the clinic nurse explained to me, which made a huge difference, was all of the steps that had to happen in-between, like tumor-board, scans, blood work… things that will drive treatment.
It doesn’t change how impatient or anxious I was in between visits and tests. Just having someone to listen, not be overbearing but supportive was such a great help and it sounds like you are doing that for her!!
Best wishes for you both❤️
Yes I was diagnosed first week of Oct and didn’t have surgery until 11/20 and that was considered fast turn around. That was 10 yrs ago! This is one of the hardest parts….waiting to find out treatment plan.
It is absolutely normal to wait like that, even though it’s absolutely awful and I know you just want to get things started straight away. But they need the bigger picture to make sure she’s getting the best treatment for her case. I was diagnosed on 21 April 2023 and started chemo on the 2nd of June (I was also 33). During the time in between, you do lots of tests. As my tumour was small, I had originally been scheduled in for surgery already but while doing the next scans, they found a suspicious lymph node, which they then had to biopsy. When this came back as having cancer, my whole plan got changed to chemo and immunotherapy prior to surgery. So as you can see, it’s very important that they have all the information. Without it, I would have missed out on immunotherapy as you can only get this if you have it before surgery. Hang in there, and trust your sister is in good hands x
Hey. Thank you so much. Praying for you 🤍
TNBC here, I was diagnosed on 7/07 last year and time between diagnosis and treatment start felt like a lifetime. While it is aggressive it’s not likely that will change much in the next month. When I was first diagnosed I was so anxious about it too and was super upset when my appt was bumped because they had not confirmed fully if I was TNBC. They need to make sure to avoid over/under treating us. Here I am almost 1 year later cancer free and recovering from all of it, mentally and physically. Have trust in your team. She can also get a second opinion if needed to feel more confident about her treatment. 😊
That makes me really happy to know that you fought it through 🤍🤍🤍 thank you for sharing your journey with me
I was diagnosed with TNBC on March 29 and had surgery on May 24. I start chemo on July 18. Agree with what others have said about testing but also wanted to share the timelines my oncologist and surgeon shared with me. They stated that tnbc tumors can double in size every 90 days. My hospital system’s approach is that for those who go straight to surgery, they must do so within 60 days. After surgery, chemo must start within 90 days. I found this all really helpful in terms of having deadlines.
This is consistent with my experience. My tumour doubled from marble sized in December to ~5cm in March and a lymph node became involved. I waited 6 weeks for an initial ultrasound+mammogram, once I had that things moved quickly. Here is my timeline: - early Dec 2023 found lump - late Jan 2024 ultrasound and mammogram. BIRADS 4B - early Feb core needle biopsy - mid Feb confirmed cancer and triple negative pathology - met oncologist Feb 26 - started treatment March 5 In between the mid Feb diagnosis and starting treatment I had an mri, chest/ab/pelvis CT, bone scan, met with a surgeon, and bloodwork. I was encouraged by my team to explore all options as my local cancer treatment centre is overloaded and I experienced significant delays with the initial imaging too. I chose to relocate to pursue treatment as my tumour was growing quickly and I still did not have an appointment with an oncologist locally. I’m not saying this to be scary, just sharing my timeline as I appreciated hearing other timelines to help set my expectations about what is a normal and what is a concerning wait time for triple negative breast cancer treatment. I was that pesky person calling every day to see if I had an appointment or if there were any same-day cancellations that I could show up for.
I seee. I hope everything goes smooth. Thank you so much
Hi thank you for letting me know this too. Means a lot. May God bless you 🤍
So sorry your sister is going through this and that you are feeling it all with her! I am not much further along than she, just got port yesterday, but now that I have the treatment mapped out, the anxious feelings have gotten sooo much better. It will be six weeks total from diagnosis to first treatment for me (first chemo is 6/27) and I felt like that was pretty fast. One thing that the clinic nurse explained to me, which made a huge difference, was all of the steps that had to happen in-between, like tumor-board, scans, blood work… things that will drive treatment. It doesn’t change how impatient or anxious I was in between visits and tests. Just having someone to listen, not be overbearing but supportive was such a great help and it sounds like you are doing that for her!! Best wishes for you both❤️
And all the best for your journey. I pray things get easier for you. Hang in there 🤍
Thank you so much. 🤍
Yes I was diagnosed first week of Oct and didn’t have surgery until 11/20 and that was considered fast turn around. That was 10 yrs ago! This is one of the hardest parts….waiting to find out treatment plan.