Note from my Dad

The following is an excerpt of a note that I received from my dad. He did some research and figured out why there are no 5-year survivors, yet.

"I did a quick literature search yesterday and found one reason why there may not be a record of many Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) survivors yet. I could not even find a reference for TNBC in the entire AAFP (American Academy of Family Physicians) national library. There were a few articles in the TMA (Texas Medical Association) library and about 499 in the National Library of Medicine, of which only a handful dealt with survivors (they are out there). TNBC was recognized as a subtype between 2004 and 2007, depending on the institution. The studies aren't old enough to yield any reliable statistics. Retrospective studies are unreliable, because as soon as it was identified as a subtype, therapy for this cancer rapidly changed and became more aggressive with different chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgical approaches. The jury is still out. It is a tougher cancer to treat, but in my opinion, in 5 years Rachel will be a mentor for some other unfortunate soul.

Now is not the time to be pessimistic. Since it has been identified as TNBC, now is the time to be glad that this didn't happen 5 years ago. I for one, am optimistic that it was identified early and is being treated appropriately."

Thanks for the insight Dad!