CENTER, Neb. (KTIV) – March is Triple Negative Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is when breast cancer cells test negative for three things, Estrogen, Progesterone, and the HER-2 protein.
TNBC is more common in younger women, women of Color, and those who have a BRCA1 mutation, according to the American Cancer Society.
It also tends to grow and spread faster, has fewer treatment options, and a worse prognosis.
In April 2021, then 35-year-old Holly Hernandez of Center, Nebraska was a full-time working mom helping support her blended family. She was breastfeeding her now 3-year-old when she noticed a lump in her breast.
“I noticed it and I was like, yeah, I’ll get that checked out. but it’s just a clogged duct,” she explained.
Holly had similar symptoms in her last breastfeeding experience, and at that point waited for it to turn into an infection she previously had called mastitis before she went to the doctor but it never did. Despite efforts guided by online breastfeeding advice to remedy the clogged ducts, it did not go away.
“I let it go way longer than I should have. I thought it was clogged ducts, which makes sense to me. It was my third breastfeeding experience with my three children. And you know, it’s been different every time of course,” she added.
Her doctor scheduled her a mammogram and an ultrasound. That mammogram showed a large dense mass near the armpit of her right breast.
“Within two days to three days later, I had the core-needle biopsy, which then told us it was triple negative breast cancer. So I had no idea about breast cancer. I didn’t even know what types there were but when my surgical oncologist said it’s triple negative, and I said to the doctor, that’s not good, you know?” Holly said.
Holly was later diagnosed with Stage IIA Triple Negative Breast Cancer in the Spring of 2021.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) website states TNBC is responsible for 12% of breast cancers diagnosed with a 5-year survival rate of 8-16%.
The American Cancer Society states TNBC is more common in younger women, women of color, and those who have a BRCA1 mutation. It also tends to grow and spread faster, has fewer treatment options, and tends to have a worse prognosis.
Holly added, “It’s harder to treat than other breast cancers because we don’t have the keys to stop. You know, there’s not as much treatment. Chemo is the biggest treatment for breast cancer. So there’s fewer treatment options.”
Without the ability to stop the growth of cancer by controlling the hormones, or the ability to treat the production of HER2 protein (human epidural growth factor 2) triple-negative breast cancer’s most effective treatment to date is chemotherapy. If the tumor doesn’t respond to the chemotherapy, which is what happened in Holly’s case, the cancer is more likely to return.
Living in rural Nebraska, Holly stresses there are many challenges that mothers living in rural communities face while undergoing cancer treatment; including being on the road and away from family each week due to treatment, financial challenges, finding daycare, having to exclude themselves from school activities due to side effects of cancer treatment, and trying to remain healthy with a reduced immune system when her children have acute illnesses.
“At least an hour one way to treatment and currently I switched oncologists and now I’m driving two hours one way, and that the tumor was intriguing. I’m like, ‘I’m freaking out,’ you know, like I just want to live,’” she explained.
Her blended family has supported her with every step and change.
Her treatments ended in June of 2022. She was deemed cancer-free that summer but it was short-lived.
In November 2023, she had another uphill battle.
“I was working out, I was trying to live my healthiest life. I’ll be honest with you. For a person diagnosed with cancer and they tell you you’re cancer-free. You still look at the statistics. I’m you know, I’m a I’m a numbers person and the statistics for triple-negative breast cancer are daunting,” Holly added.
“They did an X-ray of my chest. My left lung was crunched up in the top of the lung cavity and fluid-filled the bottom of the lung cavity. They did a thoracentesis that day where they go in with a needle and they take out the fluid in your lung or in your lung cavity. And first of all, it was bloody. Second of all, they took out two liters of fluid that first day finding a tumor in my pleural space. They did a biopsy of it, and yes, triple-negative breast cancer,” she explained.
Holly states that after removing two liters of bloody fluid and additional imaging, a tumor was found in her pleural space, the space between her lungs and the chest wall. She was then diagnosed with Stage IV (4) Metastatic Triple Negative Breast cancer.
Holly’s oncologist recommended she apply for a clinical trial to treat her breast cancer. Upon medical testing needed to get admitted for the clinical trial, imaging showed Holly’s cancer had also metastasized to the brain. The doctors recommended Gamma Knife brain radiation, which created a barrier to treatment through a clinical trial. Her oncologist now has her on Trodelvy, an antibody-drug conjugate that is similar to chemotherapy, causing Holly to lose her hair a second time in three years. Holly says she is feeling quite well, despite the weekly treatments she receives.
When it comes to the treatments, moving closer to a treatment facility was not an option for the blended family. The Hernandez family is on the road traveling over 400 miles a month for cancer treatment in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Holly continues to embrace her situation and has taken it upon herself to both spread the word and inform young mothers about the risks and challenges of breast cancer in young mothers, and rural settings. Holly spends her time away from the chemo chair being a mother and a Young Advocate with Living Beyond Breast Cancer, a nationwide non-profit providing breast cancer patients with the tools to help women overcome their diagnosis.
“I’m going to live my best life now because I don’t know how much I have left,” Holly said. “But just kind of having faith right now that this treatment is working because I am feeling better.”
She also advises other mothers to stay on top of their health.
“Women don’t take time for themselves,” Holly stated. “You know, My focus was on everybody else at that moment and I was the last thing, you know, like I came in last, and I don’t think that’s different for any other mom.”
She thanks her friends, family, and community for their support on this journey. There is a GoFundMe where Holly updates her medical status, and family needs with the community.
The community is planning a benefit for Holly on Saturday, May 18 in Verdigre, Nebraska at the ZCBJ hall starting at 4 p.m.
She continues to fight and reported earlier in March her tumor is shrinking, which is going in the right direction.
Copyright 2024 KTIV. All rights reserved.
CENTER, Neb. (KTIV) – March is Triple Negative Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is when breast cancer cells test negative for three things, Estrogen, Progesterone, and the HER-2 protein.
TNBC is more common in younger women, women of Color, and those who have a BRCA1 mutation, according to the American Cancer Society.
It also tends to grow and spread faster, has fewer treatment options, and a worse prognosis.
In April 2021, then 35-year-old Holly Hernandez of Center, Nebraska was a full-time working mom helping support her blended family. She was breastfeeding her now 3-year-old when she noticed a lump in her breast.
“I noticed it and I was like, yeah, I’ll get that checked out. but it’s just a clogged duct,” she explained.
Holly had similar symptoms in her last breastfeeding experience, and at that point waited for it to turn into an infection she previously had called mastitis before she went to the doctor but it never did. Despite efforts guided by online breastfeeding advice to remedy the clogged ducts, it did not go away.
“I let it go way longer than I should have. I thought it was clogged ducts, which makes sense to me. It was my third breastfeeding experience with my three children. And you know, it’s been different every time of course,” she added.
Her doctor scheduled her a mammogram and an ultrasound. That mammogram showed a large dense mass near the armpit of her right breast.
“Within two days to three days later, I had the core-needle biopsy, which then told us it was triple negative breast cancer. So I had no idea about breast cancer. I didn’t even know what types there were but when my surgical oncologist said it’s triple negative, and I said to the doctor, that’s not good, you know?” Holly said.
Holly was later diagnosed with Stage IIA Triple Negative Breast Cancer in the Spring of 2021.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) website states TNBC is responsible for 12% of breast cancers diagnosed with a 5-year survival rate of 8-16%.
The American Cancer Society states TNBC is more common in younger women, women of color, and those who have a BRCA1 mutation. It also tends to grow and spread faster, has fewer treatment options, and tends to have a worse prognosis.
Holly added, “It’s harder to treat than other breast cancers because we don’t have the keys to stop. You know, there’s not as much treatment. Chemo is the biggest treatment for breast cancer. So there’s fewer treatment options.”
Without the ability to stop the growth of cancer by controlling the hormones, or the ability to treat the production of HER2 protein (human epidural growth factor 2) triple-negative breast cancer’s most effective treatment to date is chemotherapy. If the tumor doesn’t respond to the chemotherapy, which is what happened in Holly’s case, the cancer is more likely to return.
Living in rural Nebraska, Holly stresses there are many challenges that mothers living in rural communities face while undergoing cancer treatment; including being on the road and away from family each week due to treatment, financial challenges, finding daycare, having to exclude themselves from school activities due to side effects of cancer treatment, and trying to remain healthy with a reduced immune system when her children have acute illnesses.
“At least an hour one way to treatment and currently I switched oncologists and now I’m driving two hours one way, and that the tumor was intriguing. I’m like, ‘I’m freaking out,’ you know, like I just want to live,’” she explained.
Her blended family has supported her with every step and change.
Her treatments ended in June of 2022. She was deemed cancer-free that summer but it was short-lived.
In November 2023, she had another uphill battle.
“I was working out, I was trying to live my healthiest life. I’ll be honest with you. For a person diagnosed with cancer and they tell you you’re cancer-free. You still look at the statistics. I’m you know, I’m a I’m a numbers person and the statistics for triple-negative breast cancer are daunting,” Holly added.
“They did an X-ray of my chest. My left lung was crunched up in the top of the lung cavity and fluid-filled the bottom of the lung cavity. They did a thoracentesis that day where they go in with a needle and they take out the fluid in your lung or in your lung cavity. And first of all, it was bloody. Second of all, they took out two liters of fluid that first day finding a tumor in my pleural space. They did a biopsy of it, and yes, triple-negative breast cancer,” she explained.
Holly states that after removing two liters of bloody fluid and additional imaging, a tumor was found in her pleural space, the space between her lungs and the chest wall. She was then diagnosed with Stage IV (4) Metastatic Triple Negative Breast cancer.
Holly’s oncologist recommended she apply for a clinical trial to treat her breast cancer. Upon medical testing needed to get admitted for the clinical trial, imaging showed Holly’s cancer had also metastasized to the brain. The doctors recommended Gamma Knife brain radiation, which created a barrier to treatment through a clinical trial. Her oncologist now has her on Trodelvy, an antibody-drug conjugate that is similar to chemotherapy, causing Holly to lose her hair a second time in three years. Holly says she is feeling quite well, despite the weekly treatments she receives.
When it comes to the treatments, moving closer to a treatment facility was not an option for the blended family. The Hernandez family is on the road traveling over 400 miles a month for cancer treatment in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Holly continues to embrace her situation and has taken it upon herself to both spread the word and inform young mothers about the risks and challenges of breast cancer in young mothers, and rural settings. Holly spends her time away from the chemo chair being a mother and a Young Advocate with Living Beyond Breast Cancer, a nationwide non-profit providing breast cancer patients with the tools to help women overcome their diagnosis.
“I’m going to live my best life now because I don’t know how much I have left,” Holly said. “But just kind of having faith right now that this treatment is working because I am feeling better.”
She also advises other mothers to stay on top of their health.
“Women don’t take time for themselves,” Holly stated. “You know, My focus was on everybody else at that moment and I was the last thing, you know, like I came in last, and I don’t think that’s different for any other mom.”
She thanks her friends, family, and community for their support on this journey. There is a GoFundMe where Holly updates her medical status, and family needs with the community.
The community is planning a benefit for Holly on Saturday, May 18 in Verdigre, Nebraska at the ZCBJ hall starting at 4 p.m.
She continues to fight and reported earlier in March her tumor is shrinking, which is going in the right direction.
Copyright 2024 KTIV. All rights reserved.
