'Triple negative' cancers tend to be more aggressive

While many people believe that breast cancer is one disease, that isn't the case. There are many different types of breast cancer and each responds uniquely to treatments. The term "triple negative" refers to the absence of estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors and HER2 (human epidermal growth factor) receptors on the breast cancer cells. Cancers that do not feed on estrogen or progesterone and do not over-express HER2 are called "triple negative." They cannot be starved of hormones nor can they be treated with the drug Herceptin, designed for HER2-positive patients.

These cancers are not as common as those that respond to hormonal therapies. Less than 20 percent of cancers are "triple negative." They are more often seen in younger women and in women with the BRCA 1 gene mutation. They tend to be more aggressive and need to be treated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Overall, the prognosis with these cancers is not as favorable as their "triple positive" counterparts.

I hesitate to judge "triple negative" cancers as better or worse than others. When detected early and managed by a skilled oncology team, patients may do very well. And, if they do not have a recurrence in the first three years, they are no more likely to have their cancer return than the more common hormone-positive cancers.

For more information and support, check out tnbcfoundation.org or breastCancer.org.

Dear Dr. Bone: Having lost my sister to breast cancer, plus countless friends and neighbors, I read your columns pretty regularly. Thank you so much for your level-headed and common sense applied to developing technologies.

I wanted to make one comment on your Palm Beach Post column on Aug. 2, concerning the family dealing with the mother's cancer combined with the young son's cold sores. After living/fighting with cold sores most of my life (I have turned 70 this year), worked in hospitals with doctors and pharmacists trying to suggest treatments to help, I finally found the L-Lysine approach. For the first time in my life, even after the tiny blisters had begun to form around my mouth, taking mega-doses of L-lysine made the blisters go back down and totally clear up in a matter of days, not weeks. As an adult, when I first see the blisters begin to form, or when I feel that burning sensation that tells me a cold sore is forming, I take 1,000 mg of L-lysine in the morning and again in the evening, and continue until all signs have disappeared. My brother (who lives in California) has also had a similar problem, and since I shared this information with him, he always has a supply of L-lysine on hand for occurrences and has had the same results I've had.