Triple Negative, Double Tricky! with Guest Marquita Bass

A Breast Cancer Diary

This episode gets into some murky medical territory so it's important to note that your doctor is the only expert on whether chemo is for you. Personalized cancer treatment is still being tested in clinical trials at this time, but Marquita is one example among triple negative (TNBC) early stage breast cancer patients who might have taken chemo and is still apparently cancer free 12 years later and has no regrets. Being an early stage survivor means that her choice to decline chemo was a less risky one than it would be for a later stage patient, but she has a lot to say about possible regrets with chemo in the context of TNBC.

This episode covers:

Marquita's initial diagnosis of stage one TNBC and her discovery that TNBC has subtypes

Marquita's family history of TNBC and experience with family and friends who had it

Marquita's discovery of Robin Roberts' post-chemo diagnosis with MDS

Marquita's oncologist search, and a "regret matrix"

Marquita's lifestyle efforts to avoid recurrence

Marquita's book, Orange is the New Black

Marquita's advocacy on behalf of the Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act

For more about the new era of personalized medicine, here are some great YouTube videos to check out:

https://youtu.be/vn1AHrCfrAE?si=qr1-cv5kGN7SmW4l Brief and simple summary of genomic testing

https://youtu.be/QS-1HZr-trg?si=xMr99Jg7DijLQrDf A new trial in Australia testing a less chemo and radiation heavy approach in breast cancer patients

https://youtu.be/lxDuw4qQ6iA?si=chx1-BS1GII1P7_2 Dana Farber’s Genomic Testing Program

https://youtu.be/It1DQkNbofg?si=Pjl8TCCMVTcPCHtd Metastatic Breast Cancer and Personalized Med