What Is Triple-Negative Breast Cancer? It’s Treatable, If Caught Early

Triple-negative breast cancer can be aggressive, but if found early, it can also be treated.

According to David A. Riseberg, M.D., chief of Medical Oncology and Hematology at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, triple-negative breast cancer represents about 15 percent of all breast cancer cases and is more common in Black women, as well as patients with BRCA1.

“When we say ‘triple negative,’ it means it’s negative for the two hormone receptors, as well as something called the HER2 receptor. So, these are things that we test for in breast cancer cells,” Dr. Riseberg explained.

Jasmine Leigh Morse, who has a family history of breast cancer, connected with Dr. Riseberg during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I wasn’t even 40, so I hadn’t been getting mammograms, and it literally came out of nowhere because I had just had my wellness exam a few months prior,” Morse said.

Morse noted that she barely touched her skin and felt a lump. Her diagnosis was Stage 1B triple-negative breast cancer.

“We’re seeing that, these days, the majority of women with triple-negative breast cancer who are [diagnosed at] a reasonably early stage, they’re surviving it," Dr. Riseberg said.

While that was true for Morse, it wasn’t easy.

“I was in a wheelchair at some points. I was very, very nauseous, very sick, and it just took a toll, especially strong neuropathy in my legs and my feet—just weakness, tiredness,” Morse said.

Morse was diagnosed in August 2020. She underwent chemotherapy, a lumpectomy, and a mastectomy in 2021, and is now cancer free.

Morse encourages women need to advocate for themselves.

“Initially, my gynecologist said that she didn’t think it was anything,” Morse said. “She thought it was just a cyst. I said, ‘No, I have a history and I want to get a biopsy.’ And she did it right away. But if I had walked out of the office, who knows what would have happened?”

View Mercy medical oncologist Dr. David Riseberg’s interview regarding treatment of triple negative breast cancer.