Colleen Donahue, Girlfriend of ‘Jon & Kate Plus 8’ Star Jon Gosselin, Diagnosed With Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: What Are Treatment Options?

In an emotional Instagram post, Donahue shared with fans that she had been diagnosed with stage 2 triple-negative breast cancer in April after delaying getting her mammogram for nearly three years due to COVID-19 and a “lack of time.” In July, Donahue went through a mastectomy on her right breast for treatment and then breast reconstruction. Fortunately, the cancer had not spread to her lymph nodes and she was downgraded to stage 1 breast cancer. She is waiting to see if she’ll need to go through chemotherapy for the final stages.

Related: 30% of Women Say They Have Delayed Mammograms Due to COVID-19, 45% Tell SurvivorNet They're Now More Nervous About Going to the Doctor

The difficult experience made Donahue want to speak out to help other women out there who may be facing a similar situation. Furthermore, going through treatment taught her a valuable lesson on the importance of regular screening in order to catch a diagnosis early.

“The reason I decided to post this was that I was lucky that it was caught early,” Donahue writes. “And to remind everyone not to put off your mammograms and do your monthly breast exams. Set a monthly alarm if needed. Even men, who can also get breast cancer. Early detection will make the world of difference and give you a better fighting chance.”

 

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A post shared by Colleen Donahue Conrad (@colleen.conrad122)

Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Explained

Triple-negative breast cancer is an aggressive form of the disease, and needs to be treated differently than a typically treatment plan. Triple-negative means that your cancer is not being fueled by any of the three main types of receptorsestrogen, progesterone nor the Her2 protein. This being the case, the cancer won't respond to certain targeted therapies including hormone therapy or Her2-targeted agents. For this specific form of the disease, chemotherapy is typically recommended as first-line treatment.

Related: How to Deal With the Side Effects of Chemotherapy

For those who don’t respond to chemotherapy, your doctor may also recommend a clinical trial which involves immunotherapy or very specific targeted therapies. Despite the disease being known as aggressive, there’s still treatment options available for women facing this diagnosis. However, catching it early before it has spread can help the treatment process tremendously. This is why scheduling your mammograms is essential for your health and future.

“What I’m most concerned about is the women who haven’t been in for a mammogram for two, three, four years, or have never had a mammogram,” Dr. Connie Lehman, Chief of the Breast Imaging Division at Massachusetts General Hospital, previously told SurvivorNet. “We all agree regular screening mammography saves lives. Every doctor that I know, every organization that I know really encourages women to have a mammogram.”

Dr. Connie Lehman breaks down breast cancer screening guidelines

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