I hope it turns out that this spot on your mother's spine is not cancer.  In the 14 years since my treatment for Stage IIIB inflammatory breast cancer, I have had many scares that turned out to be OK.  If it is a metastasis to the bone (bone mets), there are still things that can be done.  In fact of all the types of metastatic breast cancer, bone mets patients often do surprisingly well, living for years with a good quality of life.  Although triple negative breast cancer can be harder to treat than some other types because it does not respond to hormone treatments or targeted therapies like Herceptin, it often responds well to chemo.  Once you know for sure if this spot is cancer, the doctor will sit down with your mother and family members and come up with a treatment plan. If she has not been seen at a comprehensive cancer center, this might be a good time to get a second opinion before deciding on a treatment plan.  A spot on the spine does change the picture because it means that your mother has active breast cancer cells in her body, but it is not a reason to despair because bone mets are treatable.