[Jean]

Hi and I am sorry that you have been dx. with bc.
You mention that you had negative nodes, while that is a favorable dx., that alone is not an indication that cells have not gotten out. There are many with neg. nodes who have had spread of disease. (sorry to share that sad bit of news) but you must realize that many years ago onc. would then use that alone as a favorable decsion for treatment, that is no longer the case. Consider the fact that in a small tumor such as I had a 6MM...half the size of pea...would have millions of cells, these tiny micro cells could pass ....one dr. at John Hopkins said it this way...consider the lymph node like the catch basket in your sink drain...and you cleaning a tomato and some of the tiny seeds of the tomato drop into the sink - will the basket catch all the seeds?

Next, it is now certain that all women who are dx. with HER2 bc should be treated with Herceptin. Maybe in the years to come we will not need the chemo...but for now we only know that chemo/combined with the herceptin offers the best treatment....not my words, those of Dr. Slamon, also said by him long before the FDA approved Herceptin for those of us who were early stagers..."All women who are Her2 should have herceptin. Her2 likes to travel and it does so fast as it is aggressive. I don't know if you are er positive or neg. that would matter also. If you are er positive at least you will be able to add another bullet in your treatment against your bc.

These are not easy decisons. Maybe you could add more information on your signature and other members will be able to add to this post.

I wish you the very best in your decisons. Each of us has to come to terms with our treatments decsions, not based on fear but on knowledge. I can only add that many early stage women fought very hard to get herceptin prior to FDA approval. Has your onc. sat down with you and explained all the factors? Are you afraid of chemo for the side effects? What are you using as a guide for your final decision?

Once again, you have come to the very best source of information ....wishing you all the best.
Kind Regards,
jean
FOOTNOTE;
HER2-positive breast cancers tend to be more aggressive than other types of breast cancer. They're also less responsive to hormone treatment.

When I read this...after being told I did not require chemo/herceptin prior to FDA approval Sinufi..I was told by my dr. that the AI was the best treatment for me..due to being ER positive..after I did some additional research I could not agree with their findings. It is our job to stay on top and ahead of cutting edge information for the best possible treatment.