['lizbeth]

Debbie,

of course I feel the opposite from you and Becky, but I appreciate any input and any information.

Elle, I didn't mean to hijack your thread.

Debbie, I understand I'm taking a risk with the trial and that down the road I might be dealing with some unforseen consequences.
But I am willing to take the risk to help move cancer research forward. This is something dear to me as I was raised in a family that was opposed to medical treatments such as chemotherapy. I researched extensively to build up comfort with making the decision to take Taxotere and Herception. Looking back it was the best treatment available for me. But I look hard for other options that didn't involve chemo. I couldn't find a treatment that omitted chemo unless I took it first, then enrolled in a clincial trial.

When Dr. Slamon wanted to make Herceptin available to women he ran into many that opposed him. Yet he persisted. And there were problems, big problems with developing a monoclonol antibody that the human body would accept. Herceptin is a god-send, but it doesn't work for everyone. That doesn't mean that it is a "bad" drug. That just means we all must do more to determine what works for each cancer patient.

As we develop more possible treatments we see the pattern emerge that cancer is very individualist. What is a miracle for one, is a disappoint for another who is suffering.

Just because a vaccine does not work for some, but can help others - should we discount it? Thank heavens that Dr. Slamon was so persistent with Herceptin. I don't believe I would be in such great shape today without receiving it.

There is still a lot of work to do in finding ways to prevent suffering and death from cancer. Progress is slow. But I want to look for the good in a possible treatment.

Cancer is like the accident chain in aviation. A disaster does not occur from one event, but a series of events that leads to the point of no return. In cancer we all have different strengths and weaknesses. I believe that when enough weaknesses in the immune system accrue, the cancer thrives. Some of us share the same weaknesses, others have different ones. This is why different treatments succeed for some, not for others.

I hope that neither of us ever has to suffer from cancer again.

And I hope that perhaps you will look at vaccines, a little less skeptically.

I must say for the first time in ages, physically I feel much better. Hopefully, I am one of the lucky ones.

Warm regards.