Lisa -
I was diagnosed with stage IIIA breast cancer Nov., 2001. My doctor felt certain it was fairly large so I had neoadjuvant chemo before surgery. The tumor responded well and surgery followed. I had a mastectomy on the right side and decided to wait on reconstruction. When I went for my follow-up visit, the pathology report had come in. It was AWFUL!! The tumor was still 7 cm and I had 35 positive lymph nodes. Needless to say, I was terrified. My treatment consisted of high dose chemo followed by radiation and Herceptin. I started taking Arimidex in June, 2002.
Fast forward to today, Jan. 10, 2006. I am doing great, no problems and everything is looking good. I'm not sure when I reached the point where my obsession with cancer went away, but I realized about 3 months ago that I hadn't even thought about it for awhile. I know it's hard to imagine, but each day will bring you closer to that point. Stay strong and remember that you can get past all of this.
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