[harrie]

Those are good arguments on both sides of the issue. For me I understood that it would be a good idea to do the TCH, but also it would not be a bad idea to not do the chemo due to the size of the tumor. 50/50. 50% of good oncologists will recommend it and 50%will say it is not necessary. It appears logical to do the herceptin alone, but studies were done with the herceptin along with chemo.
There are so many of us that have been in the position of trying to juggle the pros and the cons, wanting to be aggresive, but not wanting to do an overkill. Bottom line is that it becomes a personal choice as to what kind of decision you would want to live with.
While trying to decide, I came to the conclusion that to do or not to do the chemo was a win/win situation.
I think age is definitely a consideration. If I was really old, I would probably say forget it! But because I want to be NED for a good 20 - 30 yrs, I went the very aggresive route. I feel good with the decision.
And then when I discovered how manageable the side effects were (maybe i was just lucky) I am REALLY GLAD that I went the whole 9 yards.
harriecanarie (maryanne)