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bbscott2 · 03-11-2008, 11:19 AM

Hi Lani,

I was hoping you would respond. From looking around the board, it seems that you are very knowledgeable. I read the article you posted about surgeries. Anyway, here are the answers to your questions.

My mom is 57. Her cancer has not spread and the tumor was 5 cm. We live right outside of Houston and she actually started at MD Anderson. That's a whole other story there. We left because of the horrible treatment she was receiving. Now she is at The Baylor School of Medicine Breast Center which is also in the medical center of Houston.

They stopped the herceptin simply because 12 treatments was the number they said. They said 12 treatments to shrink the tumor, then surgery - lumpectomy, then chemo, then radiation, then herceptin. But when the tumor shrunk so much that it was gone, it's like they didn't know what to remove, so they decided to take the whole thing.

While getting her to treatment isn't always convenient, I have a baby and usually can't do it, it is possible.

Anyway, I hope to hear back on more ideas. She has an appointment tomorrow with the doctor and she is a nervous wreck. They simply think that she is being a difficult patient. No one can explain though how they got from lumpectomy to mastectomy.

Thanks,
Briony

03-11-2008, 11:19 AM	#5
bbscott2 Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 5	Hi Lani, I was hoping you would respond. From looking around the board, it seems that you are very knowledgeable. I read the article you posted about surgeries. Anyway, here are the answers to your questions. My mom is 57. Her cancer has not spread and the tumor was 5 cm. We live right outside of Houston and she actually started at MD Anderson. That's a whole other story there. We left because of the horrible treatment she was receiving. Now she is at The Baylor School of Medicine Breast Center which is also in the medical center of Houston. They stopped the herceptin simply because 12 treatments was the number they said. They said 12 treatments to shrink the tumor, then surgery - lumpectomy, then chemo, then radiation, then herceptin. But when the tumor shrunk so much that it was gone, it's like they didn't know what to remove, so they decided to take the whole thing. While getting her to treatment isn't always convenient, I have a baby and usually can't do it, it is possible. Anyway, I hope to hear back on more ideas. She has an appointment tomorrow with the doctor and she is a nervous wreck. They simply think that she is being a difficult patient. No one can explain though how they got from lumpectomy to mastectomy. Thanks, Briony