[bejuce]

Dear Denise,

I can relate to everything you're feeling - I've been there many times. As you can see from my signature, I too am a stage 3 with kids (now 9, 7, and 5). I also have been with my husband for 21 years (11 married) and we share a special bond.

I know it's hard to swallow our diagnosis and to think that cancer one day will return. So I'll focus on the positives: you are getting the best treatment available today for your disease. Statistics are old and do not reflect treatment today. I heard at least 70 % chance of making it to 5 years, and that if I passed year 2, chances would improve dramatically. I also heard from one doctor who told me "your prognosis is actually much better than what your numbers indicate". He used the word cure with me, and told me that he's treated 50 patients in the past few years with HER-2+ cancer, with only 2 recurring. The 2 that recurred had small brain mets that were blasted away with Gamma Knife and are doing fine today.

I go through days in which I think any little new pain is cancer returning. I also have days now in which cancer doesn't really enter my mind so much. Those days are increasing and keeping my life as normal and as busy as possible helps.

Remember that cancer cannot rob us of our love for our families. Cancer cannot rob us from teaching our kids our values, from sharing special moments with them.

Also remember that we're all here for you so you don't ever have to feel alone in your thoughts.

One more thing - when I had my mastectomy, I had no breast cancer cells left in the breast tissue itself, only very sporadic cells in the lymph nodes. Because of the number of nodes that looked to be affected from the outset, I took Xeloda (at a low dose) during radiation. I also enrolled in a vaccine trial which I finished last month. You may consider discussing these and any other options available to you with your medical team. If anything, it may give you some more peace of mind.

Good luck with everything!

Love,

Marcia