New to the Group

[Tracie]

Hello everyone. I'm so happy to have found this support group. I have come across a couple of other groups since my diagnosis, but it seems to me that the HER 2+ status makes a lot of difference in so many things. I was diagnosed with high grade ductal carcinoma of the right breast back in April, 2010. I had bilateral mastectomies on 5/7. I had three separate masses in the right breast, the largest measuring 3.5cm. I had a right axillary node dissection at that time which showed 14 of 23 lymph nodes involved. My tumor is grade 3, ER+/PR+ and HER 2 Neu +++. I will be getting a port placed on 6/10 and my chemo will begin shortly thereafter. My oncologist has recommended a course of Adriamycin/Cytoxan followed by Taxol and followed by a year of Herceptin, but he states he will continue the Herceptin until I show signs of decreased cardiac function. I believe I will also receive Tamoxifen. Radiation will follow my chemo and my breast reconstruction is delayed until I finish radiation. All of this is more than overwhelming as I'm sure you all well know. I am a 52 year old registered nurse, who has truly never been sick much in my whole life. I am a runner, a healthy eater and never could have believed all of this could happen to me. To add insult to injury, my mammograms have been read as normal, even when I felt a large lump in my breast. Any success stories with statistics somewhere near as grim as mine along with coping strategies would be greatly appreciated. I really feel like my life as I know it has been snatched from me. This sucks, huh?