Janets story

[attachmentid=20]I am 38 years old, happily married and the mother of 4 little boys , ages 10, 7, 5, and 2. I have been a registered nurse for 15 years. I discovered a lump in my right breast (rather large) which seemed to have appeared overnite, and immediately called by doctor. On March 14th, 2005, I was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. I was told that I was HER2NEU +3, hormone receptor -, my tumor was high grade and tumor size 5-6 cms.
I am presently in a Herceptin study at Dana Farber and receive herceptin weekly with Carboplatin/Taxotere every 3 weeks. I am having difficulty with the side effects (mostly fatigue) and chasing around these rather busy boys. I am receiving my chemo then having a mastectomy in July, with adriamycin/cytoxin to follow. (Not how I planned on spending 2005).
I find this to be the most difficult thing I have ever dealt with. As a nurse, I studied about cancer and chemo in nursing school, but only now do I really understand as I 'walk the walk'. I really fear reoccurance and don't know if I could do all this again in the future. My sentinal node biopsy was -., so that is a good thing. I have lost all my hair, but I'd rather have hair loss than the loss of strength. I am glad that I stumbled on this website, and I know that I am not alone.