More Chemo or Surgery

I was wondering if there was anyone that could give me some info. I was diag. with BC that had spread to my sternum bone and maybe a spot on the lung their not sure because they don't see it now.I've been treated for 2 1/2 yrs. with chemo + herceptin, then just herceptin, then hormonal treatements now chemo again which now is not working , they've found a new lesion in the breast and a lymph node under my arm that does't look good. Up until now they've told me surgery was not an option for me because it had already spread so there was no since in taking my breast off. I ask for a multi-disciplinary-conference where they take my case in front of a board of doctors oncologist, surgeons, and a radiation doctor. They are now telling me that I should have surgery because the breast tumor is continuing to grow and it could burst through the skin and now that its in the lymph node it will also spread. So far I've been on Adrimyicin, and Taxol I know that there are some more chemos I can try, I'm afraid if they do surgery that it will really spread like wildfire when they remove the primary tumor.I hope you can make sense of this, anyone out there with a similar situation or some input I would greatly appreciate it.

You may want to consider participating in the Clinical Trials for a new drug for HER2++ women who do not respond to Herceptin.

Warmest Regards
Joe (Christine's Husband"

Thanks so much for your suggestion, I will check it out. Donna

Donna-
I'm so sorry you have to go through this again.I have a couple of suggestions that may be helpful, especially since you are unsure about which chemo to try next...there's a test called a "chemo-sensitivity assay".They test different chemo combos on a biopsied sample of the tumor.It's a better indicator of which combos do NOT work (vs. what will work)that way you're not wasting time on a combo that you don't respond to.Also, has anyone suggested Neo-Adjuvant chemo?That's doing chemo first/before surgery to shrink the tumor so that you may be able save your breast.It also allows you to see your response to the chemo combo.
I hope this info is helpful.Please keep us posted how your doing.
Keep the faith & take good care,
Jessica