Hello and questions

[Andrea Barnett Budin]

Hi Shadow,

I completely agree that the mind can conspire to heal the body, sending it explicit instructions. The mind rules the body, and the body obeys whatever it is told to do. IT HEARS EVERYTHING TO THINK, OR EVEN WHISPER!

I have a supplement regiment given me by my nutritional oncologist. A rare gem of a healer, I was blessed to be led to. He has taught me to meditate, to relax my mind and thus my body, to use guided imagery, which is discussed quite well by Steph in a thread somewhere around here and to use the power of my thoughts to help me fare well. It is my experience that -- what we think impacts how well we feel (emotionally) and contributes mightily to outcome.

This being said, and profoundly believed down to my Soul, I had a mastectomy and I had chemotherapy. I chose to see these as necessary as well to defeat my cancer. I could have given in to the temptation to resist allowing toxic substances into my body, but instead I saw this as a lifeline -- pulling me through rough waters.

I am aware that the cancer can exist in microscopic form, undetected by all the tests I had. I wanted to obliterate every infinitesimal remnant of the disease as definitively as I could. I availed myself of every weapon modern cutting edge medicine has to fight this insidious disease with! Including, what I consider additionally important -- working with my body through my mind, boosting my immune system (as I describe in my GAINING CONTROL threads). Also as an INTEGRATIVE therapy using specific supplements to: Neutralize free radicals, protect the good cells from damage, reduce recurrence of cancer, prevent cancer cells from proliferating, energize myself, keep my heart healthy, decrease tumor burden, protect brain and spinal nerves, assist in gastro absorption, lower triglycerides, lower blood sugar, help prevent stroke, rid the body of toxins, support bone health, inhibit tumor growth, decrease muscle/joint pain and so on... And, I meditate daily and use guided imagery. All these factors combine to give this complex disease w/many faces the greatest wallop it ever met! I believe each is necessary for overall quality of Life and Survival!

In this way I can live with joy and harmony, grateful for each, feeling more alive than I ever felt before. I found I was much stronger and braver than I thought I was. I wanted to be a role model for my daughters, to face any and all adversity with grace and fierce determination, despite the odds. This desire propelled me forward, even as the going got tough. I did what I had to achieve my clear goal, with focused Intention and faithful Expectation.

The wisdom and knowledge of this site and all that I have educated myself about breast cancer helps me to understand the aggressive foe I am up against and therefore to hit it with the most aggressive tools (Eastern and Western, modern and ancient) that I could access. I grasped right off that I was in a Life and Death battle and I moved ahead with certainty and tenacity.

I pray you will make the right choices and be led to full remission. You are especially fortunate in that you have the advantage of having access to Herceptin as a first liner. Had I had that choice, I doubt I would have recurred. But, thank God, it did become available when I metastasized, just in time -- to save my life!

Much to think about, Shadow. Let us know how you proceed, please. We stand with you, as a Sister and a fellow Warrior...
Andi

[BonnieR]

Shadowpilot, I was originally offered Herceptin without additional chemo. My onc acknowledged that it was not the "usual" approach. But the more I researched and spoke to cancer experts, it seemed that the most effective method should involve chemo in conjunction with Herceptin. Then my Oncotype test came back highly positive. And shortly after that, the pathologist told me, after reviewing my slides, he found " a little more cancer than we originally thought". These things did not change my stage but I decided I was getting signs!
If you pray about it and ask for a clear sign, I bet you will have your epiphany too. Whatever is right for you.
Keep the faith.

[Jean]

Shadow,
I respect your thoughts on a natural approach and I like Andi and mostly every women on this site, take supplements, also I am strict with
my diet and eat clean and wise, of course positive energy is included.
Okay with all that said.....It is especially important to understand HER 2
I am not a person who lives by the stats....since we are unique and our
bodies have our very own genes....so do not put so much faith in those stats.
They are great if you fall into the safe numbers...but what if you are in the 10% group? One never knows....I know this...I have friends who smoke, drink, eat all the wrong foods and are doing great and do not have bc.
Why? Who knows....I have known woman who have never eaten meat,
followed clean diets etc. etc. and they did get bc....These questions will take years to be answered....and for sure it lies within our genes. While at S.A. the top dr. were divided in their opinons ....these are people who have studied this diesease for over 30 yrs....very disturbing to hear.
Especially in the area of early breast cancer. It is only the last few years
that more woman are being dx. with early stage bc due to mammograms and new technology. DCIS has just recently started to be treated as a cancer not just a pre-cancer...unlike a few years ago. We the newly dx. early stagers will be providing the data that will determine the proper treatment. Stop worrying about the size of the bc....it means nothing, yes it is favorable but bc is bc and tumor cells are present. period.. It is like being a little bit pregnant.
Most important check into your pathology report and study it well.
What was your KI 67 levels, how fast was the tumor proliferating?
These are important questions to be answered, forget the size we all know now you can be a woman who presents with a 2CM tumor and not
have recurrance and a woman with a tiny aggressive tumor can move forward with stage 4....are you getting the point about size...and stats?
Study your path report...it will give you answers.
The hardest part is making a decsion. We are all here to support you
and help you....wishing you the very best...please let us know what you
decide to do.

Kind Regards,
Jean

[Cathya]

Shadow;

I was node negative......but a second tumor was found in my supraclavicular node and not by mri or ct but by my onc's very experienced physical exam. Until it was my onc was planning on no chemo for me. Her2+ bc is very tricky and likes to travel. My case was rare but not that rare. I supposedly had clean margins as well. You just never know if there are a few cells lurking or moving out there.....without chemo they are not killed. So...I agree with everyone else posting. Be very careful and hit this beast very hard now while you have a chance of a cure.

Cathy

[Bill]

Hi Shadowpuppet! I hope the fierce warriors here on this site have given you good council. Myself, I have not had cancer, merely a caregiver to my wife. Looking back on things, knowing what I know now, we would have been alot more aggressive with treatments. Please understand, I'm not trying to cause you any more worry, because I know you have plenty, but honestly, you don't want to wind up in that 10 percent group. You gotta hit the cancer from all angles-chemo, rads. if appropriate, exercise, proper diet, prayer, meditation, visualizing yourself as cured, healthy and NED, and whatever else you can do. The only thing you have control over is how you react to your situation, and what you do to fight it. If you don't fight it head on and God forbid, it doesn't work out well, you can't undo time and play the "woulda, shoulda, coulda" game. Like a chaplain told me once, "Your life is different now, and it doesn't matter what you think,but it is. Just look at it as a new, different life and commit yourself to doing the best you can at every given step, and that's all you can do."
You gotta do all you can. Prayers and Love, Bill

[fullofbeans]

It is not an easy decision. However I would say that make sure you are basing your decision on the right info.

What we know is that:

young woman (with high grade IDC) and Her2 have fast agressive cancer.

Chemo works best with fast dividing cells.

taxane were found to significantly decrease recurrence of these aggressive Her2 cancer.

Herceptin is serving us well with minimal side effect.

The way I see it there are not just one cancer.

Western medecine has come up with some statitically proven protocoles in cancer treatment. However i think that it is not either or..

Many adopt on this board also do a diet high in omega 3 and that minimise inflamatory response (lots of veg, no meat) and low GI (no refined/ processed food) and other growth factor if Er+ (Dairy); Basically a greek diet (see post for it of that title) . sport, supplements, meditation.. all these have on balance scientific reasons/support to be used to decrease or slow down recurrence

Often alternative protocole refer to just "Cancer" and haved similar detox prog, no distinction is made between various type of BC; you could be 70 with a slow grade 1 IDC.. (For me the cancer you have is a totally different beast, yours is likely to be fast).

Good luck in making up your mind but make sure you are correctly informed to take your decision. A word of caution would be to be beware of testimonies.