HER2 Positive

[Sheila]

Shannon
Welcome...you are at the right place....the people on this website have answered many questions for me...it feels like a big family....there is more love and support on this board than you ever imagined. Ask your questions and people who have been there will respond. Hope your scans are good.
Hugs
Sheila

[Shannon]

Hi, I am a 33 year old female who has been diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer with 5 of 17 lymph nodes positive. During all the information that has been given to me the past two months, I have qualified for the Herceptin study. I am hoping to begin my three months of CA chemo on Friday with a follow up of Taxol for three months then 7 weeks of radiation.
There has been a snag in it all as my blood work has shown that my tumor markers have been elevating and tomorrow I have a pet scan to see if there is anything else going on in side.
I am sooo thankful that I found this site. I was getting very discouraged with all the web sites on breast cancer that I was looking at focused more on hormone positive then HER2 poisitve. I was feeling that there were not many survivors out there, therefore the didnt get alot of information out on it. This is very reassuring. I am looking for anyone I can talk to as all the support groups are more for hormone positive rather then HER2 positive in my area. I am a type of person that needs to know what I am up against and what is normal and what is not. I have had the lump I found removed on March 29, and found out two days later that it was cancer (had no clue, didnt even prepare for the results). A week later had the rest of the tissue removed and the lymphnodes. Had a port put in last week as this is a great option for my small veins in the one arm they can still poke. Although I am anxious for the chemo to begin, I am really scared of not knowing how my body will handle it all.

If any one has any guidance or words to share, I would sure love to hear.. Thanks!
Shannon

[Shannon]

I want to thank everyone who checked out my post and responded. This is a great site and you all are soooo nice. I know that this is a long road ahead and I am glad that I found all of you to help me through this.

THank you again!
Shan

[Merridith from Canada]

Hi Shannon. Welcome to HER2Support. You've just hit the best website that I've ever discovered for us special HER2 women.

About advice:

Mouth sores are really common when you are on chemo. The trick is to keep your mouth bacteria down and make sure that your mouth is alkali. Before you start chemo get your mouth cleaned by a dental hygenist. My dentist recommended Biotene toothpaste (available behind the pharmastists counter for approx $12.) which has special enzymes which counteracts some of the side effects of chemo. Also rinse every night with baking soda & water mixture. This makes your mouth alkali. Start with your first day of chemo... don't wait until you have mouth sores.

Drink lots of water starting at least 2 days before chemo.

Don't worry about any horror stories you've heard about chemo. They have really developed good anti-nausea medication so your experience will probably won't be as bad as what people experienced even 5 years ago. I wasn't sick at all...

Studies show that exercise helps endure the chemo. I walked, skied, biked.

Take care,
Merridith
PS: If you want lots of info on HER2, check out "Articles of Interest" message board on this site. It's really good. MP