[chrisy]

Hi ,
First let me also say, your friend Jenny is lucky to have a friend like you for support.

My guess is that what is "next" is taxotere and carboplatin. That would be the typical power combo and a very reasonable treatment choice. I had taxol and carboplatin and found it very tolerable if you don't mind not having hair - which I did. The taxotere can cause problems with the nail beds; all the ladies in my infusion center put bags of frozen peas on their fingers and toes during the taxotere infusion - the office even had a little freezer to keep them in. That really helped. Overall, I think it is easier than the A/C (adriamycin/cytoxan) - that's what I hear.

Re Jenny's concerns with her team, it is actually becoming pretty common to have "neoadjuvant" chemo before surgery to try and reduce the tumor. So that need not necessarily be a concern.

Re the denial of recurrence, I can say I have some experience with that - I recurred to my liver after only having DCIS (stage 0 "precancer"). They were all in denial that it was the breast cancer. I think they have certain expectations, which are legitimate based on stats and their experience, and they naturally assume it is what they USUALLY would see. I know this is small consolation, but only 3 weeks of denial is pretty good and won't have made a difference in terms of treatment options.

She may very well be in good hands; however I would still recommend getting a 2nd opinion just based on the fact that she did have such an unusual (fast) recurrence. If she is not already seeing a top breast oncologist, I'd really suggest a consultation.

The rest of it, we all know. It sucks and even though it's just hair, for me it was a constant, visible reminder that all was NOT well. This is a tough road, but Jenny just needs to keep plugging away at it - and I know she will.

Good luck to you both. You are a good friend.

Chris