[Becky]

I just want to add a few facts. Prior to Herceptin therapy in early breast cancer, Her2 BC had a worse prognosis BUT what does that really mean. All it means is that it was more likely to recur than BC that was only ER/PR positive. And what does THAT mean. Women who are only highly ER/PR positive can get Tamoxifen therapy (within the last 2 yrs, women who were also postmenopausal might get an aromotase inhibitor instead). Those drugs reduce the chance of recurrence (in the 5 yrs they are taken) by about 42%. Secondly, in most cases, highly ER/PR positive disease tends to be of lower grade and tends to grow more slowly. This is why there is a blimp in recurrence for this kind of cancer further out from diagnosis – around 7 years or so (this kind of cancer’s highest recurrence peak is still within the first 2 years just like Her2+ or triple negative disease (not ER+, not PR+ , not Her2+).
When comparing the hormone positive bc (that is NOT also Her2+ as some Her2+ women are also hormone positive too) to Her2+ disease prognosis statistics (all PRIOR to Herceptin therapy), prognosis was better for hormone positive disease – they had a drug for it and even if they didn’t, it tends to grow slower and not be as aggressive as Her2+ (or triple negative). However, if comparing Stage 1 disease women – a hormone positive woman has about a 95% chance of disease free survival at 10 yrs whereas a Her2+ woman (who is ER/PR negative) is at about 88%. So you see, even without Herceptin, not everyone recurs. Far from it. Now add Herceptin which gives a 52% improvement on recurrence rate and now that Her2+ woman is at 94%. Now add other lifestyle modification study data. Exercising (walking one hour per day 5 days per week) can reduce the recurrence rate for hormone negative women by 44% so now that number becomes 97.36%! They also say that a low fat diet (20grams of fat per day) reduces recurrence rate by 21% (for hormone negative) so you are now near 98%. These stats make the assumption that the woman has taken chemo and had radiation if she had a lumpectomy. Also, even though there have been no definitive studies, the kinds of fats you eat make a bigger difference than if you can really adhere to such a low fat diet (you really have to be a vegan to do the 20 grams of fat – not even vegetarian will do it and the benefit is kind of small) so read the thread on the Mediterranean diet and RhondaH’s breast cancer diet and all of R.B’s posts on balancing the omega 6 to omega 3 (aka fish oil). As you can see, even without Herceptin, survival is really real for most women.
Have faith – in yourself, your treatment, and your caregivers. This is doable and survivable. So far so good for many of us. Also, this board is very valuable for cutting edge info on prevention, treatments, side effects, nutrition. Also, many who are members do not visit because they do not need to because they are survivors. Many like Juanita, Marejo, others and me still come to show our support, continue to remain informed and cheer on our new and old friends. We are here for you and I know you can do it!