[Laurel]

Well said, Becky, and AlaskaAngel, I do agree that the less is more approach would be absolutely welcomed. I nearly crapped my drawers when my Onc spoke the "chemo" word to me. I mean, seriously, what was she thinking? I'm node neg for pity sake, woman!

At the end of the day, I rolled on the toughest go out there, because I subscribed to the theory of hitting it as hard as possible the first go 'round in the hope to never have to address it again. It was the singularly most difficult decision I have ever been asked to make.

While I do fervently pray there are better, less assaulting treatments for all of us regardless of stage, it is admittedly comforting to have my decision supported by research because it was not easy to toe up to the line every other week to be systematically poisoned. I frankly find chemo barbaric in its collateral damage on healthy tissue. I embrace diet and supplements in addition to the conventional wisdom of our day.

I do wonder where it will all shake out at the end of the day. Will they find that triple positives, such as myself, could perhaps avoid the whole chemo experience, opting for only Herceptin and Hormone treatment? Of course, thus far we seem to have improved survival rates with chemo, H, and hormone therapy, so perhaps not.

In summation, to all who are on the fence, my sage advise is to do your research, chose a course of treatment, undergo it, and then live in peace with your choice. The truth is to second guess yourself is not productive, nor in keeping with a positive mindset. In the future, hopefully a less debilitating treatment than Adriamycin/Cytoxin/Taxol/Herceptin will be in the pipeline for all of us. At this point in time, I would again chose it as my treatment, but hope research will prove that some or all of these drugs can be dropped from the protocol in favor of less aggressive treatment. May it be!