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Re: Aunt just diagnosed, now what?
Thank you all for your support! My aunt lives in a remote town in Brazil and I'm not even sure if she'll have access to a genetic test there. Even if she does, she'll have to pay for it out of pocket at a prohibitive cost.
My parents are going to visit her soon and I'll learn more details then. I feel specially vulnerable today, after learning that two young women in my local support group passed away last night.
I know I need to stay hopeful as much as I can, but today's been hard. I'm so glad to be a part of this community where I know I'll always have a shoulder to lean on.
Thank you all for taking the time to respond!
Marcia
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ER+ (30%)/PR-/HER-2+, stage 3
Diagnosed on 02/18/09 at 38 with a huge 12x10 cm tumor, after a 6 month delay. Told I was too young and had no risk factors. Found swollen node during breastfeeding.
March-August 09: neo-adjuvant chemo, part of a trial at Stanford (4 DD A/C, 4 Taxotere with daily Tykerb), loading dose of Herceptin
08/12/09 - bye bye boobies (bilateral mastectomy)
08/24/09 - path report shows 100 % success in breast tissue (no cancer there, yay!), 98 % success in lymphatic invasion, and even though 11/13 nodes were still positive, > 95 % of the tumor in them was killed. Hoping for the best!
September-October 09: rads with daily Xeloda
02/25/10 - Cholecystectomy
05/27/10 - Bone scan clear
06/14/10 - CT scan clear, ovarian cyst found
07/27/10 - Done with Herceptin!
02/15/11 - MVA-BN HER-2 vaccine trial
03/15/11 - First CA 15-3: 12.7 and normal, yay!
10/01/11 - Bone scan and CT scan clear, fatty liver found
now on Tamoxifen and Aspirin
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