[MJo]

I went to a lecture by a very good oncologist a few years ago and he said the reason to be aggressive the first time you treat breast cancer is that you have a chance to knock it out. Once it comes back as Stage IV, it's chronic (hopefully that will change soon). I'm not sure what I'm reading in your post, but it sounds like your recurrence is not stage IV. So you have another chance to knock it out. I had adriamycin, which is also called doxirubin. It is very strong chemo and is no walk in the park, but it's aggressive treatment. I was also Est/Prog + and I took aromatase inhibitors for five years.

THis was agressive treatment in 2006 -- Adriamycin/cytoxen, followed by Taxol, with Herceptin introduced during the Taxol Treatment and continuing for 12 months. Then radiation. Then