[Jean]

jjames,
Understand the concerns of side effects...I am 7 yrs out and so far all is going great in my life. I am still taking AI for my high estrogen positive part of my bc. While there are women who are having some nasty side effects - I am doing well.

There are many layers to this disease. First of all if we are lucky we age. With age comes an entire host of issues that are natural.

The group of us early stagers who have been treated will be able to offer more answers in the next 10 yrs. We have seen the last decade of trials and studies which strongly shows improvement and survival has increased with Herceptin.
Will Herceptin be given without chemo in the near future? No one can answer that.
As research discovers more information on genes, DNA, enzymes, etc. and their role
in bc.

It is an individual decision when faced with early stage dx. For me it was easy choice. Understanding the nature of Her2 I wanted to be treated. Yes you can have clean margins...no node involvement...and yet still a rogue cell can lay dormant
and then venture out...

There are so many articles to pull on the site to read about small tumors and treatment...read as much as you can endure and then sit with your family and review. At the end of the day you will have to make the best choice for you.
All I can add is recurrence rate has dropped since treatment of early stage with herceptin (with chemo) now there are a few gals who have had treatment of herceptin alone....ask your onc. if they would be willing to treat without the chemo.

Keep us posted.
Best Wishes,
Jean