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agness · 01-10-2016, 11:08 AM

I wouldn't do surgery first if I were you. I know this is throwing a kink in the works but they are going to have you on chemo anyway and having surgery first will eliminate the one chance you have to see if your therapy is working.

It sucked going right into chemo but when I finally had surgery it had completely dissolved my tumor in my breast and axilla. I was able to get away with less surgery -- which was my preference anyway. I had such bad locally advanced disease and yet I wanted to try to help my body heal as much as possible.

The fact that you are HER2+ at all and are being offered surgery first shows me that your surgeon is behind in their practice and you are being offered "standard of care" for any breast cancer type.

MD Anderson has been saying this for years. I think you need a new doctor or at least a new protocol.

01-10-2016, 11:08 AM	#5
agness Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 285	Re: Felling so alone . . . I wouldn't do surgery first if I were you. I know this is throwing a kink in the works but they are going to have you on chemo anyway and having surgery first will eliminate the one chance you have to see if your therapy is working. It sucked going right into chemo but when I finally had surgery it had completely dissolved my tumor in my breast and axilla. I was able to get away with less surgery -- which was my preference anyway. I had such bad locally advanced disease and yet I wanted to try to help my body heal as much as possible. The fact that you are HER2+ at all and are being offered surgery first shows me that your surgeon is behind in their practice and you are being offered "standard of care" for any breast cancer type. MD Anderson has been saying this for years. I think you need a new doctor or at least a new protocol. __________________ Dx 2/14 3b HER2+/HR- left breast, left axilla, internal mammary node (behind breast bone). Neoadjuvant TCHP 3/14-7/2. PCR 8/14 LX and SND. 10/21-12/9 Proton therapy to chest wall. Dx 7/20/15 cerebellar met 3.5x5cm HER2+/HR-/GATA3+ 7/23/15 Craniotomy. 7/29/15 bone scan clear. 8/3/15 PET clean scan. LINAC SRS (5 fractions) Sept 2015. 9/17/15 CSF NED, 9/24/15 CSF NED, 11/2/15 CSF NED. 10/27/15 atypical uptake in right cerebellum - inflammation? 12/1/15 Leptomeningeal dx. Starting IT Herceptin. 1/16 - 16 fractions of tomotherapy to cerebellum, break of IT Herceptin during rads, resume at 100 mg weekly 3/2016 - stable scan 5/2016 stable scan 7/2016 pseudoprogression? 9/2016 more LM, start new chemo protocol and IV therapy treatment with HBOT 11/2016 Cyberknife to temporal lobe, HBOT just prior 12/2016 - lesions starting to show shrinkage 8/2017 - Stable since Dec 2016. Temporal lobe lesion gone. Using TCM, naturopathic oncology, physical therapy, chiro, massage, medical qigong, and energetic healing modalities in tandem. Stops at nothing. Mother of 2 boys - ages 7 and 10 (8/2017) and a lovely partner with lots to live for.