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An EF of 50 or over is normal. NOT bad. Normal.
Having said that, I have to add that I think you may be jumping the gun a bit. I understand that you are frightened and anxious, but your mom may not need chemo at all at this point. You need to sit down and BREATHE, and then discuss it calmly w/ the oncologist. The fact that she's ErPr+ is a good thing--there are MANY more options for her. Her2+ is not a death sentence in and of iteself. And Herceptin is not a cure.
Your mom's age may actually be a benefit for her as it is believed that older people tend to have slower-growing tumors. If she has NED at present, then one of the anti- hormonal drugs may be all she needs. Not because she is 'old' (I don't think 67 is old) or even because she has emphysema; just because that's all she needs now.
We all tend to want to give the disease a knock-out punch. I've heard people say, "Hit it heavy and hard'" as if that will guarantee something. But we should all know by now there are no guarantees w/ this disease. I think the new Herceptin + chemo findings are stunning. Wish I'd had the chance to go that route when I started. But there are other drugs in the pipeline, and IF your mom needs them eventually, a couple of them will be there.
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