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Hello,
I'm a new member, but have been reading this board quite a while.
I had bilateral mastectomies July, 2003, then chemo (I only remember Taxol and Adriamycin) and radiation. I am apparently free of distant mets, but, sheesh, the grade, advanced stage (III A or B, depending on who you ask - I say A), node involvement and extreme nastiness of these particular tumors suggest to anyone who knows anything about breast cancer that the chance of a reccurance is very good. Very, very good, actually.
Yesterday I called the onc who replaced mine and asked for Herceptin. To my shock, he said yes!
There are hurdles ahead (I'm on MediCal, California's Medicaid), but I'll deal with them as they pop up. Meanwhile, they've scheduled an ECHO to check heart function. There are other funding options, but I think I'll wait to see what MediCal will approve before stating phone calls.
I'd much rather face congestive heart failure (CHF) than metastatic breast cancer. I buried a 15-year-old son last June who died from CHF--due to Adriamycin therapy when he was 5--and I know it's easier to treat than met bc. (He died largely because he could not give up smoking pot, not even to get a new heart. I don't smoke pot, so I'm ahead of the game. <g>) Besides, even after my Adriamycin treatment, the chances of heart damage are not great.
I believe that this is a survival issue for me--although I don't exactly expect a reccurance, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it happened--so the fact that the wheels are turning has me really jazzed! If it reduces the chance of a reccurance even a little, I think it's worth any risk involved.
Thank you all for being there, being so knowledgeable, and forgiving any spelling mistakes. I look forward to getting to know you soon.
Tuesday
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