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I was diagnosed 3/21/05 and had a diagnosis similar to your wife. My tumor was 4.7, grade 3, Her2+ and 2 nodes pos. but I was er/pr-.I don't know if that affects type of chemo chosen. I had dose dense 4x AC then 12 X taxol/herceptin. I will continue to take Herceptin for a year alone. I thought that Herceptin should not be given with Adriamycin. You stated that Herceptin might be given toward the end of treatment, but that would be giving it with Adriamiycin, which I think was found to increase the risk of Heart Problems. My onc said I had to wait a few weeks after finishing AC before I could start the Herceptin. How old is your wife? I think that also comes into play when they decide what chemo. I am 37, and I told the dr. I wanted the most agressive chemo that they could give me, I am hoping that is what I got.
In regard to question 4, they unfortunately won't know. I asked my onc the same thing and his answer was "we won't" It was very disheartening, at first, to be doing something that was making me so sick and not knowing if it was helping or not, But I realized I had to have faith that there has been so much testing of these drugs, and these were the ones that my onc thought would be the most helpful. I have one taxol/herceptin left and I had scans done two weeks ago and everything came back fine. I can only hope and pray that I continue to get good results. Good Luck
Laurie
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