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RhondaH · 11-05-2005, 03:19 AM

I was dx 2/1/05 Stage 1, Grade 3, ER/PR-, Her2+, No nodes. Had partial mastectomy on 2/7/05 (my surgeon cancelled another appt to get me in asap). I asked him to do a double mastectomy, but he told me that he would not recommend it (I had 1, 1.6 cm lump) as though my insurance would cover the affected one, it would not the other and mine wasn't the kind that spreads from breast to breast. One I often think of (and there was a discussion on this a long time ago) is Christine who had a lumpectomy for Stage 1, no nodes in 1990 who had a recurrence in 1998 (I'm not sure of the time frame, but this is approximate) to her brain and has successfully been on Herceptin ever since. I think if I were looking at 2 poorly differentiated and there was a family history of it, I would demand a double mastectomy. I also finished 6 rounds of dose dense TEC (taxotere, epirubicin and cytoxan) on 5/16/05 though the protocol since then has changed to AC (not sure of how many rounds) followed by 12 weekly Taxol/Taxotere w/ Herceptin followed by 40 more weekly (or this can be done every 3 weeks like I am doing) Herceptin alone. Also, I finished 33 rads (28 w/ 5 boosts) on 8/1/05 and began Herceptin every 3 weeks on 8/18/05. Some else said and I truly believe that breast cancer is like Russian Roulette w/ 9 in the chamber and for everything you do to fight it, you can remove a bullet and improve your chances of survival. 1. Prayer 2. Surgery 3. Chemo 4. Radiation 5. Herceptin 6. Diet (drink a TBS of olive oil each day to help w/ the HER2...see other posts on this) 7. Exercise 8. Yoga 9. Meditation. I know when I was first dx, I went to every support group online for answers until I found this one to best suit my needs and don't really visit any others. Good luck and good health.

Rhonda Hoffman

11-05-2005, 03:19 AM	#3
RhondaH Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 1,516	Welcome I was dx 2/1/05 Stage 1, Grade 3, ER/PR-, Her2+, No nodes. Had partial mastectomy on 2/7/05 (my surgeon cancelled another appt to get me in asap). I asked him to do a double mastectomy, but he told me that he would not recommend it (I had 1, 1.6 cm lump) as though my insurance would cover the affected one, it would not the other and mine wasn't the kind that spreads from breast to breast. One I often think of (and there was a discussion on this a long time ago) is Christine who had a lumpectomy for Stage 1, no nodes in 1990 who had a recurrence in 1998 (I'm not sure of the time frame, but this is approximate) to her brain and has successfully been on Herceptin ever since. I think if I were looking at 2 poorly differentiated and there was a family history of it, I would demand a double mastectomy. I also finished 6 rounds of dose dense TEC (taxotere, epirubicin and cytoxan) on 5/16/05 though the protocol since then has changed to AC (not sure of how many rounds) followed by 12 weekly Taxol/Taxotere w/ Herceptin followed by 40 more weekly (or this can be done every 3 weeks like I am doing) Herceptin alone. Also, I finished 33 rads (28 w/ 5 boosts) on 8/1/05 and began Herceptin every 3 weeks on 8/18/05. Some else said and I truly believe that breast cancer is like Russian Roulette w/ 9 in the chamber and for everything you do to fight it, you can remove a bullet and improve your chances of survival. 1. Prayer 2. Surgery 3. Chemo 4. Radiation 5. Herceptin 6. Diet (drink a TBS of olive oil each day to help w/ the HER2...see other posts on this) 7. Exercise 8. Yoga 9. Meditation. I know when I was first dx, I went to every support group online for answers until I found this one to best suit my needs and don't really visit any others. Good luck and good health. Rhonda Hoffman