[MJo]

I had a 1/2 centimeter tumor, neg. nodes, estrogen/progesterone pos. and Her2++. Diagnosed in late October. Had lumpendectomy in early November. The radiologist had me all set up for radiation, but the oncologist intervened.

I had an Oncotype test and my score was 31. I had a 21% chance of recurrence in 10 years. That was too high for me. I am fighting with my insurance company to pay for Oncotype, otherwise I'm out $3000+. I read a message on the internet in which a Her2++ woman wrote that the oncologist told her not to waste $$ on Oncotype, because Her2 patients will never come in low risk.. I am glad I got the Oncotype, since I was unaware of cheaper tests.

I decided to treat the cancer aggressively, because I was very worried about Her2. I took 3 A/Cs (got too sick to take the 4th). I have had two taxols and three Herceptins. My body tolerates taxol and herceptin better better. I am back at work part-time. Have 2 more taxols to go and will take Herceptin every 3 weeks for 10 months. Will also get radiation for 6 weeks and will probably take arimidex.

So you see, I had a tiny tumor with no lymph node involvement, but I'm treating this aggressively. I'm being treated at Helen Graham Cancer Center in Delaware. My oncologist is known for treating cancer aggressively. I got a second opinion from another oncologist who has been in business 30 years. He agreed with my oncologist about agressive treatment. My surgeon told me he didn't think I would need chemo. Three months later, when I went back for my checkup, he told me he thought I was doing the right thing by treating this aggressively.

I think we are in a time of change. I think nobody is sure what to do with us small tumor, node neg Her2 patients. The oncology nurses told me they thought I was doing the right thing. They said they see women who didn't get chemo come back in five years with mestastic cancer (sorry for spelling). Of course, the nurses see the ones who come back. They don't see those of us who remain cancer free. Still, I am not taking chances.

For someone like me, the the topoII test would have been most useful. I got very sick from A/C -- anemia, respiratory infection, etc. The TopoII test might have spared me the A/C if I didn't have the HER2 that responds to this chemo. On the other hand, you never know how you will respond to chemo until you take it. A/C for me was very difficult. My boss, who also has Her2++ breast cancer, sailed through it and kept Now, she has severe muscle pain from Taxol, and I feel almost normal.

Best of luck to you. It is hard to decide how much risk to take when you are Stage 1. I think to myself that there is an 80% chance that I have no cancer cells in me, yet I'm putting these drugs in my body. However, there's no way of knowing that I don't have cancer cells in me. Do I want to take the risk? For me, the answer is no. Still, when does the risk from the drugs become more dangerous than the risk of recurrence? I don't think doctors can answer that yet. We are the bridge generation. Future patients won't have to go through this. Keep the faith, Mary Jo