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Hi Chelee, tumor markers can be very unreliable. You can have mets and have normal numbers and your markers can be high even if you don't have mets. there are alot of oncs who don't even use them or will only use them for stage 4. When I asked my onc how we were going to know if the chemo is working, he said we wouldn't. He said if the cancer came back, we know it didn't work.
In regard to AC, I think I remember seeing somewhere that er/pr+ cancers don't respond as well to chemo. I am sure someone with more knowledge on this will respond and let us know if that is true. Your onc may have felt that getting you on herceptin and letting you stay on herceptin indefinitely, and not risk heart problems associated with ac, especially with your family history and if you told him you were worried about heart problems, would be your best solution.
think about if you would have done ac, had heart problems and could not have done herceptin. I think your chance of recurrance would be much higher than what it is now with the current treatment you are on now.
Good Luck! Laurie
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