[Linda]

Hi Sweet Marcia:
I was dx locally advanced in April, 2005. I'll never know how large my tumor was (huge I suspect) or how many pos nodes I had, because I had 6 months of neo adjuvant chemo. Unlike you, at surgery I still had a 6 cm tumor and one grossly positive node. My path report was hideous (super fast growing,er/pr neg) After that, I had rads, and the rest of my year of herceptin. My kids were teenagers at the time, and I know the fear you write of.
I have had no recurrence, no progression, not even any lymphedema or lasting side effects from treatment. Our kids are in college now, almost done!. I run, work out, travel, work hard and joke with my husband about getting old and eccentric. I often forget I had cancer and get caught up in ordinary aggravations at work, etc. Yes, there's always that little hesitation, wondering if tomorrow is when it will come back. But mostly, I'm in my life and back to my old self.
When I was first diagnosed, I clung to the stories of women who were years out and doing well. And most of those same women I tracked then are still well, now eight - ten years out.
Take care
Linda