New Member

[MTome]

I am new to this site and like to introduce myself. My name is Mena and I was diagnosed with Stage 4 on my 48th birthday (no less) due to liver mets. I had been living a life full of gratitude and appreciation for every day that I thought I was cancer free. The original diagnoses was Jan 13th 2005.
I was living in the US back then in the seacoast area and noticed a small lump in my right breast. My GP told me not to worry....my Gyno told me get a mammogram asap!!!! Thank the Lord I listen to her.
Fast forward to my lumpectomy, I heard the words you have cancer,invasive ductal bc Stage 1 ER + PR + Her-2 over expressed no lymph node involvement , must do chemo AC 4 rounds, 36 rads and follow up with Tamoxifen and switch to Arimidex after a year if I became menopausal.
Herceptin in 05 was not considered for Stage 1 patients....oh snap...how unlucky of me!!
I moved to Canada in the summer of 07 immediately hooked up with an Onc who did not feel it necessary to get work up till the fall of 08 as I had no symptoms and felt great I was working out and eating well so no need to worry - thinking it was just a routine Bone Scan, Ultrasound I was relaxed however once on the ultrasound table the technician's behavior scared the crap out of me so much so my knees started shaking uncontrollably.....the look on her face I will never forget!! Few days later...Happy Birthday you have big ole canser all over your liver lady!!!! 6 buggers the largest being a whopping 11 cm!! What does this mean?? How can this be? It was stage 1 - no spreading - doctor told me I was in the clear no worries.....go a live your life she told me...What the????
I started TCH - taxotere, carboplatin and herceptin the real big guns were brought out - I was able to tolerate 9 rounds but I ended up not being able to breath properly due to a pleural effusion, I could not walk the fatigue was debilitating,bad eye tearing, extreme fluid retention,severe neuropathy and of course no hair. It was not a pretty sight but it knocked the suckers back to such an extent my doctor who does not use any descriptive language used the word "remarkable response". The biggest tumor now is 3.6cm . We stopped the chemo and I am doing Herceptin along with tamoxifen so I can regain my strength back and take a break. My doc feels that herceptin alone is not as successful as in combo with a chemo....I really need to maintain some quality of life though and am hoping he can find a chemo that will allow me to work and function. Thank you everyone for allowing this website to exist and thank you Andi for your incredibly generous and welcoming spirit. Being part of a community is very healing and knowing we are not alone is so comforting. I realize that by sharing our story we are spreading positive energy and healing ourselves in the process. Thank you.
Mena