Positive stories, please come out of the woods

[Audrey]

Hi Marcia,
I'm happy to share my story with you so far--I was diagnosed at age 36 with Stage III breast cancer, had 11+ nodes & my prognosis was "poor" --at the time my son was 5 and my daughter was 4. I learned I was Her2+ and that was considered a bad thing, since Her2+ cancers are more aggressive and less treatments were available (like Tamoxifen, etc.). I had a mastectomy, went thru chemo, radiation and was fortunate enough to get into a clinical trial with Herceptin for a year. It was such a tough time for me, I was so pessimistic about my survival--planned my funeral and was so worried about leaving my small kids. But I also discovered this website & began to connect with others in my situation. (I also met my dear friend, Michele U on this site and we met up with our Moms and daughters--it was great--she had StageIII cancer with many positive lymph nodes, too and is also doing great over 5 years later!)
Happily, after treatment was over I kept expecting a recurrence, but none came. I did have my remaining breast removed several years ago due to DCIS, but I really can't complain--I'm feeling well and most days now I don't think the cancer is coming back. I still check in here from time to time to check up on old friends and lend my support and prayers to people who might need it. I hope my story gives you some hope--I know there are others here that have not had recurrences either (Ruth, Yorkiegirl, to think of a few). There are many reasons to stay positive, even in the face of so many losses here in recent months. Herceptin is a great drug for a lot of people. Try to stay in the moment and not get too carried away into that awful "what if" spiral. I used to look at my kids and burst into tears, but now they are 12 1/2 and 14...Keep the faith.