Don't let HER2+ scare you. It's just a number.

JOANWILL55

I'm no expert on cancer. I was DXed on 7/28, at the age of 66. I did not even know I was HER2+ until today. Two weeks ago my ONC gave me an aggressive treatment plan on the ground of my G3 rating. But today a radiation oncologist told me if not for that HER2+, my treatment would be nothing more than lumpectomy plus 4 weeks radiation!

I checked my profile on this website. OMG. I had put down HER2 negative. Then I read the five page diagnosis from the lab - with no page #, nor subtitles, so poorly formatted it almost got thrown to the trash in my frustration. Ah. my HER2 on one page said negative. And on another page said positive.

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patient negative by ratio (1.2) but in the equivocal range for HER2 signals (4.1)

tumor cells showed 3+ membrane starining for Her2/neu in 50% of tumor cells which is interpreted as being positive for Her2/neu by IHC..

number of invasive cells counted: 20

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Let me stop here. So I am HER2 +. Does it mean the observation based on 20 cells should impact my prognosis and my outlook of life? Yes. The additional treatment will cost a lot of money - and I may get fired because the small company I work for is self-insured and cannot afford my medical bills. I probably should get into my husband's insurance so I can keep my job. It's not for the money. When I am sick, it's especially important for me to feel I am useful, competent and in control.

I have worried about metastasis constantly since my DX. My liver, stomach, neck, ears all hurt. I felt nausea all the time. However, just two weeks before my DX, I was running 7.5 mhp, 30 miles a week. I lived a healthy life style, and everyone said I looked younger than 55. I never saw a doctor except for checkups, and I never had a flu. Even common cold only visited me once every three to five years. Now I fear that I may die within a few years? This is crazy.

I am going to follow the treatment plan: 6 chemos in 18 weeks then 20 radiation. Then Hercepin every three weeks for a year. Then pills for five years. My ONC said after that, the rate of occurrence would be reduced to 7.5%.

I will accept that odds. I will live the way I used to live: work out (once my wounds from lumpectomy and port heal and I overcome the sickness of the chemo), eat healthy food, spend my vacation hiking. How I enjoyed my physical activities and the healthy dishes I made from scratch! I know my body may be damaged by the chemo. But it gets worn out by age someday anyway. (I will just not have the luck of my father and mother, who died in 98 and 86, resp, or their mothers and sisters who all lived in to their 90s'). Death is always a shadow, for any living thing. It will be a shame to let it stop us from living happily.

BarredOwl

Hi JOANWILL55:

I am sorry you didn't see my reply to you back on September 2 in another thread inquiring about your HER2 status based on your receipt of Herceptin, but I am glad you reviewed your pathology report and have now visited the triple-positive group.

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/5/topics/847418?page=1#post_4793758

If an initial HER2 test result is "equivocal" by one method (e.g., FISH), then "reflex" testing (additional testing) by the alternative method is performed (e.g., IHC). If the second test result is determined to be positive by the pathologist (e.g., IHC 3+ by validated assay), then HER2 status is "positive".

I hope you tolerate treatment very well! Thank you for some wise words to live by in your last paragraph.

BarredOwl

Meow13

JOANWILL, more proof cancer likes healthy bodies just as much as unhealthy bodies. It makes you want to scream but 7.5% recurrence chances I'd take that.