< 5 mm HER2+ IDC...why NOT chemo???

I made a mistake. I checked my calendar. I had my port placement the day BEFORE chemo. I had my initial consult the week before chemo.

Well KC and Dancetracer I am scheduled for my exchange on 4/10. New things on going metal taste in my mouth. Weird, that's a known side effect of chemo -- I didn't get it. Oncologist wanted me to see dentist, he saw nothing. Gargle 2x day with Bioteene, that hasn't helped. Waiting for TEs to come out then it's off to see an ENT. I feel like a hypochondriac. Will I ever stop feeling that way?

dancetrancer,

I am sorry to hear you have had the lung puncture and hospitalization for pneumothorax, but glad to see you. Your prior good health should be a big plus in managing your recovery. Does the port placement seem okay to you?  Placement differs somewhat depending on individual anatomy, and is more difficult for those who have little tissue to put it in.

Hope you are home soon,

A.A.

Funny - I got a kiddy port and had no problem at all.  Never felt it after a couple of days and it was hard to see unless you knew it was there.  I think the removal hurt more and longer than the insertion, to be honest.

susieq my onc prefers her patients keep it in for a total of 3 years because that's the highest risk for recurrence. Where I am treated they will not put the port back in the same place because there is a higher risk of clotting. So I could get it out but I didn't want to jinx anything after she said that. I get it flushed every 3 months. Since I see my onc & BS once a year (appointments 6 months apart) I do it  then as well as  3 in between. It's only 2 extra visits.

Dancetrancer - so sorry to hear of your encounters of the hospital kind!!! Where in this world are you anyways? Will keep your ongoing recovery in my prayers.... vjm xoxo

Thinking of you on this day and hope you are feeling better!!! Had 18 of 20 rad tx's today; this afternoon 19 and tomorrow I will be done for the long weekend:) Chemo starts next Friday.... when is your starting date?

Chacha....Not sure how big your tmor was. Mine was just under 1cm. In general, most oncs feel that herceptin works better if combined with chemo. So docs will do just herceptin, but they are harder to find.

The more people I know the more I have learned that not everyone gets chemo--depending on Stage, type etc. So here's hoping that wil be for u, and if not-- it's all doable. So Good luck Chacha

Chacha....join the triple positive thread. Tons of info there and great people. If your doc says no chemo, get a second opinion before you decide. I interviewed three oncologists. Had intended on 4, but two of the most known ones had the same protocol, the third one had a protocol that was way more serious than I thought I needed, so I settled on the one closest to my house. He is wonderful and very spiritual, and turns out right next door to my very funny PS, so I had the best of both worlds.



Every single one of the people I interviewed said chemo with herceptin because it works better mixed. If I were not her2 positive, i probably would not have needed chemo, bas on the size of just under a cm.



I am t1b. Dancetrancer is right, get a copy of your path report. In fact, get copies of everything and start a binder. I couldnt just trust everything the doc said, so I spent hours researching and had pages of questions. Also, tape your discussions on suggested protocols as you will forget a lot. It helps.