Just found out I am HER2
So, 14 months ago I had uterine cancer,with a total hysterectomy. Had a clean mammogram before surgery. My doc positive she got it all,so far so good. In January after taking a tumble at work,I felt a rather large lump in my breast. Thinking it had to do with the fall, I took the old Scarlett Ohara attitude of,I'll worry about that tomorrow! Well a week and a half later I went in and mammogram,ultrasound,biopsy,double mastectomy,here I am. Found out I am stage 3a,tumor 5.6cm,3 nodes out of 14 contained cancer. I go meet my new oncologist today and find I am her2neu. I am waiting on a pet scan to see if it has spread. Right now I am so darn scared,I don't have much family,I do have amazing friends.My main concern of course is my ten year old daughter. This her2neu really has me thrown for a loop. I've read a couple success stories and that has helped. I especially appreciate the advice of staying off the internet cause it sure does scare you! If anyone can relate a story to me I would be grateful.Thanx!,,
Comments
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Hi monkeygirl: So sorry you had to find us, but this is a great place for education and companionship (and a place to occasionally vent when needed.) I was diagnosed with Her2+ cancer six years ago - had six rounds of chemo plus Herceptin and then Herceptin only every 3 weeks (total of 18.)
My point here is that that was six years ago! I am doing well now, and my next onc appointment is February 2015. So many advances have come about in the treatment of Her2+ that I have seen many women here report that their oncs were actually glad to see the diagnosis.
Just wanted to reassure you that many of us are living and thriving after a Her2+ diagnosis. Best wishes to you.
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Thank you suemed8749! I really needed to hear that.
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Hi Monkeygirl
Another HER2+ lady diagnosed June 2007, had similar treatment to Sue, also had a 4-5cm lump and spread to lymph nodes - one of which was huge! Like Sue, that was 6 1/2 years ago and I'm doing well and just had my check up with the oncologist.
Hope this provides a bit more reassurance too. Hope all goes well for you.
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hi and so sorry you had to join us. I'm also her2+ two huge lympnodes positive. 7 months later I'm doing great, no evidence of cancer after chemo
Hang in there , hugs!!
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Hi tat2monkeygirl - good idea to stay off the internet and when you do search things, doing what you are doing now and looking for the positive stuff instead
I'm not as far out from diagnosis as some of the ladies who have already replied. I was diagnosed in June 2013 and I had three small tumours close together and lymph node involvement. The lymph node looked suspicious during my ultrasound and was biopsied too. We don't know how many lymph nodes where involved as I did chemo before surgery. They tested the biopsy samples for the receptors and I'm triple positive.
I did three rounds of FEC and three rounds of taxotere and started Herceptin with my second taxotere treatment. I could feel my tumour shrink with every treatment. I could feel my tumour before my first Herceptin treatment. I went for an MRI five days (in preparation for surgery) later and they could not see any evidence of cancer. When I had surgery, the tissue they took out came back from pathology with a complete pathological response, meaning that they could not find any evidence of cancer in what was taken out.
Everyone has different results to treatment but wanted to share one more positive story. Wishing you all the best with your treatment.
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While you wait for more members to respond, you may want to check out the main breastcancer.org site on HER2.
We hope this helps!
(((The Mods)))
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Here is some more hope for you. I'm also HER2+ and NED 6 yrs after my initial dx. Lots of good newer drugs for us HER2 gals!
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I'm almost 10 years out, still NED! Stage IIIa, Er+, Pr+, Her2+++, cancer cells in 5 lymph nodes. Herceptin was my miracle drug, now you have even more to add to the arsenal.
There is a thread on this forum for Her2+ - don't know if you have found it yet or not. You will find even more inspiration there!
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Thanks for your post, needed to hear that. I will finish Herceptin in June, Her2+ stage III a Already had 6 chemo, dbl masectomy and 33 radiation. So ready to be done with this treatment.
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