Will I belong here, newbe and confused

Thanks, Special K, wanted to share that with Scaredchick as well!

We're all here for you, and yes, you belong here

The great thing is that because you are hormonally positive there is adjuvant treatment available in the form of hormonal therapy, and so much progress has been made in treating Her2+ breast cancer that there are targeted therapies that can be added to chemotherapy that specifically treat this aspect.  Some of what you see from Dr. Google is outdated so stick with reputable sources of info like you find here on BCO.  You are so newly diagnosed everything is scary and overwhelming right now but you will soon see that as your treatment plan unfolds this will all start to make sense.  You have biopsy results so far, but has anything specific been decided as far as surgery and systemic treatment?  Do you have any specific questions?

Are you seeing a surgeon today?  Ask about what surgical alternatives are available for your mass, or if you already know what type of surgery you would like - lumpectomy, uni mastectomy, bi-lat mastectomy, reconstruction, etc. - ask specifically about that and what that type of surgery entails. Ask about recovery time, follow up scheduling, length of hospital stay, ask the surgeon for their complication rate with the type of surgery they are recommending. If you are leaning toward mastectomy, or if that is what is recommended, ask about seeing a plastic surgeon as well to discuss your recon options - if you want recon.  Sometimes the type of reconstruction you want dictates who the surgeons are, so it is advisable to also speak to a plastic surgeon before deciding. One thing I have found is that surgeons like to do the type of surgery they favor - so if you have learned on this site, or elsewhere, about other surgical techniques - such as skin and/or nipple sparing, autologous reconstruction (using your own fat, muscle, tissue instead of an implant), incision types and locations, delayed reconstruction, immediate reconstruction, or no reconstruction, etc. - you can always find another surgeon who does the type of surgery you want, if you are a candidate for that procedure.  There is federal law mandating that if your insurance covers mastectomy they must also cover reconstruction, but there is no law in place, in most states, for reconstruction after a lumpectomy.  If you doctor feels that a lumpectomy would disfigure you due to the amount of tissue that would need to be taken, be aware that you are not necessarily entitled to a reconstructive fix from your insurance company. I believe you should also see an oncologist prior to surgery if you turn out to be Her2+ enough to require systemic treatment.The reason for this is that there are drug protocols that can be given prior to surgery to shrink the tumor in the breast to both see if the drugs are working, and possibly provide a lumpectomy option rather than mastectomy - should you want that. One of the newest treatments for Her2+ breast cancer is Perjeta - only FDA approved currently for use prior to surgery for early stage - and it is showing excellent results in effectiveness for Her2+ patients.  Generally, this is available for those who have a 2cm mass, or larger, and/or node positive, but I have seen exceptions.  Something to ask the surgeon also - if you talk to an oncologist and it is decided to do chemo prior to surgery because of the Her2+ - can this surgeon do a SNB (Sentinel Node Biopsy) and port placement beforehand?  The reason for this is that if you have chemo prior to surgery it can make staging unclear.  If you have the SNB before chemo you will be able to know your nodal status and have better staging info.  Some surgeons put in ports for their surgical patients, but other port placements are done by the radiology department - so this is good to know in advance. Since you currently have an equivocal Her2 result - have they sent a sample for confirmatory testing by a different testing method?  If you turn out not to be Her2+, ask your surgeon about Oncotype Dx testing - it is available for ER+ patients, but not applicable for Her2+.  This is a genetic assay test, usually done on the tissue removed at the time of surgery, that helps in determining the benefit of chemo and it assumes that you will be treated with hormonal therapy for the ER+ aspect of the cancer.