Hi there @RR . I was diagnosed with Grade 3 Stage 3 triple positive breast cancer with multifocal tumours and node involvement on the left side. I did six months of chemo, 12 weeks of AC chemo followed by 12 weeks of paclitaxol and herceptin. The herceptin continued afterwards for a total of 11 months. Four weeks after the taxol finished I had a bilateral mastectomy with full node clearance on the left and sentinal node on the right. Your team will know which is better, before or after surgery. In my case, it was explained to me that shrinking the two tumours and zapping any that most certainly had escaped into my blood or lymph system by that time was crucial. I too was keen for them to get out the weedwhacker and chop them off as soon as possible, but was told that the cancer in my breasts would not kill me, it would be seeds they sent off to other parts of my body that would. From my experience, having the chemo first and then the surgery after was the best for me. The pathology reports from the removed breasts showed NO sign of cancer, only the empty beds where it had been. The involved lymph node was essentially an empty husk of dead tissue. The cancer had taken over the entire node, but was now stone dead. I went into chemo with a strong (well relatively strong, I have other medical issues) body and the surgery afterwards was surprisingly easy to bounce back from. I was 58 at the start of this crapfest, and will be 60 next month. Yes your two little girls need their mother...they can have you at half speed for a short while, so that you will be there at their weddings and there to cradle their bubbies when they arrive in years to come. You've got this, and your sisters (and a few brothers) in arms are here to support and cheer you on too. Sending the biggest (((hug))). AllyJay.
