Hi Arrow, Well done for making it this far. Sounds like the surgery went well, even if you were not expecting a possibility that you might be HER2+ I had the equivocal HER2, ie the reading was 2, so they have to do as ISH, FISH or SISH test determine whether is is HER2 receptor neg or pos. If you are HER2+, or even until you find out, there is a lovely on-line support group with an excellent forum at http://her2support.org/
If your cancer is negative for HER2, you may well not have to have chemo, depending on whether the cancer was large and/or fast-growing, whether you had vascular involvement, and whether you are node-negative or node-positive, and if node-positive, how many nodes were positive out of how many taken.. Have they told you that yet? If not, it is probably all on your pathology report, which you should have been given a copy of.
Oestrogen positive breast cancer is usually treated with either tamaxofen or Aromase Inhibiters which are medications you take at home to stop oestrogen reaching any remaining cancer cells and revving them up to grow again. So they cut you down to minimal oestrogen, and if you haven't been through menopause, you get related symptoms. Make sure you discuss any symptoms you have with your specialist, because many symptoms either have their own effectivet treatments, or indicate you need a change of medication, or will go away in time.
HER2 positive cancer generally needs Herceptin or a Herceptin-related "targetted treatment" Since massive amounts of research via clinical trials of thousands of women, have been for Herceptin(or one of its cousins) plus chemotherapy, either with Paclitaxel, or with Docetaxel plus Carboplatin, and the treatment regimes using these combinations have been established as highly effective, if you have herceptin, you usually are recommended to have one of the tested-out combinations of Chemo as well.
If you do have chemo, be aware that while some people find it a breeze, others like me find they feel very fatigued, have severe digestive disturbances and problems with insomnia. It was a challenge, manageable and I would do it again if I needed to, but really no fun at all. And I was really, really grateful to have my adult daughter spend a lot of time looking after me on my bad weeks straight after treatment. My husband on the other hand had a lot to learn before he became the "chemo-companion asset" he ended up as. However fiercely independent you may normally be, it is possible that you will be really glad to have someone else manage shopping, cooking, washing your clothes and making you cups of tea etc during this difficult time. You may find it necessary to stay with your parents for at least the first week of each chemo cycle. Make sure they understand that while you are in that state, you need to be able to ask for something and have it provided with a smile, not an argument, and you may change your mind about what you can eat several times a day and that is just how it goes. Once you are through the chemo, moving back home can be part of the recovery process, something to look forward to. Alternatively, ask them to be on call to help you day and night if you need help, while you stay on at home. Don't be a martyr, ask for all the help you need and you can pay it forward when you get your time to help.
Best wishes, you sound like you are in a pretty good space: hope that continues.
Jessica
