At 34 years old I was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Stage 2 breast cancer. My two young sons were just 4 years and 9 months old at the time. The cancer was progesterone negative and estrogen and HER2-positive. Only about 20% of cancers are HER2-positive and it tends to be more aggressive than other types, which is why I required chemotherapy before surgery in order to shrink the lump first.

The different types of chemotherapy I received were Adriamycin and Cyclophosphamide (or Cytoxan), Taxol, Perjeta, and Herceptin. Taxol (which was supposed to be mild) did NOT agree with me and I had severe side effects from it. In total, I had 4 surgeries in all and 15 months of chemotherapy.

Whether you are just beginning on your breast cancer journey or if you are in the middle of it, I hope this blog section brings you some hope and unbiased information from someone who has experienced a lot and came out the other side in better shape than I went into it.