breast cancer battle / can herceptin save my life ?

My battle with breast cancer has prompted me to create a blog in anticipation that there are many other women out there going through this and some of them may be in similar situations and want to communicate with me. It also seems a good way to keep my friends informed - I am lucky to have great friends both here in SA and in UK so please keep those e-mails and phone calls coming!

I am a 55 year old British woman who moved to Cape Town three years ago. Married with grown up son and great husband, interesting and rewarding work as an HR consultant life was sweet until....

As the result of a routine mammogram in late August I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

On September 4th I had a mastectomy and lymph node clearance as it has spread to the lymph nodes under left arm. Started chemo on 10th October - have had hair cropped short but it will be falling out soon so am bracing myself for buzz cut then baldness!

My main reason for starting this blog is to communicate with people regarding Herceptin. My breast cancer is HER2 positive which means it is aggressive and likely to come back but that the drug Herceptin can treat it effectively and prevent the chance of recurrance by up to 50%. Herceptin is very expensive and there is a lot of stalling/politics from the medical aid companies. I have currently been prescribed a "short course" of Herceptin but the more research I do the more I think I need the long course (12-18 months) to give me the best chance of survival..

My priority is to get the best possible treatment plan organised and get it started... anyone out there have a comment?