Herceptin monotherapy for breast cancer - Hello, my lady has stage3b breast cancer. Had lumpectomy 10yrs ago. Triple positive. Had neg nodes then. Minimal chemo. Had recurrence at scar site nov 2010. Tried "black salve" which ulcerated the skin. Had rt mastectomy in oct 2011. Had single positive intra-mammary node and neg sentinel nodes. Had staph infection postop w abscess. Started chemo recently and had drop in wbc to 900, zoster, and varicella-like rash. Placed on rocephin, vanco, and acyclovir. Wbc overshot to 15-19000. Then had severe diarrhea. Possibly c dif. Cultures pending on flagyl. Now we are wondering if chemo is really necessary or using herceptin only. No sign of mets at present. I am a retired neurologist and would welcome your thoughts including any medical articles. Others - I am 20years into remission from stage 3b Hodgkin's lymphoma. I have cerebral palsy. I am obese and wheelchair bound, just got back from rehab with a diagnosis of secondary lymphedema in both calves. I have a nurse doing wrapping of the ankles and exersise every day, careful of bathing and washing and lotioning the legs. I do have to take a diuretic for blood pressure. In addition to risk of congestive heart failure. (heart's in good shape now), are the odds of a recurrence of the cancer higher? Is my life expectancy shortened even without a reccurence?I am super paranoid about coming in contact with any carcinogens. I feel likeif I touch something that may be a carcinogen and then it contacts someone elseor they accidentely ingest it, I will be the cause if they get cancer. Is thisa possibillity? - I am paranoid about carcinogens. I feel like they are everywhere and that if I unintenionally expose someone else to them that I am the cause of thier cancer if they get it. Is that possible?Breast Cancer - My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in the left breast in 1997. She was subjected to tumor removal while keeping the breast. She had lymph nodes analysis and found ok. She was subjected to radiotherapy and hormon therapy through tamoxifen. Since that time she was doing mamograms every 6 months. Just recently Jan 2012, they have seen something in the mamogram in the same breast and they performed sample pathology with a result "Left breast small foci of invasive ductal adenocarcinoma grade 2". This is the same type that was dignosed in 1997. The right breast mamogram is ok. She is 58 years old. Is this a reoccurrence? What is her risk? What is the treatment options? Is it a must to remove the breast? Is there any way around the removal? We are seeing her oncologist tomorrow.Stage IV NSCLC Lung Cancer - Seven months ago, my wife, age 45, and a breast cancer survivor of 18 years, was diagnosed with a different cancer - Stage IV NSCLC Lung Cancer. Her first treatment was full brain irradiaiton followed by front line chemotherapy (cis/carbo-platin plus Alimta (2 rounds cis then 4 rounds carbo platin each a 1/2 day treatment followed by 21 days recovery). This treatment had a neutral effect - slight stabilization of the main tumor (slight increase from 31 mm to 36 mm detected). In addition, new secondary areas in liver and right femur were also visible in the most recent scanner done in mid December. Maintenance thearpy with Tarceva (new Roche oral chemotherapy product) started 2 weeks ago. Back in May a PCR test for the gene EGFR mutation was not detected (negative) which excluded her for using Tarceva as first line therapy. Additionally,mutation of K-Ras gene was not detected. It is my understanding that Tarceva works when EGFR mutation is positive. So, how can Tarceva given daily to her now give any effect? Is this then just a very expensive placaebo or can it work anyway? Are there other treatments / trials / research out there that she could benefit from?