What happened, in summary

Leftfootforward was 37 when she was diagnosed with Stage IIB breast cancer in December 2010. Her treatment began with A/C chemotherapy and then Herceptin. She had a bilateral mastectomy, followed by 36 rounds of radiation. Herceptin continued for about 8 months, but it had to be stopped when her ejection fraction decreased. In December 2012, she learned that the breast cancer had become metastatic, with spread to the brain and liver. The liver was so involved that chemotherapy was the only realistic option at that point. The brain metastasis was treated with Gamma Knife radiation. She then took Xeloda and Tykerb. In February 2015, she had a craniotomy to remove tissue that turned out to be necrosis from the earlier Gamma Knife treatment, not active tumor. In July, she had a partial left hepatic lobectomy to remove a solitary liver tumor. After that, Tykerb was stopped and Herceptin was restarted. Her latest scans showed no evidence of disease. She continued to describe herself as living with Stage IV disease, even while NED, and encouraged others with metastatic breast cancer to ask questions, seek help, and speak up about side effects.