"Your cancer is back and it's in your spine, right femur, and liver.....I'm so sorry."Those words were uttered by my doctor one year after being diagnosed with stage IIA breast cancer. Once again, my world came crashing down. Only this time it's stage IV, a whole different ball game with a record of fast balls and too many outs.

I recently completed a very aggressive protocol, the ATC Dose Dense regimen, from Duke University. The protocol was being compared to the stem-cell transplant. At the time, both protocols showed an 80% survival rate at five years. Knowing how aggressive my cancer was, I knew I would have to be very diligent in attacking the disease if I had any hopes of watching my one year old son grow up.

I was a 31 year old health-conscious wife and mother with no family history of breast cancer. So I was not too alarmed when I found the pea-sized lump. Within a week I had an appointment with my physician. From that point on, my life became a series of scans, surgeries, blood work, appointments, and a myriad of decisions to make within the storm of my emotional upheaval.

"Your tumor is small, 1.5 cm. with eight positive nodes, a strong Her-2 over expresser, estrogen and progesterone positive," my surgeon informed me. Given this information, I asked my oncologist for Herceptin several times during the course of my treatment.

"It's only for mestatic disease," he replied. "I wouldn't even be able to get my hands on it." However, Herceptin had already been FDA approved a year earlier. As a young woman trying to survive this deadly disease, I wanted to try the drug, even if it meant going against the FDA's recommended use.

My oncologist sent me to H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa to start the stem-cell transplant process. Because I already had high doses of chemotherapy which didn't work, my husband and I felt a second or even third opinion would be beneficial.

In Chicago, we met with Dr. Melody Cobleigh. Her first words to me were, "I hate chemo and I do not recommend the stem-cell transplant. Your FISH test results show you have a very high over expression of the HER-2 oncogene. You need Herceptin, not more chemo." To my relief, I finally received the Herceptin and along with it, a piece of hope.

I've been on Herceptin for two years now. I've had to add chemo here and there, but otherwise, my quality of life has been normal, (with the exception of the emotional aspect of the disease). My son will be turning five in a few months. I never thought I'd see that day.

I'm currently taking Gemzar with the Herceptin. My tumor markers are normal and hopefully my next scans will show regression. People say that breast cancer will be a manageable disease without toxic drugs someday. My goal is to make it to someday.