I was formaly diagnosed May 27th, but I’m really struggling to understand what the positives and negatives mean, the HER2 and all the other letters… I’ve asked several times to different professionals but I’m too embarrassed to admit I don’t understand , everyone has been very patient in explaining things but I just can’t get it… maybe it’s a menopausal thing but i feel frustrated and think what does it matter anyway, as long as it gets sorted . . Am i being silly?
Hi @dhmb yup it can very very confusing when all of this new language is used, acronyms and so forth especially when you’re trying to take in so much information all at once.
Here is the Breast Cancer Now explainer on what is meant by the hormonal names, such as HER2
https://breastcancernow.org/about-breast-cancer/diagnosis/hormone-receptors-and-breast-cancer/
In short, Er means oestrogen (but Americans miss off the O in spelling oestrogen) so we get Er+ or Er-. All that means is if your tumour is fed by oestrogen, it will be designated by a + and if not, by a -
Pr means progesterone which can be + or -
HER2 means Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. So you can see why they call it HER2! This also can be + or -
All three are hormones that can feed your cancer. You can have any combination of the three including all three or none of them. When your tumour is tested, the medics will be told which combination you have which in turn dictates what your treatment plan will be.
They also find out which grade the tumour is, which effectively determines how aggressive the cancer is.
In truth, you don’t necessarily need to know any of it. There are very many women who don’t want to know, they just want to get on with the treatment plan. If this is you, that’s understandable and you won’t be missing out on anything crucial.
If you prefer to talk this over with someone so that you can ask follow up questions, please feel free to call the Breast Cancer Now nurses on 0808 800 6000 Monday to Friday between 9am and 4pm.
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Hi @Tigress 
Thank you so much trully, definitely have a better understanding, and feeling less clueless. I will definitely be reading more of it. 
Hugs and best wishes 
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When you have your treatment plan, say chemo or radiotherapy or hormone therapy, you have to sign a consent form to say that you agree to have the treatment. It is not necessary to understand the whys and what’s about if you are happy to trust your medical team and proceed. If you DO want to understand a bit more about, make sure you ask your questions before signing. I am certainly not advising you not to sign but you can give informed consent once you have asked your questions. On the whole I think most of us just want to get on with it . Good luck and let us know how you’re doing.
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On with it, over and done with it, yep for some reason rings a bell 
… no idea why… 
Apologies if my dry humour doesn’t agree with someone i mean no offense i give you my word.
Wishing everyone a lovely day
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