Hello

Hi  and a very warm welcome to the forum. Sorry you find yourself here and you’ve had a very long and drawn out journey just to get to your diagnosis. I think we all have found the waiting for tests and results the pits. It’s a horrible sort of limbo. And you’ve had all of that with bells on. 
On a positive note, you will start your treatment soon - so by this time next week you’ll have had your first dose of chemo. All of us seem to have felt better once we got started on our treatment journey, whatever that first stage is. So hold on to that, once that first dose of chemo goes in it’s the start of getting rid of the cancer. 
The other thing that has helped is the support of others and knowing that you are not alone. There’s a January Chemo thread in the Questions about Diagnosis and Treatment section, do have a look and join in the discussions there. As you are HER2 positive I’m going to tag Northerner as she was too. I’m sure she’ll have lots of advice re the treatments and her sense of humour will cheer you up too! 
My sanity saver has been walking and I mainly post in the Walking back to Happiness thread in the Chat section. In the same section, the Awake thread is very busy and has lots of support and information as well as many laughs. 
Wishibg you well and sending love and a big virtual hug, HFxx

Hi  first thing first ...breath ..now take one step at a time focus on next app./ treatment file the rest in another part of brain . Focus on each one in turn .Try not to expend energy on everything at once and the what ifs . You can cope one thing at a time until the rollercoaster slows down a bit .

I won't bore you with my story you can read it if you wish on my profile ...I've done mastectomy,EC chemo  and herceptin so now approx 18 months since diagnosis .

Breast cancer is now very treatable and everyone has personal plans depending on there age and type of cancer as far as I know most with Her2+ get Some EC and Herceptin in some form .

We are all different with how we react to chemo and yes you will be told all the SE this does not mean you will get them all certainly not all at once  ..that's greedy . Have a look at the Chemo thread in grey area at top of discussion . There is a shopping list and hints and tips to help with some of the Se . 

Your imagination is far worse than reality and although not pleasant at times it is doable . Just remember if you feeling rough it means cancer getting a kick up the bum !

On the Chemo thread you will find Dclem4 who has a first meeting with oncologist today and  who is I think in second cycle 

Off the top of my head these are the two of the most recent Her2+ diagnosis but there are others .

one other piece of advice stay away from dr Google he's usually out of date and likes horror stories have a browse around threads lots of interesting ones 

feel free to ask questions 

Hi, I am also HER2 positive and my first chemo treatment is this Friday and I am looking forward to it. If you have time, read my profile, although it is quite long but to start with, I was a total mess and wreck and I have progressed in leaps and bounds since my diagnosis. Yes, don't google, you will come across horror stories, information which is not up-to-date and what you imagine is not at all like the reality. My diagnosis progressed from DCIS to invasive to HER2 positive with a long treatment in front of me with chemotherapy and targeted therapy drugs. I had a mastectomy on 11.11.2020 and I am pleased with it. 

I wished I had joined this forum earlier in my journey. Peer support is the best. Also, don't hesitate to ring the helpline.

Take good care of yourself. Big Hug x

Hi Happyfeet1, thank you for all words of support and advice. I will definitely look at thread. I must agree that walking has been my escapism and lm hoping that chemo treatment will allow me to continue with this, even if it’s not quite as far! 

Sending a big hug and love back to you xxxx

hi, sorry you’ve landed on here but welcome to a very supportive community. Yes waiting is the absolute worst part. I have HER2+ and like you started with Paget’s disease so we are very rare

I saw oncologist for first time today and got my treatment plan, I had my breast surgery in November then a SNB in December after pathology diagnosed IDC with me too. 

Coping strategies are different for everyone but I’ve found listening to Michael Seeley audio’s on YouTube very helpful, especially for anxiety and sleeping issues.
I do trauma counselling and teach belly breathing to clients, breathing in for a slow count of 4, hold for 4 and out for 6 counts. Helps with stress response in our nervous system. If you like inspirational reading then Bernie Siegel’s Love, Medicine and Miracles is good and it had good visualisation techniques at the back. If all else fails distract with something you love, sewing, knitting, singing, dancing madly round the room to your favourite music, baking or bingeing on box sets...Bridgerton is fab...just finished it! 

it seems most of us go through an initial overwhelm on diagnosis, stress with waiting for results then find coping easier once the journey starts.

I had my surgery 1st and am starting chemo on 27th January as wasn’t diagnosed with HER2+ till after pathology from DCIS and Pagets, sounds like you haven’t had surgery and are having chemo 1st? I’m on the January chemo thread and also Awake thread, kinda hard navigating around the site sometimes. I’ll send you a friend request and remember to take a breath and let it go, you will be fine! Hugs xx