Conquer Magazine: Alphabet Soup: ER, PR, HER2-neu—What Does it All Mean?

You have had a breast biopsy, held your breath waiting for the results, and received a call informing you that you have breast cancer.

In that moment, time stands still as you hear words like invasive ductal carcinoma or lobular carcinoma, grade, ER, PR, and HER2-neu. In the next moments, you realize you did not hear anything after the big "C" word—CANCER. An internet search for the words "breast cancer" has 18,200,000 results. How do you make sense of all the information when it sounds like alphabet soup? What does it all mean? How do you know what applies to your diagnosis? It is like dumping a thousand-piece puzzle out on the table and you have no idea what the picture looks like.

Janie Metsker, RN, BSN, CN-BN, Clinical Coordinator at Saint Luke's Hospital Koontz Center for Advanced Breast Cancer, explains what it all means and offers tips for navigating your cancer treatment.

Read the full Conquer Magazine article.

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