Hi Jan,
Welcome and sorry you are here at the same time! Wow stage 3 breast cancer! My aunt is a 21-22 year survivor. Her daughter and I started doing the Komen 3-Day walks last year and named our team after her. After seeing what a close friend of mine went through caring for her mother-in-law who recently passed from breast cancer, I know it takes a very strong person to fight the disease. It's both different and not when fighting against back pain.
You mention ProDisc. I'm a post-op patient on a 1-level ProDisc done by Dr. Balderston up at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. He did an excellent job with the surgery and I've been able to do a ton more than pre-op, including the recent birth of my first child (that was a little rough toward the end, but it all worked out for the best). My surgery was four years ago now and I would still consider myself doing fantastic. My back is a bit stiff and sore still following my pregnancy, but I've been able to hit the gym again pretty quickly and keep a consistent routine. I actually feel better once I get up and move around which is completely different from before my surgery.
Feel free to read through my post-op thread to read more detail on how I fared:
http://www.adrsupport.org/forums/f47...c-cirobi-8315/
Good luck and hope you're able to successfully find the relief you deserve!
~Sara