OUTLINE: Patients receive doxorubicin IV on days 1, 15, and 29, followed by docetaxel IV over 1 hour on days 43, 57, and 71. Filgrastim (G-CSF) is administered subcutaneously on days 3-10 of each 2 week course. Fourteen to 21 days following preoperative chemotherapy, patients undergo a radical, modified radical, or breast sparing surgery plus axillary lymph node dissection. Patients with disease progression or inoperable stage IIIB disease are removed from study. Following surgery, patients are stratified into one of three postoperative regimens: Stratum I: Patients with 0 lymph node metastases receive no further chemotherapy or receive cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil (CMF) for 4 courses. Stratum II: Patients with 1-3 lymph node metastases receive CMF for 4 courses. Stratum III: Patients with at least 4 lymph node metastases or stage IIIB may receive high dose chemotherapy with stem cell support. Two to 6 weeks after surgery, patients undergoing breast sparing procedure receive adjuvant radiotherapy. Patients undergoing mastectomy receive chest wall and supraclavicular radiotherapy if initial clinical stage is T3, T4, or N2. All other patients with N1 with greater than 4 lymph nodes and N3 should receive radiotherapy. Radiotherapy is administered 5 days a week for 5.5 weeks. Patients with positive estrogen or progesterone receptors receive oral tamoxifen daily for 5 years. Patients are followed every 3 months for 3 years, then every 6 months for 5 years, and then annually thereafter.