Taking break(s) from maintainence Herceptin??

[jojo]

Anyone been on maintenance Herceptin & taking a break(s) from it? Please write down your timeframe & how many breaks so far.

And how did you decide to go back on Herceptin: at any progression or at an agreed scheduled re-loading date?

And whose decision was it to break & return to Herceptin: yours totally or always at the suggestion / recommendation of your oncologist?

Thanks!

[Karen]

I just started maintenance Herceptin this past week after a 7 month break. I did Herceptin weekly for one year after a local recurrence. I decided to start up again more as a precaution than anything else. The plan is to do 6 months every three weeks and if all is still NED then I will take another break.

[StephN]

Hey JoJo!
Your good news about perhaps there is no need for the brain surgery was buried in a post to Hope. So, glad I found it, as I was wondering how you were and what this brachytherapy was like.
Well, let's just pray that the enlarged area IS some kind of reaction to the Gamma rays and not new tumor.
I got good news (just like you did after your first follow-up MRI) last week, and they think I am having the desired response to my Gamma Knife.

Are you wanting to take a break from Herceptin for a particular reason - somehow I missed that part if you posted? I have not DARED to take a break since getting to NED from my liver mets over 2 1/2 years ago. I don't seem to have any side effects from the every-3-week dose, so just stay on it. I know that these cancer cells can hang around in our bodies for years and then activate - like with my brain mets, those cells were probably there for at least 2-3 years before starting to grow. So, I want to keep targeting as many of those bad cells as possible - BEFORE any more get past the blood-brain barrier!