length and frequency of herceptin

[MCS]

Hi all,

I'm also a new one at this site. unfortunately. but happy it's here


I will be on herceptin in the distant future. but i'm really questioning how the oncologyst decides the lenght and frequency of treatment.

My onc placed manufacturer's sheet on my folder and right now is planned for weekly infusions. Yet I read on this site that it can be given every three weeks not just weekly. He has not even brought up this discussion. I'm concerned not chickening out. I feel like a trial mouse. I'm not confident with his experience on this.

However, every time I question him at all, on anything, he becomes defensive and smart mouth. So bringing this issue is out of the question. I think he's medically very competent and was recommended but I don't feel right about him

let me have comments

[janet/FL]

Hello MCS
I have been on weekly Herceptin and am considering going every three weeks so will be interested in what others say. I have not discussed the pros and cons with my new oncologist (he is my third) as he just started at my clinic. In a brief conversation, he said he would be willing to give it either way.

My first oncologist sounded just like yours. Maybe competent, but I left him and found someone I could relate to and got Herceptin. My first oncologist would not give it. I am glad I switched.
Janet/FL

[Joe]

I would suggest that you start off with weekly infusions in order to assess how your body reacts to it. If you are like the majority of HER2 patients and suffer no problematic reactions, then I would push for 3 week infusions.

When Herceptin was first approved in 1998, weekly infusions were the norm. In 2002, several oncologists determined that 3 week infusions were just as effective and were less of an inconvienience to the patient.

On your first infusion, you will be given benedryl as a premed. This is to ward off a flu like reaction which is somewhat normal with Herceptin. You will also probably feel tired for a day or two afterwards.

Warmest Regards
Joe

[Unregistered]

I am on Taxol/Herceptin weekly for 12 weeks. My oncologist who I fully trust is at University of California Irvine. She told me that weekly for the first 12 weeks there is evidence that that is critical. The time after not so sure but we are plannnig for me to continue for a year with herceptin every 3 weeks unless evidence to the contrary comes out. I had 12 weeks of AC before this. No cardiac problems at all. Had no positive nodes and bilateral mastectomies. Side effects manageable and I work full time. I did have one of the chemo nurses comment to me that people tend to do really well or really poorly on chemo. I honestly think our tolerance and side effects are somewhat determined by our genetics. My mother went through chemo and radiation for lymphoma in her 70's and did really well despite having Parkinson's.

[pat munafo]

I live in New Jersey and am being treated for HER2 positive tumor in my left breast which spread to my lymph nodes...7 removed, 5 positive. I am treated at St. Peter's Hospital in New Brunswick. First diagnosed by mammo last Sept. Had lumpectomy done in both breasts. The other tumor in right breast was E+ positive. Am being treated with Arimidex as post-menopausal (59 years old). Had bi lateral mastectomy in April after 4 months of chemo, then mastectomy, then radiation for 28 days...My oncologist suggested HERCEPTIN as it had been cleared by FDA in May as a preventative to recurrence in HER2 people. Formerly it had only been used for patients who had a recurrence. Don't know if this makes much sense as I'm pooped from returning from a Thanksgiving weekend in Cincinnati. Any questions, please email. Good luck! Amazing..I had two tumors with different pathologies..who knew breast cancer was so complicated. Also, there is a history of bc in my mom's family.

sincerely,
pat

[Unregistered]

Hello everyone!
What is the normal length that Herceptin is given? I am stage 1 early breast cancer; 2cm tumor with no mets; ER-PR negative and her2 strong positive according to the fish test. Second episode of breast cancer in ten years, opposite breast.

My onc has offered me six treatments of Herceptin given every three weeks. She told me it is only being given to me as "maintenance." But, I have seen on this site and on others that it is being offered for 1 to 2 years. Does anyone have a current knowlege what the length of treatment is normally for someone in my situation?

My onocologist is also hard to talk with and difficult to ask her any questions. Usually questions are being answered over her shoulder as she is walking out the door. She was recommended to me by my surgeon, but warned by him to do everything she says, and not to question what she recommends! What a great confidence that instills in a person that is already frightened by the diagnosis.

Any response will be greatly appreciated! Thank you.
Nancy

[Unregistered]

I have mets to liver and bone and started Herceptin last week. My onc's office is 50 miles away so he offered the every three week schedule right off the bat. Fine with me. So I will go every 3 weeks for a 90 minute infusion. I am also on Faslodex, Lupron and Zometa. No side effects from meds.

[michele u]

Nancy,

the adjuvant Herceptin trial was for one year. That is what i would push for.

[Marlys]

Nancy,
I am not an expert on dosing with Herceptin but I cringe to hear you talk about your relationship with your oncologist. I am a retired operating room nurse and when I met my onc for the first time he looked like a 13 year old to me & I asked him if his mother knew what he was doing. I immediately regreted it (I am something of a smart a--) but by the time I had my first chemo RX I knew I had a winner. I trust him absolutely and can ask him anything and know I will get a truthful response. When we are going thru this disease we need to know that those who are caring for us do care for us. Keep after your onc until you are satisfied he's with you or look for another.
Hugs & prayers, Marlys

[geraldine]

Nancy,
I have been on herceptin for 2 years now.
I started taking herceptin/venoralbine, dec 2003 weekly for 20 wks, then herceptin only till present day on a 3 weekly infusion.
My onc says I will be on it indefinately so I regard myself as one of the lucky ones.
Things were slower to take off here in the UK, but they seem to be getting better. I'm sorry you dont have a great relationship with your onc, I can ask mine anything and therefore feel more able to deal anything he throws at me.!!!
I hope things work out for you and I would do what Marlys sugests!!!

Hugs
Geraldine

[Unregistered]

What is your story and what was your onc.'s reasoning in prescribing Herceptin for a year with no pos. nodes? Thank you for your reply.

[lisamalone]

hello. i am seeking answers to questions about being her2 positive. i am also er, pr positive and my grade of tumor was 2 they did not get any nodes so they can not stage the cancer.tested positive by fish test and am awaiting oncogene test results. i have already had a mastectomy, right side.i get my port in 2 days and start chemo in 1 week.carboplatin,taxol, and herceptin weekly for 16 weeks.
my concern is are my sisters at risk for being her2 positive? is it hereditary? i have heard that they do prophylactic brest implants for sisters. is this true?
also my Dr. said that i am a case study and has consulted with a world famous brest oncologist and i don't understand why.
any help would be greatly appreciated.

best of luck to all,
lisa

[energystar]

I am new here too. I have been on Herceptin for 1 year. My oncologist says to stay on in indefinetely, as there are no studies to back up use for ovver 9 months. His answer basically is "no one knows" how long to stay on it, and as long as I am doing well, I should keep getting it. I get it every 3 weeks. I am also taking Xeloda, and get zometa every six weeks.

[aurey]

My onc put me on weekly herceptin whilst having the last four taxotere chemos. That has just finished - friday and I will be having three weekly herceptin from here on - lifelong. As I'm er/pr negative I don't think there is any other treatment for me so I was thankful I was her2 positive. We are being tested for heart problems but that is so they have the information - to be better equiped when the primary cancer patients begin their treatments.
With regards to the heart failure my onc told me he had no patient that has develped any heart symptoms on herceptin. I am a bit bamboozled - just how long has herceptin been a treatment?

[suniskye]

Just as an FYI when I began my weekly Herceptin/Taxol, the very first dose they give you what they call a loading dose ... it takes longer to get. I had a reaction about halfway thru the Herceptin....Shaking, chills etc. I did not even know it was a reaction I thought it was cold in there but the nurse noticed me shaking and ended up having to give me a shot of something for the reaction. Once they got my blood pressure and all back to normal everything was fine. I almost did not go back the 2nd week. However, I did and I did not have anymore problems for the other 11 weeks. My left ventricle ejection fraction went from 75% to 42% from Sept til this week and I will no longer be getting Herceptin.

The one thing I can recommend is that if you start to see a decline in your ejection fraction be sure to question it.

When I went for my Herceptin on Monday I asked for a muga first so we set that up and I would not let them give me the Herceptin until the results came in. IT IS A GOOD THING I WAS PERSISTENT!

The standard for Herceptin is 50% ... anything below that does not meet the protocols of giving it to patients. I was only .5% above that in November ... I was not about to let them give me another dose because of the way I had been feeling with shortness of breath, etc., until they tested first.

We are the only people who can take care of ourselves. And, I have learned that you cannot be afraid to say what your thinking and if your gut says no way ... don't do it.

[suniskye]

Hi Aurey. My oncologist told me that the chance of heart problems is extremely rare. However, I must be in the rare occurrences. First I was told it was rare for a local reoccurrence to the lymph nodes after a sentinel node biopsy and BANG ... that rarity effects me and then I'm told how rare it is for heart problems to occur and my ejection fraction goes from a high normal of 75% after adrinamycin to 42% after 6 months of Herceptin.

I hate to say this but I feel I learn more from places like this, women in the same boat then I do from any of the doctors. I believe it is because they do not like it when we question them and they would prefer that we remain uneducated. Educating oneself is one way of beating this disease. I would go online and read up on some of the clinical trials etc etc that is how I determined my decision.

[aurey]

Hi Suniskye,

thanks for reply but I'm very ignorant of medical matters what please is 'ejection fraction'. I had my first heart scan yesterday and I was told there were no problems.
My oncologist had put me onto herceptin immediately as the cancer had returned in the lymph nodes. I haven't had an operation as the first cancer was too far back on the chest wall and they would have had to take most of the chest wall to irradicate it which I don't think would leave me much life. I was lucky and AC chemo and radiotherapy gave m e 7 months of 'no discernible cancer'.
Herceptin does seem my best chance and after friday's triple dose I haven't had any reaction whatsoever not even much of a runny nose. I'd almost say herceptin seemed to give me a boost!!
My onc is pretty good, the only question he has refused is when I asked him for some sort of timeline or percentage chance of survival, he thought percentage stuff wasn't helpful.
Yours was a nasty reaction to herceptin, it just shows there is no hard and fast rules in this area at least.

Luck to you

[suniskye]

hi again aurey! i'm glad you did not have the same reaction as I did. i am in the low percentile for this type of reaction.

i'll try to explain it the way i understand it just so you are aware. when they do a muga scan to check to see if any chemo/herceptin is doing any damage to your heart, they are looking at what is called the left ventricle ejection fraction which is the rate that your heart is able to pump the blood thru. My onc told me normal is 50-75% and that no one is ever found to be at 100%. after my first round of chemo, i was in the "high" normal range at 75%. it began to deteriorate after that and left me at 42% which is a pretty substantial decrease over the 3 month period. to be eligible to get herceptin, you must be at least 50% or higher. even thou the decrease is substantial, according to my oncologist, it should begin to get better and it heals itself over time. i have read where it sometimes takes 12-18 months to be back to normal and that you sometimes do not ever get back to where you were at the beginning.

i had 6 months of herceptin and my oncologist has told me that there are no clinical trial or much information available regarding that ... he has stated that they feel deep down that 6 months of herceptin may be just as good as a year's worth it just has not been proven yet. so i'm ok with the fact i won't be getting it any longer because it really did make me feel bad and caused me to become alarmed and go to the E.R. at one point in time. after asking the doc if i would be getting it again in the future should my ejection fraction become better he was inclined to say no and told me that the heart risk is not worth the risk of taking herceptin for someone who has had the reaction with the ejection fraction as i have.

i too tried to find out how this will affect my survivorship and i too was met with statements that never really did answer the question. ha ha ha. i guess they do not want to scare us unnecessarily however i really do not think they can honestly tell us that information because it is their hope that they had obliviated the cancer cells from our body but there is nothing that will prove that to be true. they cannot prove that and therefore do not want to guess at it.

my after treatment scans did not show any signs of cancer. however the bone scan had some "hot" spots ... the report said "consistent with arthritic changes". i'm not real confident because the word "consistent" does not state with certainty that is what it is. i asked my doctor if there was a test that would be more apt to say for sure that it is arthritis and i was met with the statement that the radiologist who perform the bone scans are very accurate in reading them. i would prefer to be certain ... ha ha ha go figure.

for some reason, they just do not want to do scans until there is a problem. in my mind once the problem arises it is too little, too late. i do not understand that philosophy but it seems to be the same with quite alot of docs. if they had given me the scan i had asked for the first time i had cancer maybe they would have learned that the sentinel node biopsy was falsely negative and it would have spared me another year's worth of this mess.

i'm inclined to demand a pet scan. has anyone else here ever had a bone or other scan show no cancer only to have a pet scan show something different? i have a friend who had a bone scan say arthritic changes and had an mri that found bone mets where the alleged arthritis was. this worries me.

i have finally come to believe i am biding my time until this pops u again despite the herceptin. i even point blank asked the doctor that because knowing the answer to that would help make some decisions in my life. however, that is another question they do not want to touch with a 10 foot pole.

waiting for it to pop up again and knowing it is only a matter of time, is a hard way to live but i am learning to live each day to its fullest. i don't know if i will ever believe that this is done with me since i have dealt with it twice now after trust them once when they led me to believe it was all gone.

that is the hardest part of this to live with i think.

d.

[barbaralea]

Hi Suniskye,

I had my 1st & last treatment of Herceptin. Dissappointing but I went into shock. BP dropped drastically, oxygen level and I couldn't breath very well. They stopped treatment and gave me steroids, oxygen & Benedryl. I can't believe how quickly it all happened and am glad the nurse was alert or I may not be here. It was so scary! Saw my oncologist and she does not want to continue. I sure am hoping my cancer stays away since I cannot do Herceptin.

Barbaralea

[barbaralea]

At UCI,

My doctor perscribed Herceptin even though I was Stage 1, node negative, 1.4 cm tumor because I am her2positive. I tried one treatment but had a very serious allergic reaction. BP dropped, oxygen level dropped. They had to stop treatment and give me steroids, benedryl and oxygen. It was very scary

Barbaralea

[DarMary]

MCS

I have just been diagnosed and with all the fears and questions that come with this unexpected visitor in life, we deserve to have a kind and considerate OC -- if your gut tells you he isn't that, go to someone else. Trust your instinct. Best Wishes.

[Unregistered]

Does anyone know of any early stage B/C Her2 +++ patients (this one is node negative) who have been treated with herceptin, hormonal therapy if applicable but NOT chemotherapy. In Europe, some doctors are beginning to treat women this way.

I have a relative who has been told that, with 1.5 cm/ER+ Her2+++, clear margins and Node Negative, she should do chemo, tamoxifen, and possibly herceptin. She is very afraid of chemo, and I am trying to find out if she has alternatives to simply taking tamoxifen.

Also, does anyone know of any studies about Herceptin for early stage B/C used with chemotherapy?

It appears that no medical institutions or Genentech are testing Herceptin this way.

Thank you. This website rocks, and I hope one day my relative will feel comfortable enough with her diagnosis to participate in it.

Evan

[barbaralea]

Evan,

This is a reply to your posted note re. the above. I had a 1.4 cm tumor, early Stage 1, negative nodes but because I have HER2 gene I was advised to have 4 treatments of chemotherapy AC. The chemotherapy went very well along with the anti nausea drug Emend. I was tired and had slight nausea which was helped by eating. I had 33 days of radiation treatment. That went very well. I felt very well during radiation drove myself and excersied at Curves on my way home. I finished treatments in September and was prescribed Arimidex for the next 5 years. My onc. then wanted me to have Herceptin every three weeks for 1 year. There aren't side effects with that like chemo, but there are known heart problems resulting from Herceptin. It is important to have Ecco Cardigrams to see how your heart is handling the Herceptin. I had only one treatment of Herceptin because after about 1 hour I went into anaphylaxis shock, i.e., blood pressure dropped, I had difficulty breathing, my oxygen level was down and my lungs were shutting down. I was given a steroid, benedryl and oxygen and was soon back to normal but my oncologist now does not want me to take Herceptin and neither do I. I hope, however, I will be fine without it because it is supposed to be a wonderful breakthrough in keep cancer from recurring. I hope this answers your question.

[lisamalone]

i was afraid of chemo too. i receive my herceptin with it and will continue with herceptin for a year, it targets the HER2.there are loads of studies on herceptin.the chemotherapy i take is new and has less risk of heart side effects than those previously used and the damage if any is reversible and closely monitored. there are many good drugs on the market now for the side effects of chemotherapy.there is no reason for your family member to be ill id she promptly communicates these to her physician or chemo nurses.it is not horrible like i had imagined.the anxiety waiting for the first treatment was the bad part.there are also new drugs available other than tamoxifen.the san antonio breast conference i swhat you should look into.
best wishes to you and your family, lisa

[aurey]

Hi Suniskye

thanks for your helpful reply. I'm lucky that I can take herceptin with no problems I am thankful I haven't had any of your problems with it as herceptin is about the only treatment possible for me as I'm er/pr negative and there is little that is done for those types it seems.
Many thanks to you and every good wish for your improvement from this hateful disease
love Aurey

[tnbelle22]

I am new here. 2001 breast cancer that showed up in the liver in July 2004. Received chemo plus herceptin until April of 2005. After that I got a herceptin treatment every three weeks. I did great with it and all heart echos look good. Last PET scan showed the liver to be clean. My doctor credits herceptin with this. However, he plans to discontinue the herceptin since I have been on it alone for one year. I am to see him tomorrow, and am curious about how long others have taken it. I wonder why he feels we need to stop the treatments. I guess I will find out tomorrow. Any question I should ask him?

Tnbelle22

[janet/FL]

Hi Tribelle
You should probably post this question on it's own so others can answer. But from what I know, Hercepin, with mets, isn't usually stopped arbitrarily after one year. Often it is given for many years?
Please post so that you can get feedback from others.
Janet

[aurey]

Hi Tnbelle22,

I haven't had the herceptin for long, the three weekly from January but my oncologist has said that it is for an indefinite period, while it is doing me good.
I should check out that the stopping of herceptin is for your benefit or for cost benefit. My worry is that now primary cancer sufferers can have it they will restrict it where they can for us to save money.
Good luck with your questions they are a tricky lot these oncs
Best wishes
Aurey

[skoolmom]

Hi, I was one of the lucky ones and I didn't have any severe reactions to chemo (just tiredness,nausea, gas and constipation) and really none to the herceptin. I was taking 12 weeks of Herceptin weekly along with my Taxol. Then I went and still am taking Herceptin every 3 weeks now for 12 more treatments making it a total of 24 doses. I'm hoping this is enough to keep any mets from coming! I was recieving the Herceptin through the radiation with no problems either. I am going to get my port takin out after the 24th treatment because I'm in the mindstate that I am done with cancer! Oh, I had a lumpectomy with 5 sentinal nodes taken and mets in one, margins clean, so I am stage II,grade 3, ER/PR - and Her2neu3t, infiltrating ductal type,poorly differentiated. I just had my one year aniversary from dx last week- celebration time!!!!!!!! :-)

[aurey]

I have now been taken off herceptin until or if my injection fraction goes up again. From 70% in February to 45% in September and there it has stayed. I had herceptin weekly whilst on Taxotere chemo then I had it three weekly for ten cycles. Herceptin really seems to have damaged my heart. I have only had echocardiograms and now I am waiting for a muga scan to get a better picture of my heart but the hospital seems to be blocking this- nuclear medicine has had the request but have put me on a waiting list - makes me feel they are waitng for my death. Too many managers in the equation I suppose.

[gin-tx]

Did I understand correctly you are getting Herceptin 3 times a week. That's pretty frequent. How many weeks did you get treatment 3 times a week if I understood you correctly. I go every 3 weeks for a treatment, just had a complete physical yesterday and my cardiogram was fine, bp up but am on meds and he will recheck in a couple of months. If still high will change my meds.

good luck to you, let me know what is happening and how long you expect to have to wait on a Muga. I had mine done in cardiologists's office, what does nuclear medicine have to do with a Muga, they don't give a dye.

ginkott1@aol.com

[aurey]

I had herceptin on three week cycles ie one every three weeks. Sorry for confusion.
Muga scan I was told it was in the nuclear medicine department. I still have not heard anything.
good luck

[gin-tx]

Dear Aurey,

I live in TX, the oncologists here won't begin Herceptin without a Muga that you have no heart problems. My onc had to call my heart specialist and insist on a Muga being done that day even though I could not get an appt to have it scheduled. He had his nurse call that they were beginning treatment the next day and it had to be done, no excuses. And it was done in the cardiologist's office. I don't understand where this nuclear thing is coming from, maybe they do it differently. I had no dyes, injections, etc. just was flat on a table while the technician performed the Muga scan.

HOpe this finds you doing better. Am still battling the tumor in my spine, had 18 radiation treatments, pain went away for a few months, now back. Having another MRI to determine if cancer has spread or if it's a pinched nerve. Hope it is neither but to lie flat is almost impossible because of pain. I do fairly well standing up and am still working part time believe it or not, as sick as I am. Hanging in for as long as they will let me continue to work.

Keep in touch and let me know of your progress. When were you diagnosed. I had first BC 10 yrs ago, this is on other side and much more aggressive.

hugs,

ginkott1@aol.com

[naturaleigh]

I have been on herceptin for 6 months now. I was given the option of going every three weeks. The only difference would be the length of time. Going weekly, the infusion would take ~ 1 hour. Going every three weeks the infusion would take ~ 3 hours. There would be no change in the dose prescibed, they would just give me the 3 weeks worth in one sitting. For me, it is easier to go for the 1 hour every week instead of 3 hours every 3 weeks. If you have cancer insurance that is something you might want to think about also.

[Marlys]

Gin,
Please check out this link. You could not have had a muga scan without a nuclear material being mixed with your blood and then being given back to you. Maybe you had an echocardiogram. I found this link by googling muga scan.
And Naturaleigh, my every three week injections of Herceptin only took 30 minutes.
Marlys

http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/cardiactests/a/muga.htm

[Bev]

Hi all,

For me, MUGAs involved withdrawing my blood and mixing with nuclear meds and reinjecting. The camera in my face made me claustrophobic so I've switched to echo's, basically an ultrasound. The MUGA may be slightly more accurate. The echo tech also complained that my ribs were too big and close together to get good heart images.

My 3weekly Herceptin has gone from 90 min to 30 min, because they can. No difference so far.

Just to let you know. BB

[gin-tx]

Glad your tests are working out okay. They also decreased the time on my last treatment from 90 min to 30 which I think was a mistake. I had to go in and talk with the nurse the following Mon and the nurse who administered the Herceptin was scared I was sick. I told her I was fine.

Glad you are progressing well. I also had the echo before starting the Herceptin. Keep me informed as to your progress. Have not been able to get on the web site as something was wrong with my log on name and password, think it is finally fixed. I don't think I've been on line for at least a month or more so I've missed out on a lot of news.

Keep in touch.

hugs,

ginkott1@aol.com

[gin-tx]

I went to three onc before making a decision, two wanted to do very strong chemo drugs, then radiation and Herceptin for 1 yr. I went to a third onc and he had a different plan as the cancer had spread to the bones in my spine. I had 18 radiation treatments on my spine, then after about 2 weeks of radiation, I began Herceptin and Aridia. Am still on that regime. If it continues to keep the cancer from coming back guess they will continue, I go every 3 weeks. I try to go on Fri as I'm still working part time, and I don't rest well the night after treatment. My treatment takes 1.5 hrs for the Aridia and the same for the Herceptin. am having trouble getting my ins to pay for chemo drugs, will change type of policy I'm on Jan. 1 and the onc will eliminate what is not paid rather than leaving it for me to pay this yr (which is the way my policy was written). Good luck, let me know how you are doing.

ginkott1@aol.com

[tousled1]

I started out getting Herceptin weekly and have switched to every three weeks. You still get the same amount of Herceptin, it's just more convenient to go every three weeks. Initial infusion took 90 minutes and now I'm in and out of the oncologist's office within an hour.

Herceptin has just recently been approved for early stage breast cancer. Previously it was for advanced breast cancer only.

As for how long to stay on Herceptin -- that's anyone's guess. Standard protocol is one year. The HERA trial (2 years of Herceptin) results will be released in San Antonio this month. It will be interesting to see if there is a marked positive effect of 2 years of Herceptin vs 1 year.

Anyone who is receiving Herceptin should have either a MUGA scan or echocardiogram every three months. This is to check your LVEF which should be at a minimum of 50% to receive Herceptin. If it drops below 40% then you must come off the Herceptin. Most times the damage that is done to the heart from Herceptin is repairable just by simply getting a break from the Herceptin.

[gin-tx]

Thank you for the good info. I had a muga before starting Herceptin in late June (had scheuled an appt with cardiologist specifically for that test, of course people on appt desk don't listen to what I need, cardiologist told me to come back another time, they couldn't do it, I called my onc, his nurse called and said it had to be done that day, work her in somehow) I had it done that afternoon. Have not had another since, just had ekg with physical. I think everything was fine. My surgeon said he had a patient who just got off after 3 yrs. Since my cancer is very aggressive, and had spread to bones, which resulted in 18 radiation treatments in the beginning before Herceptin began, this is where I'm at every three weeks. Good luck to you and hope you continue to be cancer free.

ginkott1@aol.com

[Texasteacher]

I'm on Herceptin every 3 wks after having it every week with my Taxol. If you're afraid to ask your onc questions---you're with the wrong onc!!!

Never be afraid to switch doctors until you find the right fit. As a woman, I personally go out of my way to find females. My surgeon, onc, and radiation onc are part of a female breast cancer group--and are they ever awesome!!!

Bottom line---it's your life!!! Be your own advocate!!!

God Bless--

Eileen

[naturaleigh]

Hey Texasteacher,

I read your profile and you are just about like me, I am er/pr - and Her2+3 positive. All nodes negative. What has your onc said about you being er/pr -. My onc can't really say one way or another, just everyone is different. Do you know what kind of treatment you will be on, if any, after the Herceptin.

Your are so right. . . survivors are awesome!!

God Bless you too!!

Anita

[ElaineM]

Hi,
I would find another oncologist who I felt I could work with and had my best interests at heart. Herceptin is great. I take it myself.
ElaineM