Er

[al from Canada]

I don't know how many of you read this post but I think it's worth a look and comments. Although most HER2 BC is ER(-), I think this situation changes more often than we know and this study may have huge survival and Q of A ramifications in the future if drugs are designed to address this ER signalling. Any comments?

http://her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=94763#post94763

Al

[astrid]

I go Wednesday for my six month follow up. I start herceptin on Wednesday. I also start some type of Hormone therapy to suppress the estrogen. I am looking to a clinical trial so I can get more then the standard treatment for pre menopausal women, but I am going to be honest with my ONC and let her know that if I get the arm of the study that only includes the standard treatment of Tamoxifen, I am going to drop the study and ask for ovarian suppression also. I have learned in my reading that my BC is not that common. I am triple positive. ER+, PR+ and HER2+. Only 20% of all BCs are HER2+ and when you add the other +s it brings it down to around 15%. Tamoxifen has shown resistance and sometimes it actually triggers the estrogen in triple + so I am concerned that it will not be enough for Disease free survival (DFS). (Scary that we had to learn that acronym). Tamoxifen has been around for twenty years but HER2 testing has only been around for 5. My sister died of BC and it makes me wonder if she was triple + also and the tamoxifen actually caused her cancer to metastasize??

[mamacze]

Sadly, I can't lie Al, most of this article goes over my head; although what I did get out of it is, (I think) that our ER/PR status can change and the tamoxifen can put us in a catch 22 by actually causing resistance. (did I get the gist?! )...Kim from CT

[lisahammo]

I was very interested to read all this. When I was first dx, I was NOT HER2+. I was put on Tamoxifan at 39 y.o. I was told I had an 80% chance of being "cured". Within 8 months, I had 10 tumours in my liver, and my eostrogen levels had gone UP from 70% to 90%, and I was now HER2+1! At the time I remember thinking they should have been doing regular blood tests to check my eostrogen levels while on Tamoxifan. I always suspected that it may have been the cause of these changes.

Love Lisa