Help - Advice Needed

[Mandy]

I am desperately seeking info and was hoping you could help me. My best friend who is 56 and was diagnosed with her2 pos bc in late 2002. She went thru chemo but no herceptin. This past Nov she was told its reoccurred in her lungs and bones. She has taken 2 chemo treatments with herceptin. Four days ago she began having difficulty breathing and the onc told her the chemo was not working and further treatments would not help. He told her family to arrange hospice care. Here are my questions:

Should she get a second opinion?
Are there different type of chemo drugs that could be tried?
What is the best drugs to use for someone in her condition.
Should the onc have done a biopsy on the lung tumors and bone to see of they are her2 pos or can he determine this from a serum her2 test?

Thanks for your help!

[Becky]

Your friend should get a second opinion quickly. There are numerous chemo agents to try (and clinical trials to enroll in). If this was just the first shot at chemo, there are lots more.

[mamacze]

Dear Mandy,
Becky is absolutely right. Tell your friend to run to another oncologist for a second opinion...preferably at a major medical center. If you tell us where your are located there may be members here who can recommend an oncologist and save her precious time. Also a tumor tissue sample can help them give her the most optimal treatment up front. If I were in her shoes; I would run to Sloan, MD Anderson, Fred Hutch or similar major medical facility and fly if necessary. There are also multiple clinical trials for stage four ladies...Dr. Nora Disis, the head of the tumor vaccine group in Seattle (google tumor vaccine group and they will pop up), just told me about a couple of trials in DC that look promising ...a web site follows.

http://www.cancer.gov/search/ViewClinicalTrials.aspx?cdrid=381300&version=patient&protocolsearchid=2941128
Good luck to you and your friend; please know you can email any of us privately as well; we are here to help...please keep us posted...
Kim from CT

[chrisy]

Echo echo echo what Becky and Kim have said. You didn't say where you are, but quickly get a 2nd opinion preferably at a designated cander center. There are many chemo combinations and also clinical trials available. THe Her2 serum test can help determine if it's Her2 pos, but biopsy would give the best picture.

Do not give up hope. If your friend wants to keep fighting there are still options available to her.

[Mandy]

My friend lives near Nashville Tennessee. If someone can recommend a good doc for a second opinion.