last Herceptin treatment
 

Hello All,
Well, after 6 years, tomorrow will be my last Herceptin treatment and then I'll take Femara for a few more weeks and Clastoban for 3 ore months.
I'll be given a Petscan once a year and the usual mammo and sonogram.
Keeping fingers crossed. Hope they got the little buggers this time around. Last time they thought they had but now 6 out from recurrence, 10 from 1st time around.
Health and Happiness
hugs and love
Sarah

Re: last Herceptin treatment
 

Hi Sarah
So glad you posted your news and lovely to hear you are so well.I think you are very brave stopping vit h and your other treatments but want to wish you many, many years of NED.
Ellie

Re: last Herceptin treatment
 

Good luck Sarah, keeping my fingers crossed for you too!!

all the best
xo
caya

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Re: last Herceptin treatment
 

Sarah,
Thanks so much for posting your news and much rest and happiness to you.
karen

Re: last Herceptin treatment
 

Sarah,
What great news.... I'm wishing you forever NED.

Kris....

Re: last Herceptin treatment
 

Wonderful news Sarah and hope you do very well on the femara!:)

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Hi Sarah, There are several of your Her2 sisters that stopped Herceptin after many yrs and so far they are still doing great. Pink already mentioned AndiBB...then there is Steph and Christine that stopped Herceptin after quite a few yrs and they are all doing great.

So may you and NED live happily ever after. :)

Chelee

Re: last Herceptin treatment
 

Congratulations, Sarah. A big milestone. Be sure to post on the long-time survivor thread. I also had found the recurrence 4 years after the initial surgery/treatment. I've been doing well the past three years even though I'd only had 22 weeks of Herceptin. Had to quit because of lowered MUGA score.

Take good care of yourself and enjoy the 'freedom'.

Re: last Herceptin treatment
 

Happy Days! You have done very well and it does take some thinking over to make the decision to stop the drug.

My nails grow so fast and are so strong now! Took a few months, and they weren't too bad, so that came as a surprise.

It is great to not be so closely tied to the cancer center.
"Little buggers" should be bye-bye this time.

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That's fabulous news! Here's to many, many more years of NED! Thanks for sharing and keeping others positive!

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All the BEST toyou Sarah
My wife's Onc said nine doses of Herceptin and then Tykerb after a PET scan.
Am hoping for the best in the PET scan

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I am always so happy to read of successful milestones !
I stopped Herceptin after 19 months due to a low ejection fraction (40 %). My cardiologist thinks I may not get back on Herceptin. Can you or anyone comment on recommended length of time on Herceptin for optimal success ? I am NED at last CT scan on April 30 , "remission"since Dec. '08 previously stage 4 . Thanks !

Re: last Herceptin treatment
 

Hello fellow HER2ers,
Thank you very much for your kind wishes, it touched me greatly. I too hope to be NED forever!!!
I'll look forward to having nails again. Hope the hair on my legs doesn't come back though!!! lol!
I was scared when it was first suggested but now I'm ready and hopeful.
Thank you all of you for being there. I will still be checking in. I couldn't have made it without all of you, I appreciate you all enormously.
Once an HER2 sister, always one.
Health and Happiness
hugs and love
Sarah

Re: last Herceptin treatment
 

Congratulations Sarah!

I wish you all the very best; excellent health and peace of mind forever.

Didi

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That is awesome news!

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Hi i have a unique story possibly, let me share it
diagnosed-10/8/09
rbst/lyph node axilla/neck pos for her2
no surgery/radiation
11/09 chemo tax/carbo/hercep
5/10 scan no sign of cancer
6/10 herceptin only for a year
5/10 lyphedema positive in r arm
I am feeeling good getting energy back, but no sure if i should dive right back into all the things i did before so soon or is there still some other surprises to expect?

Re: last Herceptin treatment
 

Hi Renee,

I hope that you're having a good day. So, if I understand you correctly, you have not had any surgery, yet you have developed lymphedema? Any idea of how this occurred? Did you get an insect bite or infection somehow that caused this?

Here's what I have been told about lymphedema:
From my surgeon (who is very well read and keeps up to date on research worldwide): Exercise, do whatever you like to do, there's no limit on what you can lift, pull or push. Protect your arms and hands with sunscreen, bug spray and wear gloves when gardening or doing any kind of work where you could injure your hands.

From the Dragon Boat Team members in London Ontario (who just won the Canadian Dragon Boat Championships and is made up of women who have finished therapy or are undergoing cancer treatment): The members tend to not get lymphedema and they work out 5 days per week either in the gym or in the boat. The team is made up of women of all ages, from teens to 70 years old. What I have been told is that some were told to not overdo exercising their affected arm, some were told (a few years ago by their doctors) to not lift anything heavier than 5 pounds, some were told not to push or pull more than 5 pounds; yet here they are (not doing what they were advised to do) with such a great fitness level and in large part not affected by lymphedema. Their team is called "Row Bust" and you can check them out online as they are inspiring.

From my Registered Massage Therapist: She wouldn't treat me while undergoing chemotherapy, but now has taught me lymphatic drainage techniques, should I need them. The technique is simple and can be done by oneself. Elevating the arm is very important to help to drain it.

From my Family Doctor: Referral to Physiotherapy for exercises for prevention.

That's the extent of what I know of lymphedema, other than some people get fitted for an elastic 'stocking' to wear on the affected arm.

Oh, I do know one person who had lymphedema, but it was a few years after lymph node removal. She wore the stocking, did exercises and had lymphatic drainage and she recovered after 4 months. That's the good news.

I don't know if this helps in anyway, but I thought I would share what I know.

Take care,
DiDi