Ceesun... Here😎
 

Hi all. Not been on lately but need help my lung mass has progressed this year and now have many lymph nodes in chest area involved. Will start new chemo Thurs. has anyone had lymph nodes in chest enlarged. Is it worth trying another chemo. Been fighting for 13 years ...in May 10 years stage 4... Love to all. Cathy

Re: Ceesun... Here😎
 

Hi Cathy, ugh this sucks!! :( :( I wish I could give you some advice. I know Amy/MtnGirl has dealt with lung mets for a long time, check out her posts.

What chemo are you starting on Thursday? Hoping it knocks those chest lymph nodes right out.

Carol Ann

Re: Ceesun... Here😎
 

Cathy, glad to see you on the boards but not happy about the reason why. I am sorry you have had progression. I don't have lung mets so no input there.

Re: Ceesun... Here😎
 

Cathy I can't help but really sorry to read about the progression and hope someone else can advise you.

Re: Ceesun... Here😎
 

Hi Cathy,
Ugh on the mets, ugh on the cancer, YAY on 10 years thriver-mode. I'm right behind you. I have a friend who is 13 years stage 4, her2+ and ER+. She goes on and off different cocktails, has mostly bone mets, but in many ways mets are mets. She's on weekly infusions of Navelbine again, along with the 3 week dosing of herceptin perjeta. It's giving her decent control. I don't know what you've tried, have you already had TDM1?

I've been off treatment since 1/24 so I'm anxious to resume and dreading to resume and dreading to know my markers and so on. But that's what we do, keep moving forward "one freakin' day at a time" etc.

Sending a big hug. Let us know what's been on the list so we can help more.
xoxo xoxo

Re: Ceesun... Here😎
 

Hi Cathy,

So sorry about your lung and chest progression. Ten years Stage IV is amazing, though.

I've been dealing with lung issues for a number of years. On my last 2 scans all my cancer was undetectable except in both lower lungs. That was on Herceptin, Perjeta, and Abraxane. Previously there were lymph nodes in my chest, one vertebra in my spine, plus the original tumor. When I was diagnosed five years ago I also had liver mets, which went away and haven't come back.

Every person is different. Every cancer is different. Also, over time, our bodies change. So I don't know if my experience is even relevant to anyone else. But one thing I can point out is I had Taxol/Abraxane in my first course of treatment, and going back on Abraxane was successful. So I wonder if there's any chemo that worked for you before that you could try with Herceptin and Perjeta. (I know, I know. I just said two contradictory things--that one person's experience probably means nothing for someone else, and "why don't you try this thing I did?") Just spit balling here. . . .

Just remember you're the expert on your body and your history.

And remember you're our sister.

Re: Ceesun... Here😎
 

Nice to "see" you, but the reason isn't nice.

I never had lung mets, but I am sure there are some possibilities that either are new to your body or your did well on in the pat and maybe can revisit.

Keep the faith as I am sure you have another decade in you!

Re: Ceesun... Here😎
 

Cathy, sorry for this news. I had progression in a lymph node right in the middle of my chest. And another in the breast that I had previously had a lumpectomy As it was only one in the chest, I fought to have radiation. I then had a mastectomy to get of the other. That was Dec 2013 and have been NED ever since. Seeing as you have more than one node, chemo sounds like a good option. I had Abraxane when first diagnosed at Stage IV, and that took me to NED also. Do you know which chemo you will be on?
Best wishes, let us know how you are getting on. xxxx

Re: Ceesun... Here😎
 

Sisters and Brothers, Thank you for responding to me after so many months away. I feel like an old timer here now with many new faces and sadness at the ones we lost, but over the many years you have provided sage advice, comfort and even a laugh or two...for sure! I liked Flori's name of "thriver" and hopefully that can continue. To Update, I have been on Ac cytoxan and taxotere when diagnosed back in 2003. Then in 2006 with a single lung met the list grows: Navelbene Xekoda Tykerb Kadcyla, then Navelbene with Herceptin and perjeta....now Halaven with NO success. The best success I had was Hercep and tykerb combo for 32 months...although not NED I had shrinkage and stable disease. YAY!!! Next Thurs I begin IXempra and I will not be on Herceptin which I do not understand., but will inquire on that! The odd part is my first lung met was on the left side and kadcyla cleared that but not the right one. About one year and one half ago I had cyberknife on the right lung and it resulted in a 2 centimeter ball of dead tissue but came back strong with node involvement. So that is the general recall. Best to each of you, Cathy

Re: Ceesun... Here😎
 

Cathy,

I found this...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23559151

A phase II study of ixabepilone and trastuzumab for metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer.
Tolaney SM1, Najita J, Sperinde J, Huang W, Chen WY, Savoie J, Fornier M, Winer EP, Bunnell C, Krop IE.

Abstract
BACKGROUND:
A multicenter NCI-sponsored phase II study was conducted to analyze the safety and efficacy of the combination of ixabepilone with trastuzumab in patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer.
PATIENTS AND METHODS:
Two cohorts were enrolled: cohort 1 had received no prior chemotherapy or trastuzumab for metastatic disease and cohort 2 had received 1-2 prior trastuzumab-containing regimens for metastatic disease. Patients in both cohorts received ixabepilone 40 mg/m(2) as a 3-h infusion and trastuzumab on day 1 of a 21-day cycle. Tumor biomarkers that may predict response to trastuzumab were explored.
RESULTS:
Thirty-nine women entered the study with 15 patients in cohort 1 and 24 patients in cohort 2. Across both cohorts, the overall RR was 44%, with a clinical benefit rate (CR + PR + SD for at least 24 weeks) of 56%. Treatment-related toxic effects included neuropathy (grade ≥2, 56%), leukopenia (grade ≥2, 26%), myalgias (grade ≥2, 21%), neutropenia (grade ≥2, 23%), and anemia (grade ≥2, 18%).
CONCLUSIONS:
This represents the first study of the combination of ixabepilone with trastuzumab for the treatment of metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer. These results suggest that the combination has encouraging activity as first and subsequent line therapy for metastatic breast cancer.

Re: Ceesun... Here😎
 

Cathy,
Just joining the others to say I hope your next chemo puts a halt to your progression. Herceptin + a taxane seems to be very effective for many. It worked twice for me. Maybe worth revisiting, since it's been awhile for you. I swore I'd never do Taxotere again after the last time, but if nothing else were working, I'd go there again. Just brainstorming here, so don't mind my ramblings!

We old timers really are guinea pigs when it comes to this MBC stuff!

Sending you big hugs!

Kim

Re: Ceesun... Here😎
 

Cathy,

Found these two abstracts related to the treatment of tumors in the lung. Might be worth a discussion with your oncologist.

Gan To Kagaku Ryoho. 2015 Aug;42(8):973-80.
[Results of a Special Drug Use-Results Survey on Compliance to Tegafur/Uracil(UFT)Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer].
[Article in Japanese]
Koyama T1, Funato Y, Yamaguchi Y, Oda M, Ito K.
Author information
Abstract
We report the results of a special drug use-results survey that used medication diaries about compliance to tegafur/uracil (UFT) adjuvant chemotherapy in patients who had undergone complete resection for non-small cell lung cancer. Between April1 , 2008, and March 31, 2010, 2,527 patients were enrolled. Of these patients, 2,411 and 1,811 were evaluated for treatment and compliance, respectively. The 2-year treatment completion rate was 59.1% in 2,093 of the 2,411 patients, excluding 318 patients with treatment failure owing to recurrence. The results were comparable with those from The Japan Lung Cancer Research Group on PostsurgicalAdjuvant Chemotherapy (JLCRG). The main reasons of the treatment failure were gastrointestinaland hepatic disorders. The proportion of patients with @75% compliance was 95.3% (1,726/1,811), and most of the patients who kept their medication diaries exhibited good compliance.

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Gan To Kagaku Ryoho. 2003 Jun;30(6):879-82.[A case of recurrent breast cancer with lung metastasis and overexpression of HER2 that responded to UFT and cyclophosphamide combination therapy after sequential treatments with epirubicin, taxanes, and trastuzumab].
[Article in Japanese]
Nishimura R1, Nagao K, Miyayama H, Okazaki S, Nakagawa K, Fujimura Y.
Author information
Abstract
We describe a 57-year-old woman who underwent modified mastectomy for right breast cancer (T2N0M0) with overexpression of HER2, in whom lungmetastasis developed 3 years after operation. She received sequential chemotherapy, including epirubicin plus cyclophosphamide, docetaxel, paclitaxel and trastuzumab, but the lung lesion progressed after transiently showing a partial response. Oral treatment with UFT and cyclophosphamide was begun as fifth-line treatment. The lung tumor shrank after 2 months, and a partial response has been maintained during continued treatment with UFT and cyclophosphamide. No adverse effects have occurred. We regard combination therapy with oral UFT and cyclophosphamide to be useful for the management of metastatic breast cancer, even in heavily pretreated cases with overexpression of HER2.