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My wife, Kathleen, was NED for 6 years maintained on Herceptin only. 6 months after she ceased the Herceptin infusions her cancer returned with multiple mets. She was removed from Herceptin because of fear of heart damage. In hindsight we should not have made that decision. We can't prove that the herceptin was still effective when she stopped taking it, but why take the chance especially when new research indicates that long term use of Herceptin does not increase risk of heart damage.
For information on Kathleen's treatment since the cancer returned see thread under "Ixabepilone & Tykerb. While the result of her treatment with ixabepilone & tykerb was favorable at 1st, her cancer returned while taking only Tykerb as a maintenance drug. She is now back on Herceptin & Abraxane but only for the past 2 weeks ( weekly infusions) so too early to know the effects. Our prayer is that the Herceptin is still effective for her.
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