[Tom]

Dear Dianne,

The Herceptin is not fighting your immune system. The Herceptin is blocking cell signaling receptor sites on the surface of the malignant HER2 cells. Anything you can do to support or boost the immune system will help your body battle the disease at some level. Additionally, Herceptin is what is called a tyrosine kinase inhibitor. This is what works against the cancer. Inhibition of tyrosine kinase blocks the inappropriate messages from being sent from the cells surface that enable the cancer to grow. I believe there is a good illustration of this process somewhere on this website.

The reason I stress this is because one of the substances I always beleieved was very important in fighting HER2+ disease, is a compound found in green tea (EGCG). It turns out that EGCG is also a very potent tyrosine kinase inhibitor. I recommend drinking lots of fresh brewed green tea as well as taking a good quality green tea extract such as the ones offered by Life Extension www.LEF.org .

You can find lists here on her2support.org of many other supplements as well as foods that will help you fight the cancer. My personal favorite after green tea has always been curcumin, an ingredient in curry. There are refined versions of this substance available that would be of benefit to you as well. Read as much as you can about the many things that can help you here on the site. There are many folks here that can offer you suggestions on vitamins and supplements.

Tom