HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - Herceptin Vaccine Trial Preliminary Results Very Promising

Cynthia · 03-09-2006, 08:58 AM

Friends,

I previously participated in the breast cancer vaccine trial at Walter Reed. I was in the node positive arm of the trial (4 nodes) and am pleased to report, so far so good. I believe that the Walter Reed (for military active duty and dependents)/Windber (for civilians/non-dependents) trial requires that the patient be NED.

I understand that one of the goals of the trial is to develop a vaccine to ultimately give to people who are at high risk for developing B/C to prevent it from ever occurring, and to give it to early stage B/C patients in the hopes of preventing a recurrence. Originally the trial was not open to patients who previously received Herceptin (I had not gotten Herceptin prior to participating in the vaccine trial, but I am receiving it now. Dr. Peoples, who heads the vaccine trial, encouraged me strongly to get Herceptin after the Herceptin trial results were announced at ASCO -- which happened after I finished the vaccine trial). Given that so many folks are now receiving Herceptin, enrollment in the vaccine trial went down dramatically because fewer Her 2+ patients could meet the eligibility requirement of not having had Herceptin. I understand that they were looking to amend the requirement that patients not have Herceptin prior to participating in the vaccine trial, though I don't know where they stand in that process. If anyone is interested, I would be happy to find out.

I would like to plug the amazing efforts being undertaken in our military hospitals to fight breast cancer. As a result of wonderful advocacy by the National Breast Cancer Coalition and others, Congress has funded sizable dollars to be used by the Department of Defense in the fight against breast cancer. The fight is ongoing (please see the information below if you are interested in helping the cause on the political front). I am consistently stunned and thrilled to observe how much our military doctors and scientists are doing to help us beat this disease. Their dedication and determination is wonderful.

Stay well.

Cynthia

TO: NBCC Board, Field Coordinators, National Action Network

FROM: Fran Visco

RE: FINAL DOD BCRP PUSH IN THE HOUSE/Senate Letter Now Circulating!

URGENT ALERT!! URGENT ALERT!! URGENT ALERT!! URGENT ALERT!!

Monday, March 13th is the final day to get Representatives signed onto the House DOD Letter in support of $150 million for the Department of Defense (DOD) Peer-Reviewed Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP). With 129 current signers, that gives us ONLY 3 BUSINESS DAYS to get at least 98 more Representatives to agree to sign on!

Yesterday, Senators Snowe, Leahy, Specter, Harkin, and Collins began circulating the Dear Colleague Letter asking Senators to sign a letter to Chairman Stevens and Ranking Member Inouye of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee calling for $150 million for the DOD BCRP. The date the Senate letter is due is not yet determined.

We need you and your network to take immediate action and 1) first keep pressing your Representatives who have not yet signed the House letter, and then, 2) move on to your Senators to sign the Senate letter! We need to at least match the 227 Representatives and 62 Senators that we secured last year!

Below is a listing by state of the Representatives who have signed on to date. Remember, signing this letter is the way your Representatives and Senators can show their support for the DOD BCRP and get credit in NBCC's voting record.

Again, we have only 3 business days left to get 98 more House signers so please make your calls TODAY! The phone and fax numbers for all Members of the 109th Congress can be found on our website at www.stopbreastcancer.org by clicking on "Public Policy Activities" and then "Members of Congress" on the dropdown menu.Your message is:

House Message:
I urge you to show your support for ending breast cancer by signing the letter to the Military Quality of Life Appropriations Subcommittee calling for $150 million for the Department of Defense Peer-Reviewed Breast Cancer Research Program for FY 2007!!

Senate Message:
I urge you to show your support for ending breast cancer by signing the letter to the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee calling for $150 million for the Department of Defense Peer-Reviewed Breast Cancer Research Program for FY 2007!!

If your Representative agrees to sign the letter, her/his staff should EMAIL one of the following letter sponsors' staff to make it happen:
Jean Doyle (Rep. Lowey) at jean.doyle@mail.house.gov
Darcie Brickner (Rep. T. Davis) at darcie.brickner@mail.house.gov
Brian Petersen (Rep. Biggert) at brian.petersen@mail.house.gov
Rianna Brown (Rep. McGovern) at rianna.brown@mail.house.gov

If your Senator agrees to sign the letter, HER/HIS STAFF SHOULD CALL one of the following letter sponsors' staff to make it happen:
Michelle Stefanick (Sen. Snowe) at (202) 224-5344
Daniel Ginsberg (Sen. Leahy) at (202) 224-4242
Chris Bradish (Sen. Specter) at (202) 224-4254
Jenelle Krishnamoorthy (Sen. Harkin) at (202) 224-3254
Priscilla Hanley (Sen. Collins) at (202) 224-2523

Please call D'Neisha Simmons Jendayi at (800) 622.2838, ext. 579 or email her at dsjendayi@stopbreastcancer.org to let her know that your Member has agreed to sign onto the letter, if you have questions, or if you need to have copies of any of the attachments (listed below) faxed to help you get the job done.

Thank you for your urgent advocacy as we work to preserve this critically important program!

Attachments:
1) List of last year's House letter signers that haven't signed on yet this year . . . they all should be willing to sign on again!
2) Letter to the House Military Quality of Life Appropriations Subcommittee
3) House Dear Colleague Letter
4) Letter to the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee
5) Senate Dear Colleague Letter

FY07 DOD BCRP House of Representatives Letter Signers
129 signers as of 3/7/06. * indicates member did not sign letter last year

ALABAMA

ALASKA
Don Young (R)

ARIZONA
Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-5th)
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-7th)

CALIFORNIA
Rep. Mike Thompson (D-1st)
Rep. Doris O. Matsui (D-5th)
Rep. George Miller (D-7th)
Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-10th)
Rep. Tom Lantos (D-12th)
Rep. Fortney Pete Stark (D-13th)
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-14th)
Rep. Michael M. Honda (D-15th)
Rep. Sam Farr (D-17th)
Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-18th)
Rep. Lois Capps (D-23rd)
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-27th)
Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-28th)
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-29th)
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-30th)
Rep. Hilda Solis (D-32nd)
Rep. Jane Harman (D-36th)
Rep. Jaunita Millender-McDonald (D-37th)
Rep. Linda T. Sanchez (D-39th)

COLORADO

CONNECTICUT
Rep. John Larson (D-1st)
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-3rd)
Rep. Christopher Shays (R-4th)

DELAWARE

FLORIDA
Rep. Mark Foley (R-16th)*
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-18th)
Rep. Robert Wexler (D-19th)
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-20th)*

GEORGIA
Rep. Jim Marshall (D-3rd)
Rep. John Lewis (D-5th)
Rep. Charles Norwood (R-9th)

HAWAII
Rep. Ed Case (D-2nd)

ILLINOIS
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-4th)
Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-5th)
Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-7th)
Rep. Melissa L. Bean (D-8th)
Rep. Janice D. Schakowsky (D-9th)
Rep. Judy Biggert (R-13th) Sponsor
Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-16th)

INDIANA
Rep. Dan Burton (R-5th)

IOWA
Rep. Jim Nussle (R-1st)
Rep. Jim Leach (R- 2nd)
Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-3rd)
Rep. Tom Latham (R-4th)
Rep. Steve King (R-5th)

KANSAS

KENTUCKY

LOUISIANA
Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-2nd)
Rep. Richard H. Baker (R-6th)

MAINE
Rep. Thomas H. Allen (D-1st)
Rep. Michael H. Michaud (D-2nd)

MARYLAND
Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-3rd)
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-7th)
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-8th)

MASSACHUSETTS
Rep. John W. Olver (D-1st)
Rep. James McGovern (D-3rd) Sponsor
Rep. Barney Frank (D-4th)
Rep. John F. Tierney (D-6th)
Rep. Edward Markey (D-7th)
Rep. Michael Capuano (D-8th)
Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D-9th)
Rep. William Delahunt (D-10th)

MICHIGAN
Rep. Dale Kildee (D-5th)
Rep. Sander Levin (D-12th)
Rep. John Conyers (D-14th)*
Rep. John Dingell (D-15th)

MINNESOTA
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-4th)

MISSISSIPPI

MISSOURI
Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-1st)
Rep. Ike Skelton (D-4th)*
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-5th)

NEBRASKA
Rep. Lee Terry (R-2nd)

NEVADA

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Rep. Charles Bass (R-2nd)

NEW JERSEY
Rep. Frank A. LoBiondo (R-2nd)
Rep. Scott Garrett (R-5th)
Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6th)
Rep. Steve Rothman (D-9th)*
Rep. Donald M. Payne (D -10th)

NEW MEXICO
Rep. Tom Udall (D-3rd)

NEW YORK
Rep. Tim Bishop (D-1st)
Rep. Steve J. Israel (D-2nd)
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-4th)
Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-5th)
Rep. George W. Meeks (D-6th)
Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-7th)
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-8th)
Rep. Major R. Owens (D-11th)
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-14th)
Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-15th)
Rep. Nita M. Lowey (D-18th) Sponsor
Rep. Michael McNulty (D-21st)
Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-22nd)
Rep. Louise McIntosh Slaughter (D-28th)
Rep. John Randy Kuhl (R-29th)

NORTH CAROLINA
Rep. Howard Coble (R-6th)
Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-7th)

OHIO
Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-10th)
Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-13th)
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-17th)*

OREGON
Rep. Peter A. DeFazio (D-4th)
Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-5th)

PENNSYLVANIA
Rep. Robert Brady (D- 1st)
Rep. Philip S. English (R-3rd)
Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-8th)*
Rep. Alyson Schwartz (D-13th)
Rep. Tim Holden (D-17th)
Rep. Todd R. Platts (R-19th)

RHODE ISLAND
Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-1st)
Rep. James Langevin (D-2nd)

SOUTH CAROLINA

SOUTH DAKOTA

TENNESSEE

TEXAS
Rep. Ralph Hall (R-4th)*
Rep. Ron E. Paul (R-14th)
Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-16th)*
Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-20th)
Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-23rd)
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-25th)
Rep. Gene Green (D-29th)
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-30th)*

UTAH

VERMONT
Rep. Bernard Sanders (I-1st)

VIRGINIA
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-3rd)
Rep. Eric I. Cantor (R-7th)
Rep. James P. Moran (D-8th)
Rep. Rick Boucher (D-9th)
Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-10th)
Rep. Thomas M. Davis (R-11th) Sponsor

WASHINGTON
Rep. Jay Inslee (D-1st)

WEST VIRGINIA
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-2nd)*

WISCONSIN
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-2nd)
Rep. Ron Kind (D-3rd)
Rep. Gwen Moore (D-4th)

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D)

GUAM
Madeleine Bordallo (D)

03-09-2006, 08:58 AM	#5
Cynthia Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 95	Friends, I previously participated in the breast cancer vaccine trial at Walter Reed. I was in the node positive arm of the trial (4 nodes) and am pleased to report, so far so good. I believe that the Walter Reed (for military active duty and dependents)/Windber (for civilians/non-dependents) trial requires that the patient be NED. I understand that one of the goals of the trial is to develop a vaccine to ultimately give to people who are at high risk for developing B/C to prevent it from ever occurring, and to give it to early stage B/C patients in the hopes of preventing a recurrence. Originally the trial was not open to patients who previously received Herceptin (I had not gotten Herceptin prior to participating in the vaccine trial, but I am receiving it now. Dr. Peoples, who heads the vaccine trial, encouraged me strongly to get Herceptin after the Herceptin trial results were announced at ASCO -- which happened after I finished the vaccine trial). Given that so many folks are now receiving Herceptin, enrollment in the vaccine trial went down dramatically because fewer Her 2+ patients could meet the eligibility requirement of not having had Herceptin. I understand that they were looking to amend the requirement that patients not have Herceptin prior to participating in the vaccine trial, though I don't know where they stand in that process. If anyone is interested, I would be happy to find out. I would like to plug the amazing efforts being undertaken in our military hospitals to fight breast cancer. As a result of wonderful advocacy by the National Breast Cancer Coalition and others, Congress has funded sizable dollars to be used by the Department of Defense in the fight against breast cancer. The fight is ongoing (please see the information below if you are interested in helping the cause on the political front). I am consistently stunned and thrilled to observe how much our military doctors and scientists are doing to help us beat this disease. Their dedication and determination is wonderful. Stay well. Cynthia TO: NBCC Board, Field Coordinators, National Action Network FROM: Fran Visco RE: FINAL DOD BCRP PUSH IN THE HOUSE/Senate Letter Now Circulating! URGENT ALERT!! URGENT ALERT!! URGENT ALERT!! URGENT ALERT!! Monday, March 13th is the final day to get Representatives signed onto the House DOD Letter in support of $150 million for the Department of Defense (DOD) Peer-Reviewed Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP). With 129 current signers, that gives us ONLY 3 BUSINESS DAYS to get at least 98 more Representatives to agree to sign on! Yesterday, Senators Snowe, Leahy, Specter, Harkin, and Collins began circulating the Dear Colleague Letter asking Senators to sign a letter to Chairman Stevens and Ranking Member Inouye of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee calling for $150 million for the DOD BCRP. The date the Senate letter is due is not yet determined. We need you and your network to take immediate action and 1) first keep pressing your Representatives who have not yet signed the House letter, and then, 2) move on to your Senators to sign the Senate letter! We need to at least match the 227 Representatives and 62 Senators that we secured last year! Below is a listing by state of the Representatives who have signed on to date. Remember, signing this letter is the way your Representatives and Senators can show their support for the DOD BCRP and get credit in NBCC's voting record. Again, we have only 3 business days left to get 98 more House signers so please make your calls TODAY! The phone and fax numbers for all Members of the 109th Congress can be found on our website at www.stopbreastcancer.org by clicking on "Public Policy Activities" and then "Members of Congress" on the dropdown menu.Your message is: House Message: I urge you to show your support for ending breast cancer by signing the letter to the Military Quality of Life Appropriations Subcommittee calling for $150 million for the Department of Defense Peer-Reviewed Breast Cancer Research Program for FY 2007!! Senate Message: I urge you to show your support for ending breast cancer by signing the letter to the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee calling for $150 million for the Department of Defense Peer-Reviewed Breast Cancer Research Program for FY 2007!! If your Representative agrees to sign the letter, her/his staff should EMAIL one of the following letter sponsors' staff to make it happen: Jean Doyle (Rep. Lowey) at jean.doyle@mail.house.gov Darcie Brickner (Rep. T. Davis) at darcie.brickner@mail.house.gov Brian Petersen (Rep. Biggert) at brian.petersen@mail.house.gov Rianna Brown (Rep. McGovern) at rianna.brown@mail.house.gov If your Senator agrees to sign the letter, HER/HIS STAFF SHOULD CALL one of the following letter sponsors' staff to make it happen: Michelle Stefanick (Sen. Snowe) at (202) 224-5344 Daniel Ginsberg (Sen. Leahy) at (202) 224-4242 Chris Bradish (Sen. Specter) at (202) 224-4254 Jenelle Krishnamoorthy (Sen. Harkin) at (202) 224-3254 Priscilla Hanley (Sen. Collins) at (202) 224-2523 Please call D'Neisha Simmons Jendayi at (800) 622.2838, ext. 579 or email her at dsjendayi@stopbreastcancer.org to let her know that your Member has agreed to sign onto the letter, if you have questions, or if you need to have copies of any of the attachments (listed below) faxed to help you get the job done. Thank you for your urgent advocacy as we work to preserve this critically important program! Attachments: 1) List of last year's House letter signers that haven't signed on yet this year . . . they all should be willing to sign on again! 2) Letter to the House Military Quality of Life Appropriations Subcommittee 3) House Dear Colleague Letter 4) Letter to the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee 5) Senate Dear Colleague Letter FY07 DOD BCRP House of Representatives Letter Signers 129 signers as of 3/7/06. * indicates member did not sign letter last year ALABAMA ALASKA Don Young (R) ARIZONA Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-5th) Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-7th) CALIFORNIA Rep. Mike Thompson (D-1st) Rep. Doris O. Matsui (D-5th) Rep. George Miller (D-7th) Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-10th) Rep. Tom Lantos (D-12th) Rep. Fortney Pete Stark (D-13th) Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-14th) Rep. Michael M. Honda (D-15th) Rep. Sam Farr (D-17th) Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-18th) Rep. Lois Capps (D-23rd) Rep. Brad Sherman (D-27th) Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-28th) Rep. Adam Schiff (D-29th) Rep. Henry Waxman (D-30th) Rep. Hilda Solis (D-32nd) Rep. Jane Harman (D-36th) Rep. Jaunita Millender-McDonald (D-37th) Rep. Linda T. Sanchez (D-39th) COLORADO CONNECTICUT Rep. John Larson (D-1st) Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-3rd) Rep. Christopher Shays (R-4th) DELAWARE FLORIDA Rep. Mark Foley (R-16th)* Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-18th) Rep. Robert Wexler (D-19th) Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-20th)* GEORGIA Rep. Jim Marshall (D-3rd) Rep. John Lewis (D-5th) Rep. Charles Norwood (R-9th) HAWAII Rep. Ed Case (D-2nd) ILLINOIS Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-4th) Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-5th) Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-7th) Rep. Melissa L. Bean (D-8th) Rep. Janice D. Schakowsky (D-9th) Rep. Judy Biggert (R-13th) Sponsor Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-16th) INDIANA Rep. Dan Burton (R-5th) IOWA Rep. Jim Nussle (R-1st) Rep. Jim Leach (R- 2nd) Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-3rd) Rep. Tom Latham (R-4th) Rep. Steve King (R-5th) KANSAS KENTUCKY LOUISIANA Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-2nd) Rep. Richard H. Baker (R-6th) MAINE Rep. Thomas H. Allen (D-1st) Rep. Michael H. Michaud (D-2nd) MARYLAND Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-3rd) Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-7th) Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-8th) MASSACHUSETTS Rep. John W. Olver (D-1st) Rep. James McGovern (D-3rd) Sponsor Rep. Barney Frank (D-4th) Rep. John F. Tierney (D-6th) Rep. Edward Markey (D-7th) Rep. Michael Capuano (D-8th) Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D-9th) Rep. William Delahunt (D-10th) MICHIGAN Rep. Dale Kildee (D-5th) Rep. Sander Levin (D-12th) Rep. John Conyers (D-14th)* Rep. John Dingell (D-15th) MINNESOTA Rep. Betty McCollum (D-4th) MISSISSIPPI MISSOURI Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-1st) Rep. Ike Skelton (D-4th)* Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-5th) NEBRASKA Rep. Lee Terry (R-2nd) NEVADA NEW HAMPSHIRE Rep. Charles Bass (R-2nd) NEW JERSEY Rep. Frank A. LoBiondo (R-2nd) Rep. Scott Garrett (R-5th) Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6th) Rep. Steve Rothman (D-9th)* Rep. Donald M. Payne (D -10th) NEW MEXICO Rep. Tom Udall (D-3rd) NEW YORK Rep. Tim Bishop (D-1st) Rep. Steve J. Israel (D-2nd) Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-4th) Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-5th) Rep. George W. Meeks (D-6th) Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-7th) Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-8th) Rep. Major R. Owens (D-11th) Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-14th) Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-15th) Rep. Nita M. Lowey (D-18th) Sponsor Rep. Michael McNulty (D-21st) Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-22nd) Rep. Louise McIntosh Slaughter (D-28th) Rep. John Randy Kuhl (R-29th) NORTH CAROLINA Rep. Howard Coble (R-6th) Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-7th) OHIO Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-10th) Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-13th) Rep. Tim Ryan (D-17th)* OREGON Rep. Peter A. DeFazio (D-4th) Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-5th) PENNSYLVANIA Rep. Robert Brady (D- 1st) Rep. Philip S. English (R-3rd) Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-8th)* Rep. Alyson Schwartz (D-13th) Rep. Tim Holden (D-17th) Rep. Todd R. Platts (R-19th) RHODE ISLAND Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-1st) Rep. James Langevin (D-2nd) SOUTH CAROLINA SOUTH DAKOTA TENNESSEE TEXAS Rep. Ralph Hall (R-4th)* Rep. Ron E. Paul (R-14th) Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-16th)* Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-20th) Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-23rd) Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-25th) Rep. Gene Green (D-29th) Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-30th)* UTAH VERMONT Rep. Bernard Sanders (I-1st) VIRGINIA Rep. Bobby Scott (D-3rd) Rep. Eric I. Cantor (R-7th) Rep. James P. Moran (D-8th) Rep. Rick Boucher (D-9th) Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-10th) Rep. Thomas M. Davis (R-11th) Sponsor WASHINGTON Rep. Jay Inslee (D-1st) WEST VIRGINIA Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-2nd)* WISCONSIN Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-2nd) Rep. Ron Kind (D-3rd) Rep. Gwen Moore (D-4th) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) GUAM Madeleine Bordallo (D)