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Dear Jen
It will not be a benefit to you to stop Herceptin and then start back up again in several months (unless there was a problem with your heart). That said, you need to weigh continuing or stopping for good.
My year of herceptin is up in mid June but my onc is going to keep me on another 5 doses (I get the triple dose every 3 weeks) because those extra 5 will take me to 2 years post diagnosis. He says that this "could" be wise as more recurrences occur within the first 2 years. Since I started Herceptin 4 months after my last chemo (I was one to benefit from last year's ASCO meeting announcements), it isn't that many more treatments to get me to 2 yrs post diagnosis. Without the results of 1yr herceptin versus 2yrs herceptin, my onc is very,very relucant to go further.
Also, there was a Finnish study that eluded to the fact that 9 weeks of Herceptin can be just as good as one year.
However, this is for you to decide as there are not results for or against more than one year of Herceptin.
You need to judge this with your doctor on what is medically sound and why he thinks 2 yrs is better than one year. I realize money is a factor but you cannot base it on that (after all, you are priceless) and base it on your doctor's opinion and your opinion.
Good luck. It's difficult because there are no 2 year results yet.
Kindest regards
Becky
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