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astrid · 07-27-2006, 05:03 AM

I am also triple +++ and yes it is rare. Only roughly 15% are +++. As said before this is a good prognosis because they know how to treat all three. Your sister having chemo first or surgery first is a matter of shrinking the tumor so a better cosmetic result can be performed with the lumpectomy. Her 4.5CM tumor is large and chemo can shrink it. I know a woman who had a 7CM tumor that was shrunk to .5CM before surgery.

I was also treated with 6 rounds of high dose Taxol, followed by radiation and followed by a year of Herceptin. I did not do Taxol and Herceptin together as I participated in a clinical study for Taxol as a stand alone chemo drug versus AC as stand alone.

I am also doing Tamoxifen and am concerned about the controversy surrounding Tamoxifen and HER2+ women; however I am still pre menopausal. So Tamoxifen is the standard protocal. I am waiting until OCT (have a 2 week trip to French Polynesian planned in September and do not want to feel bad and currently I feel great) to have my estrogen levels checked again to see if I can switch to an AI or join a clinical study that has ovarian suppression + Tamoxifen or ovarian suppression + AI. This study is for pre menopausal women only and right now I am in chemo pause.

07-27-2006, 05:03 AM	#34
astrid Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Central North Carolina, USA Posts: 112	I am also triple +++ and yes it is rare. Only roughly 15% are +++. As said before this is a good prognosis because they know how to treat all three. Your sister having chemo first or surgery first is a matter of shrinking the tumor so a better cosmetic result can be performed with the lumpectomy. Her 4.5CM tumor is large and chemo can shrink it. I know a woman who had a 7CM tumor that was shrunk to .5CM before surgery. I was also treated with 6 rounds of high dose Taxol, followed by radiation and followed by a year of Herceptin. I did not do Taxol and Herceptin together as I participated in a clinical study for Taxol as a stand alone chemo drug versus AC as stand alone. I am also doing Tamoxifen and am concerned about the controversy surrounding Tamoxifen and HER2+ women; however I am still pre menopausal. So Tamoxifen is the standard protocal. I am waiting until OCT (have a 2 week trip to French Polynesian planned in September and do not want to feel bad and currently I feel great) to have my estrogen levels checked again to see if I can switch to an AI or join a clinical study that has ovarian suppression + Tamoxifen or ovarian suppression + AI. This study is for pre menopausal women only and right now I am in chemo pause. __________________ DX 11/14/05, Stage 1C, Her2+ 3.4, ER+, PR+, K167 23%, Node Negative, MX0, Grade 3, 1.8CM, Lumpectomy 12/7/05; 6 rounds dense dose Taxol bi-weekly, 35 radiation, 1 year Herceptin, & Tamoxifen ongoing.