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Al, I'd love to know hear your comment, I like a good laugh! And thanks, Linda, it does feel good to know that my immune system is doing it's job. To answer your questions;
Susan, I was told that once the immune system makes these antibodies, they are my system for good. Whether that translates into improved disease free survival remains to be seen. They also said there's the possibility of "booster shots" down the road, as they'll be following the group for 5 years.
Al, when I had my first visit they took quite a large blood draw and looked at my antibody levels before starting the vaccine. They told me at this visit that I actually had some natural immunity to HER2, so my immune system has been doing it's job even without the vaccine. At the third visit last month they took another large blood draw and again measured the HER2 antibody levels, which were appreciably higher...They're going to print out a graph for me at my next visit. That will be neat!
Kim, they'll do a big blood draw at this 3rd visit, and next month will be able to tell you how your're responding. They told me last month not to be dissapointed if I hadn't developed much response yet, as it sometimes takes longer for some to build the antibodies. Good luck on your visit, and hope the weather is as gorgeous for you as it was for us!
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