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Old 12-21-2010, 06:39 PM   #22
DianneS
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 327
Re: ER-/PR- HER2 staging poll

Ursula,

I cut and pasted this from another thread here:

A copy from another post of mine applies here too as a positive note:

These are quotes from the esteemed E. Perez, MD:

''Unlike ER-positive breast cancer, in which events are strung out over the course of 10 to 15 years, in HER2-positive breast cancer most of the events occur in the first five years and a lot of them occur in the first couple of years. That is part of the reason why, in each of these studies, we saw a dramatic benefit early on, even in the first year (Perez 2005b; Piccart-Gebhart 2005; Romond 2005)"

I guess Perez is basing her comments on retrospective studies which go back after the event and analyze data. According to Perez, survival after five years for her2+, er-, pr- is a milestone, not a guaranteed cure, but a certainly a positive milestone.

Of course, we'll get the full story , and perhaps a more accurate picture, of natural history from prospective studies like the HERA where data is analyzed as it is made.



Dianne
__________________
Three years and 5 months NED
Dx: Aug 2008 right breast IDC with 50% of tumor DCIS, Stage II or IIA, tumor size: 2.1 cm
Grade 3
8/9 Richardson/Bloom test
ER+ weakly positive
Alred Score: 4 (suggesting I would strongly benefit from hormone therapy)
PR-,
HER2 positive +++
No vascular invasion
No lymph nodes involved
Surgery: Sept. 9, 2008 -Modified radical mastectomy, right breast. I chose to have a simple mastectomy on the left. Began Taxotere/Carboplatin/Herceptin November, 2008. Finished T/C March 2009. Finished #16 Herceptin Sept. 09. AI's and Tamoxifen made me sick. Began natural Tamoxifen which is Quercetin, I3C and a combo of other supplements. I am also a DES Daughter. There is now a link between DES exposure in utero and breast cancer!
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