[Lani]

I have asked this before, but every year there are more people whose tumors have been tested for her2.

I thought of it again as I read Alaska Angels history: Dx 2002 age 51
bc for granny, aunt, cousin, sister, mother.
ER+/PR+/HER2+++

IN RODENTS, AT LEAST, there seems to be a hereditary her2+ bc associated with a mutation in FoxP3 (a gene having to do with cells in the immune system called T regulatory cells). If I recall correctly it was more commonly ER+ than ER- which is why I said rodents and not mice, as their bc tends to be ER-

Why does this matter?

Even if there are only a small number of families with this hereditary her2+ breast cancer it might speed up research on what genetic and or epigenetic changes lead to her2+ breast cancer.

So....if any and all of you who have close family members with breast cancer could list them and say whether or not their tumors were tested and found to be her2+ or - it might help us gather up a group to be presented to some researchers who could look further into it. Any and everything to speed up our understanding of the disease ...only way to control, cure, prevent!

How to list how they are related to you: paternal is on your father's side.

maternal is on your mother's side. eg maternal grandmother is your mother's mother paternal aunt is your father's' sister

Let's see if anything comes of this...in the meantime, thanks!

PS I think there are some out there, as at a bc conference I attended nurses from Genentech said there were some families where several members were receiving Herceptin for bc