Hi, over there across the pond...just visited lovely Isle of Skye and other delightful retreats in Scotland...,
Best advice is just to keep reading these posts as I think in many cases, though not all, the CA 27/29 tumor markers in conjunction with the serum Her-2 markers are very useful ways to monitor your progress...also, as the blood tests are not "absolute" back up scans are equally useful. Try to inform yourself about exactly which kind of Her-2 breast cancer you have and then at least get tested to see if any markers show up for you....it is kind of individual. If you do test positive for certain markers...check them on a REGULAR, recurring basis...I have found as a rule of thumb it the markers are going higher, your scans are worse and you are feeling terrible...this is a bad sign...tease...tease...IF however, your markers are staying more or less in range and your scans are more or less clear or spots are decreasing and you are feeling ok, then this is good. IS her-2 something you ever actually GET over???? hmmmmm. Can't speak for every body but I have been wrestling with the her-2 beast for 8 years...and gave up years ago trying to "get rid of it" and decided I would just make lemonade with the lemons I'd been dealt and try to learn to live positively and effectively with it while always, of course, continuing to look for what was at the root, causing the her-2 to go out of whack in the first place...sighh...after 8 years...I can't say I am any closer really to the Aristotelian FIRST cause, but I am still here...hope this encourages you to take up the gauntlet and carry on...smile. Cheers, Gina
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