A friend Newly dx

[michele u]

Hi all,
I have a friend that is newly dx. stage 4 hormone pos. her2 neg, it's in her liver. They are starting her on carboplatin and taxotere weekly. Do you all think this is aggressive enough for her? I know she can't take herceptin, but just those 2 don't seem to me to be enough? I wonder why there aren't adding Adriamycin to that? Just your thoughts

Hi Michele,
Before they diagnosed my sister with Her2, she was on Xeloda and Taxotere for her liver and lung mets and she saw a significant reduction, especially in her liver. If she's post-men. maybe an Aromatase Inhibitor, like Femara or Aromasin? Good luck, and she's lucky to have you as a friend!
Jennifer

Hi Michele,
I'm very sorry to hear about your friend. The only question I would have about her treatment options is that usually they determine the HER2 status from the primary tumor, that is the breast. We also know that HER2 status can change if the cancer goes to mets. For that reason a lot of women are not receiving the benefit of Herceptin when they could. A biopsy of the liver to determine HER2 status is a risky proposition so I can't help but wonder if there's another way we can determine the HER2 status of secondary tumors.
Regards,
Al