Looking for some help/insight from the Stage 4 gals...

[her2 newBEE]

Quick background: my wife (38 yo) was dx in April of this year as Stage 4... mets to liver. She has been on Herceptin, Taxol and a double-blind clinical trial (everolimus) since May of this year. We are pretty certain that she has been in the placebo arm of the everolimus trial. This week our doctor determined that she has progressed on the 1st-line treatment. So, now it's decision time for the 2nd-line treatment...

One course of action is a clinical trial. And, there's a good chance that she will pursue some clinical trial, but I have some concerns about the "wash-out" period. Do you guys have any thoughts on the danger of waiting 3 or 4 weeks untreated for a clinical trial vs. just starting immediately with standard care (presumably Tykerb, etc.)?? Any insight on this point would be appreciated...