T/X combo has knocked the socks off me.

[Diana1993]

I have this internal struggle going on. It has been suggested by my onc that I take Tykerb along with xeloda since learning herceptin has stopped working for me. The dose recommended for Tykerb is 1250mg, 5 pills a day. The cost for me if I go to the States where it is approved by FDA, is approx. $3600. I might be able to afford a year, but was wondering if there are any success stories with taking xeloda alone or maybe taking fewer Tykerb (i.e.half). Do you think taking some Tykerb would be better than not taking any?
Thanks,
Diana.

[Elizab]

Diana, I think you might want to ask your onc that question about taking a smaller dose of Tykerb. As I read through the posts in "Herceptin/Tykerb" it sounds like some people are taking fewer than 2500 mg of Tykerb a day (mainly because they have difficulty tolerating it, I think). It may be a difficult question to answer definitively because the drug is so newly available. We are all on a learning curve here (our oncologists included) about dosage. All I know is that the Tykerb is the drug that focuses on Her2Neu. Xeloda is a generally used chemo, not just for people with Her2Neu.
There is also a support program called "Tykerb Cares." Perhaps you could call them and ask your question about a lower dose. You can google "Tykerb Cares" or the US phone number is 1-866-489-5372. I wish you luck in making a decision about this.
I took Xeloda alone several years ago, before I ever took Herceptin . I had taken Taxotere for several months, and then moved on to Xeloda.
Elizabeth