32 year old w/ HER2+++/Mitral Valve Prolapse & Herceptin???

Jaimieh · 07-21-2010, 08:06 PM

Sundiego~ I was 32 when I was diagnosed with IDC and I have MVP. I was monitored before cancer and I was monitored thru out TCH and my heart is doing fine so far. I choose TCH since I have the MVP. I wish your wife all of the best.

SunDiego · 07-28-2010, 03:52 PM

A few updates... my wife found a great medical oncologist she is very comfortable with that came highly recommended. Along with a second (or was that a third opinion?) from City of Hope (sister-in-law works for COH in fundraising department), we're confident that the recommendations are all lining up and my wife is on the right track. That track is...

- full restaging: PET/CT, bone scan, 2D echo, blood panels, brain MRI, re-reading of lumpectomy slides
- install Port Cath (into arm, not chest)
- meet with "cranial prosthesis" makers before hair falls out
- TCHx6 starting August 9 (will join the "Chemo August 2010" thread), followed by additional Herceptin every 3rd week to finish out the full year
- Bi-monthly PET scan to monitor liver (liver blood panel came back yesterday 'normal', so hopefully that means it is more likely to be the "adenoma", but the regular monitoring in a few months after chemo starts will further confirm this (pray it shrinks or doesn't grow at least)
- after the year look at next steps, to possibly include Tamoxifen (w or w/o Lupron) and who knows? (12 months scientists... work hard and fast!)
thank you everyone for all the support, it has helped immensely. Wife enjoys reading the responses, so keep it coming! Thank you!

jellybean · 07-28-2010, 04:35 PM

Sounds like a great plan. You might consider a liver biopsy before chemo begins. That way you would have an idea of what is in the liver. Otherwise, if it goes away with chemo you might never know.

I had what appeared to be mets in the liver when I was first diagnosed. We did not biopsy them because I had widespread metastases so the biopsy would not change the treatment and we needed to start on chemo ASAP. Well, I had a complete response to the chemo, and to this day my oncologist wonders what the results of a liver biopsy would have been. For her (and me), it is just a matter of intellectual curiosity. For your wife, however, it could have treatment ramifications. For example, if in the unlikely event it is a metastasis, she probably should remain on the Herceptin after the completion of her chemo.

I am not a doctor or a medical professional. Just my two cents.

SunDiego · 07-29-2010, 08:07 AM

Liver mass is in an area that both surgeons separately said could not be biopsied.... if/when it had to be removed it would be full open surgery and they would need to take 40% of liver (only if it has to be taken out.. which we won't know for 2-6 months). They are not overly concerned as of now...

SunDiego · 08-13-2010, 11:53 AM

Unfortunately the PET scan of the liver came back highly metabolic (SUV = 10.8), and the tumor markers were highly elevated (both CA 15-3 and CA 27-29). One was 678 and the other 1003. Not sure how to correlate the results of the CTC (circulating tumor cell) test, but that came back at 0. Seems odd to have mets to liver with CTC 0, no??

Liver biopsy was revisited and now they feel comfortable getting access to the tumor site. It will happen on Monday.

Chemo (TCH) started Aug 9. Will follow markers and re-do PET/CT in a month to see if additional chemo is the call, or if stopping chemo to do a liver resection is recommended.

Either way we're freaked and looking to hear some stories from others with liver met(s). My wife has a single liver met (to be confirmed by biopsy on Monday), that was pretty much found at time of initial breast tumor.

Treatments? Procedures? Surgeries? Regimens? Anything....