Need help with the Lingo

[SusanV]

Well, the week ahead will definatley be significant in my fight for life. Having an ultrasound tomorrow to take a second look at a " small scattered area of enhancement" that showed up on my MRI. Surgery scheduled for Tuesday to remove the two(2) Her2 + Lumps from Right Breast. Won;t know the stats on the nodes until pathology takes a look, hopefully by Friday.

This site makes me feel good, and the information is great, BUT my DX was last Thursday, and I am really trying to feel my way around with all the terms that are new to me.

When anyone has time, could you offer some help with things I don't understand..

Like.. I know that my cancer is Her 2 + I also know that it is hormone dependant, I know that it is at a nicular rate 3, I know I have two tumors both small at this point

I don't know the stage yet, till the surgery and pathology stuff on the nodes.

Are the number of +'s after the Her 2 different types? What is the ER/PR that I see, some negative and some + ? What do they mean?

I know that of the cancers that are diagnosed my surgeon said only 25% of those are HER 2 + (Lucky us)... Could you all fill me in on what makes this cancer different. I have figured out that it has a likley hood to reappear somewhere else in your body, but what else?

Trying to figure out all this stuff, and looking forward to the surgery on Tuesday.

Susan V in PA

**ALso what is NED ?

[Joe]

This may be helpful:

http://www.her2support.org/her2.html

Regards
Joe

[janet/FL]

Susan, I know how confusing all of this is and so much to learn so quickly. At this point you know quite a bit. The easiest question to answer is -- what is NED. That mean, no evidence of disease which we all hope will be in our future.

You are hormone dependant. But there are different degrees of dependancy. And there is ER+or - and PR+ or -. We can be estrogen positve and progestin negative or just the opposite. I am ER/PR - which means that my cancer was not driven by hormones. Yours are but to what degree you may not know at this time.

Her2 + when written now often seems to just mean that the writer is Her2 positive. I believe that Her2 +++ would be the correct way to write it if we are strongly postive as stated by the lab. You may also have been given the FISH test to determine your Her2 status. I am FISH positive. Please someone correct me if I am wrong so as not to confuse Susan further.

Being Her2 +++ and hormone dependent can be good! You will be treated with a homone surpressent for the part of your cancer that is hormone driven, and with Herceptin to handle the cancer that is driven by that protein. And for further definition of that, you can look it up at the link Joe gave above as I was not a science major and don't want to confuse you further.

As you said, there is a likelyhood that the cancer may reappear somewhere else in your body. However, with your diagnsis and the treatment that is available today there is an excellent chance it will dissappear and not come back again.

I hope this helped and didn't confuse you more. If you think I can help you with this, you may send me a personal message and if you want we can talk on the phone. Sometimes that is easier though there are others on this list that I am sure can answer your questions with more authority and clearer than I.
Hugs,
Will send good thoughts your way.
Janet

[CPA]

Susan,

My wife was diagnosed Nov '05.

It is good that you are learning as much as possible about your cancer. I found that it is important to know what you are dealing with - and that you are able to understand what your doctor is saying to you throughout your treatment. Keep researching and asking questions. You can beat this.

To answer your specific question about Her2, it looks like you had a test called IHC to test for HER2 status. This test looks for the amount of the her2 receptor protein on the surface of the cancer cells. It scores 0 to 3+. 0 and 1 are generally considered negative for Her2 while 2 and 3+ are positive. You may want to verify by a second genetic test called FISH (fluoro something or other hybridization - just call it fish). This test looks for extra copies of the gene and is either positive or negative (you either have it or you don't).

Here is a good resource that explains the two types of tests: http://www.breastcancer.org/herceptin_treatment.html

By the way, CPA is for Central PA - I am not an accountant!!! We have had very postive experiences at various hospitals throughout the state for surgery, consults, etc. If you have questions, just ask.

ER/PR status is also important for treatment options.

If you are pre-menopausal, and ER+ you are a candidate for tamoxifen. This is in pill form and you will probably take for 5 years.

If you are post-menopausal and ER+, you are a candidate for an aromatase inhibitor. Arimidex and Femera are two on the market.