68 yr old Mom w/ HER 2+

Hopefull · 11-07-2007, 06:15 PM

My 68 year old mother was dx a few weeks ago w/ HER 2+, er-/pr-, invasive breast cancer. Lymph Nodes were negative, PET scan negative. She had Mastectomy 10-18-07. She started carboplatin/Texotere/Herceptin yesterday. I have been reading on this blog for close to 2 weeks and have felt MUCH better after reading others stories.
My biggest frustration is that I can't find much information on Prognosis. I have read that this is an aggresive cancer w/ high rate of reoccurance...I have not seen where it reoccurs??? If anyone has a link please forward to me. Her MD just says we will do her Chemo/Herceptin every 3 weeks for 6 rounds and then just Herceptin every 3 weeks for 12 mths. And then she will be fine. I want to believe that very much, but I also don't want to stick my head in the sand and be blind sided later if the Cancer returns. Please help me remain "Hopefull".

11-07-2007, 08:51 PM

Stay Hopefull and don't fret. There are no guarantees, whether HER2 positive or negative, but it seems from your brief description that your mother has an excellent chance of living cancer free. If you want to check for yourself, you might log on to Adjuvant Online. Although this site does not factor in HER2 positive cancers, it does factor in ER/PR negative and positive. I am Stage 1a, close to your mother's age, with some minor health issues, and the statistical likelihood of my dying of breast cancer in ten years is 4%. My chances of dying of something else in ten years is 13 or 14%.

BonnieR · 11-07-2007, 09:25 PM

Did they tell you what Stage your mother was at??? They should tell you, Stage 1, 2 , etc....

Sherryg683 · 11-07-2007, 09:31 PM

If her lymph nodes were negative and PEt scans clean then she should be just fine. It will be hard on her the chemo, but it's good to know she has a supportive daughter. Support is very important through this ..sherryg

Bev · 11-07-2007, 10:06 PM

Hi H,

First I would worry about getting thru the chemo. At 68, it's likely to be harder.

You can try the search above to look for prognosis studies.
I know there was one set of of studies posted with curves, but it is several years old, before wide Herceptin use. I think StephN might have posted it.

There will be a flurry of new studies published in Dec and posted here. It may not be exactly what you're looking for but stay tuned.

I know we all look at the studies and try to divine our outcomes, but I don't know how useful that is. The charts are averages and don't account for outliers.

As far as recurrence to the breast, it happens in HER2, but not at alarming rates. HER2 had higher than average rates of mets to distant organs, but I'm hoping this will go down with H use. With no nodes, I think you're getting ahead of yourself, but it's good to be prepared, as HER2 seems to be kind of flukey as to who progresses.

One day at a time. Best of luck to Mom. Bev

Hopefull · 11-08-2007, 06:03 PM

Trying to keep all the info correct.

Prior to surger...biopsie said Grade 3
After surgery Grade 2B
Tumor size 4.2cm
Nodes Negative
PET scan clear
ER-/PR-

We are at 48...actually 53 hours post chemo (TC&H) and doing Really well, a bit of fatigue but seems to be really good!

There was one comment the Dr made that I haven't understood, something alon the lines that normal number was 3-4, 10 was high and Mom's was 20...I think he was talking about HER 2 receptors, but if this sounds familiar to anyone let me know...She is in South Bend...I'm 90 minutes from her, but have been to all appointments...if all else fails I will ask him at next appt.

I am a nurse so I know how important positive attitude is and not getting caught up in stats, but the medical side of me wants stats on prognosis. I have checked w/ some of the sites people recommended, but not a whole lot of information on HER2...I guess all you women out there will show everyone just how wonderful Herceptin is!!

God Bless all of you, I'm sure I will be turning to you all in the future as things pop up. Thanks for all the support.

Vanessa · 11-08-2007, 06:44 PM

Sending prayers to both you and your mother. Best wishes.

Bev · 11-09-2007, 07:53 PM

her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=25400&highlight=HERA+study&page=2

This is the thread. It was Robin P not Steph. In the first couple of pages there is a link to a PDF file to survival charts.

Hope this helps. BB

Joanne S · 11-11-2007, 12:05 AM

Hopefull, It sounds like your mom is doing very well and has a very good prognosis. Please don't confuse cancer Stage and Grade as they are not the same.

Based on your description, it sounds like your mom is Stage IIA = tumor is larger than 2 cm in diameter and less than 5 cm, has not spread to underarm nodes and has not spread to distant sites.

I highly recommend that you check out the following (1) National Breast Cancer Foundation video
and the Imaginis and the National Cancer Institute sites about: (2) Staging and Survival, and (3) Histologic Grading.

(1) Beyond the Shock (Video) is a wonderful step by step guide to understanding breast cancer in a manner that is informative and engaging. Although this is an hour long video, it is divided into separate chapters so that you don't have to watch it all in one session:
http://www.nationalbreastcancer<WBR>.org/about-breast-cancer/ beyond-the-shock

(2) Staging and Survival Rates of Breast Cancer
http://www.imaginis.com/breasthealth/staging.asp and
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/breast/Patient/page2
(3) Histologic Grading of Breast Cancer
http://www.imaginis.com/breasthealth/histologic_grades.asp

Best to you and your mom,