Can Herceptin be done without chemo?

sandif · 06-25-2007, 06:33 PM

Also, can it be given intravenously or must you have a port put in?

tousled1 · 06-25-2007, 08:27 PM

You don't need a port to have Herceptin but if you're going to be receiving it for a year, the port makes it easier. It can be given via regular IV. And, yes Herceptin can be given alone.

sandif · 06-26-2007, 03:41 AM

Thanks--I am Stage 1 triple positive, no nodes and did lumpectomy, radiation and doing Arimidex but wonder if I should have done something else. I will ask my doctor about Herceptin.

Becky · 06-26-2007, 07:01 AM

You should. Some on this board are getting the Arimidex (or other aromatase inhibitor) and Herceptin. It is a great one-two punch.

I did not have a port for either chemo or herceptin. Herceptin is easy on your veins and easier if you only do it on the every 3 week regime.

Good luck

SoCalGal · 06-26-2007, 07:52 AM

I did herceptin for 20 months, ev 3 weeks, no port. Also, I was on some kind of drip for over 2 years, no port. Same (no port for the cmf) when I was first diagnosed 11 years ago.

Andrea Barnett Budin · 06-26-2007, 09:59 AM

I love my port. I do not have good veins. So they stab around and dig and dig. Veins roll over and collapse. That's weird, I hear them say as they don't get a bld return or whatever. Not weird for me.

Last wk I had my Vit H. Whenever I see the onc (at this stage only ev 3 mnths) they do labs, access my port, tape it down really well, I see the doc, get undressed and dressed and in the process the needle moves). It starts to pinch then hurt and then burn. I mention it to the chemo nurse as it begins to happen in the chemo rm. They have to take the needle out and go back in. I have asked not to have labs prior. But that's the way we do it.

So, same scenario occurred last wk. OOOHH, she was pumping saline into me before H. She had to disengage the needle and then I saw 3 nurses standing around my comfy chair staring and ooohhhing. I could not see the port from my angle, but I saw their faces. What's going on? I NOW HAVE ORDERS TO HAVE LABS AFTER SEEING DOC EV 3 mnths. They had to give H to me "peripherally", poking and prodding to get a good vein. Once found, they told me not to move that arm. That was annoying. They put an ice pack on my port as it was swollen with saline, which the doc said would dissipate. The nurses kept saying, Thank God we hadn't started the H!

Now, getting Vit H in the vein, they had to do it over a 1 hr period, vs a 1/2 hr. I mix H w/500 cc saline for little side effects (generally given w/250 cc saline, according to guide lines).

Had to add my little story for your consideration. Feedback is what this board is all about, after all. Sending loving, healing energy to all... ANDI

mabrooks · 06-27-2007, 12:36 PM

I am getting Herceptin once every three weeks for a year - have had three doses so far - I have not had chemo. I am starting Armidex this week. I had mammosite radiation therapy after lumpectomy. I am doing very well so far. Would be interested to know if anyone has side effects from Armidex.
Mary

sandif · 06-27-2007, 01:10 PM

I have been on Arimidex since January. I had headaches at first, but they've subsided. I do get bone pain prompting me to have first a back x-ray and a bone scan both of which were okay. I take Evista to ( hopefully) counteract any bone weakening. I have gained weight, but I attribute that 2 months spent napping on the couch in the evenings after radiation and not cutting back on eating. Trying to work off the excess 10 lbs now.