Heart Problems

[kimsmo]

Just checking to see if anyone else is experiencing heart issues due to Herceptin.

My left ventrical was functioning at 78% prior to Herceptin, and after five months of treatment, it is down to 53%, according to my Muga scans. However, my echocardiogram and EKG show my heart is functioning very well. My oncologist conferred with some cardiologists at a cancer research hospital and they said they rely solely on echocardiograms for Herceptin monitoring. They don't think the Muga is very reliable. So after a 9-week rest from Herceptin, I resumed treatment yesterday, and we'll continue to monitor my heart regularly via echocardiogram until I complete Herceptin treatment in June.

If the Herceptin causes heart damage, I've been assured it can be treated and shouldn't affect my quality of life. My oncologist and cardiologist agree that HER2 cancer is so aggressive, the benefit of Herceptin outweighs the risk of heart damage.

Does anyone have a similar story or advice?