explaining herceptin to people

MAB1943 · 10-14-2007, 07:59 AM

This may seem strange but I don't seem to be able to explain my herceptin therapy to people who ask me what it is. Can anyone out there
tell me what they say to people, I seem to studder and stumble in my explaination and it makes me feel stupid, so I just say I am still on infusions. Part is because I suffer from chemo fog. part is because I maybe don't understand it myself. I understand what the chemo does and others seem to understand too, but when it comes to the herceptin it is
frustrating to me to try to explain it.
I need a short explaination that gets the pix across in simple terms and wording. Can anyone help me.
Mary

jones7676 · 10-14-2007, 08:04 AM

My explanation is that it is a substance that assists my body in fighting cancer by altering the cancer cells - a biological agent....... and leave it at that. Most people do not understand "cancer lingo" like we do, so it is usually satisfactory.

fauxgypsy · 10-15-2007, 01:04 PM

I tell them that is a biologic treatment that uses antibodies similar to what our own bodies use to fight infection. If they show more interest, I go into greater detail, maybe this is my biology background kicking in. The nurses at the hospital said that I was very good at explaining things. It may help that i have taught nursing students.

What the herceptin does is to bind to receptors for human epidermal growth factor that are overexpressed (the cancer cells make too many) in certain breast cancer cells. Think of receptors as little stickies in the cell membrane (the outer covering of each cell is composed of molecules, some of these are proteins, that act as receptors) that stick out and interact with a specific protein (human epidural growth factor, in this case). When you get an infusion of Herceptin you are getting an untold number (I am sure there is an approximate number but I am too lazy to look it up right now) of antibodies that also stick to the receptors and keep the growth factor from being able to enter the cell. This helps to limit the growth of the cancer. These antibodies are produced in a laboratory using cells from the ovaries of Chinese Golden Hampsters, leaiding to the thread about TipToe. This is simplistic but I hope it helps.

Leslie

tousled1 · 10-15-2007, 03:26 PM

I just told people that it was a chemotherapy directed specifically toward the HER2 gene. It's actually a biologic targeted therapy. If they can't understand your explaination then just tell them that you are receiving a form of chemo called Herceptin.

hutchibk · 10-15-2007, 03:43 PM

I tell them it is in the newest and most exciting class of drugs to fight cancer... the targeted agents that fight a specific protein that makes my cancer more aggressive. Those are the layman's terms that I use...

Bev · 10-15-2007, 09:58 PM

Monoclonal antibody. Don't worry, we'll all figure this out someday. Bev

Brenda_D · 10-16-2007, 03:10 AM

I tell them it's a monoclonal antibody, a targeted therapy that's like chemo, and it's for the specific type of BC that I have.

SoCalGal · 10-17-2007, 03:33 PM

it's a DNA based therapy, a targeted therapy as opposed to chemo therapy -the kind that kills rapidly dividing cells.

Herceptin (tykerb and some others) acts on a cellular level to correct dna problems.

AND then I change the subject

Andrea Barnett Budin · 11-01-2007, 11:35 AM

Friends ask astounded, YOU'RE STILL ON THAT CHEMO? When will you be done? I pause, to get their full attention, and then say calmly and with a smile -- FOREVER.... FOREVER??!!, they respond, looking away with utter disbelief.

WHAT'S THE NAME OF THIS CHEMO?

So I give them my (poor and medically lacking) understanding of what I am doing, and it seems to make them nod with comprehension. They honestly want to *get it*. They are truly interested.

So I say -- It is not actually *chemotherapy* but is rather A MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY. I explain that it is like a SMART BOMB, specifically targeting my defective HER2 gene -- and stopping it from overproducing a certain protein that grows and divides out of control -- which is what cancer is.

Then I add, to my husband's consternation, that I see it as my insulin. Herceptin keeps my malfunctioning condition in check. (People understand the need to remain on insulin as a diabetic -- forever...)

I add that it is given by infusion, in the chemo room. It has far less side effects than chemo (leaving you with your hair and no pain or nausea), BUT it is still a toxic agent that could effect your heart. So it requires constant monitoring of the heart (w/ECHO cardiograms).

Friends then say, THANK YOU FOR THAT. YOU'RE DOING GREAT! YOU LOOK GREAT! (I know they are envisioning an enfeebled, pale chemo patient and in comparison I do look great...)

Andi