Is Herceptin portable???

sarah · 06-23-2006, 05:04 AM

Is there any way to travel outside your home country where you are getting Herceptin and get it while you're away. In other words, I live in France and if I wanted to travel to Asia for 2 months???? Is there a way? or are we basically on a long leash? I realize we should be grateful to have the leash but......sometimes it chokes!
thanks
sarah

tousled1 · 06-23-2006, 05:24 AM

I can't answer your question but I couldn't agree with you more about "being on a leash."

StephN · 06-23-2006, 10:10 AM

Dear Sarah -
Herceptin has a very short shelf life - like a couple of hours once they mix it. This is why most clinics don't have it mixed until they see the patient has arrived. It is an expensive drug to waste!

It comes in a powder form and if you are on weekly, there is more than one dose per package, which has to be measured out by the pharmacist.

If you travel to a city that would have a clinic where you could get your Herceptin, this is the only way I know of. All would have to be prearranged with your "home" clinic ahead of departure.

OR - if you skip a dose, you would just get a new "loading dose" when you are back home.

Maybe others have more ideas. Take care!

sarah · 06-23-2006, 12:43 PM

Thanks Steph and glad to hear your oncologist problem seems to have worked out so well.
sarah

Lani · 06-23-2006, 03:51 PM

if you are thinking of taking Herceptin with you--it must be kept between 39 and 49 degrees F at ALL times, whether stuck in the airport, in a hotel/condo where the power for the refrigerator goes out, etc. Most good large oncology offices and hospitals have one or several back-up generators and people on call with alarms which go off if the refrigerators go above a certain temp. Herceptin is delivered in refrigerated trucks.

Even if you get the drug abroad--are you sure they have not had a power failure or forgotten and left it out in the heat?

Something to think about,
Lani

Bev · 06-23-2006, 08:06 PM

Within the US, could one have the script forwarded to another Doc? How would that work with insurance? I'm planning a vacation and offered to go back on 1x weekly and then the 3 wk dose to synchronize with vacation, but was told they don't do it that way. Otherwise, my interval will get stretched out past 4 wks. Stage 2, so I probably won't melt. Any ideas? BB

sarah · 06-24-2006, 05:13 AM

Thanks Lani for your info and advice.
Bev, obviously ask your oncologist but here in France they seem to not be too concerned if you go for 4 weeks which I have done on a couple of occaisions, although I do remember my bigwig oncologist would prefer I didn't have a 4 week interval but the other docs in chemotherapy seemed less concerned. perhaps someone on the site knows the portective life of herceptin.
sarah

Becky · 06-24-2006, 06:11 AM

Herceptin has the half life of 20.8 days (meaning that after 20.8 days, half of the drug will still be in your body. After an additional 20.8 days, there will be 25% of it in your body). However, you also need to consider that there is an immune response to Herceptin (theoretically) and that the body attacks Herceptin as a foreign substance. (Some speculate that Herceptin works in two ways: 1. attaches to the Her2 receptor to prevent downstream phosphorylation (that leads to cell division) and 2. the body recognizes Herceptin as a foreign substance. Herceptin is attached to the receptor on the surface of the cancer cell and the body's antibodies destroy the Herceptin (and cancer cell it is attached to). If #2 happens, the body also destroys free Herceptin as well. If so, then it really doesn't matter what the half life is.

I think it would be okay to go 4 weeks if you had to. However, I figure it this way, I do have (had) cancer and I have to get this infusion (I want to get this infusion) to combat the disease. I will say that I am only getting it until the end of Sept and hopefully I will never have to return to an infusion center again in my life but, for now, I will go and go on time.

I would think though that with some advance planning, you could find an infusion center in a large city anywhere in the world that your onc could work with to do a Herceptin infusion. Once, I toyed with getting an infusion at the Cleveland Clinic due to some intense work I was doing there (and I was still getting weekly infusions - this is one of the reasons I switched to the every three week regime). However, my insurance would not cover it even though Cleveland Clinic is in plan for Cigna (but is not a provider in the Northern NJ plan). So your plan may not cover going "within" plan Nationally but outside your geographical region. Check carefully.

Hope this helps. Have a nice weekend

Becky

Lolly · 06-24-2006, 08:51 AM

I was on weekly Herceptin after my first recurrence in 2001, then in April of 2002 had my first 3 week dose in preparation for surgery the following week, as my surgeon wanted me to be able to recover at home without having to go the the infusion center. I had my follow-up 3 week dose 4 weeks after that initial 3 week dose, then continued on 3 weekly. My docs felt this one-time occasion of stretching the dose was ok under the circumstances.

<3 Lolly

IRENE FROM TAMPA · 06-24-2006, 09:08 AM

Several years ago I visited my daughter which lived out of my state of Florida.

I was on weekly doses of Herceptin at the time and I arranged with my doctor to co-ordinate with a hospital in her area. It worked out great and I was able to complete my weekly doses while there. The only difference was that I had to pay a bigger portion of the charges since my insurance covered a percentage if out of my state. As it turned out, this hospital did not charge a high as mine in Tampa, so all worked out great.

I am also planning a trip out of the country in August, and was wondering about how that could be worked out. I do not think the insurance would cover that. I would , of course, find a hospital there that would give it.

Does anyone know about out of the country possiblities?

.

Bev · 06-24-2006, 08:30 PM

Thanks Becky, I'll try to get the infusion elsewhere if I can't get my oncs to finesse my schedule. It's just a matter of how much it will cost. In any case this is a good thing for all of us to figure out. Thanks again, BB

snoopy · 06-25-2006, 03:22 PM

Sarah

I had my "normal" doses every 3 weeks - One of these co-incided with a holiday - My Onc was happy for a 4 week gap as he tells me this was allowed under the HERA protocol (in this, if greater than 4 weeks had elapsed, meant a loading dose was required for the next dose ). Elimination half lives of the drug already discussed in previous post.

Hope you can get this sorted and you can enjoy your travels.