| Breast Cancer Meeting Highlights News fro recent ASCO and San Antonio Meetings |
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12-18-2009, 04:36 AM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Southern Indiana
Posts: 455
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SASC: Choose Your Words Carefully
We don't have a family member on our board who has failed a treatment yet! Bravo!
SABC: Choose Your Words Carefully
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San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
 Image courtesy of NCI, Bill Branson - photographer
Here’s a little lesson in semantics for physicians, courtesy of a breast cancer patient advocate. During the Q and A session following one of the presentations in the main hall, a patient advocate went up to the mike and pointed out to the speaker and all of her colleagues in the room that the patients had not, in fact, failed the treatment. Rather, the treatment had failed the patients.
Just semantics? That depends on which side of the physician-cancer patient equation you’re on.
—Kerri Wachter
__________________
Alice
04/08 age 50 III IBC Her2+++ ER/PR-8cm 14/14 Double M, Body and Brain CT/PET clear, ? on spine,Muga 53
06/08, 4 A/C, Neulasta
08/08, Herceptin/tax 12 every week
10/08, CT/PET clear, ? on pelvis, hips, MUGA 43, started Enalaprial for heart, Herceptin every 3 weeks
11/08 33Rads; 12/08 MUGA 48
2/09 MRI spine and bone scan, old mets to spine, Chest x-ray, blood work, IV NED,regular CPAP use,Zometa x6, first -flue like symptoms 2 days;Herceptin x3; stage 2 lymphoedema..sleeve and glove
4/09 Brain MRI - CLEAR; MUGA 54
7/09 chest ultrasound,
10/09 PET, brain and spin MRI NED Herceptin only. MUGA 59!!!
1/11 Hip replacement 7/11 Hip 2 replacement
4/12 4 years!! Herceptin
6/12 start reconstruction finish in 12/12
2/14 Herception - 6 years!!!
1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you
can stand up under it."
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12-20-2009, 01:23 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: South East Wisconsin
Posts: 3,431
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Re: SASC: Choose Your Words Carefully
Especially when the treatment delivery may be a contributing factor (glucocorticoid premeds, random timing, high dose requiring breaks)
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12-21-2009, 01:14 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Central Coast, CA
Posts: 3,207
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Re: SASC: Choose Your Words Carefully
Alice,
I agree, and personally I do a pretty good job of remembering, and saying, that the TREATMENT failed, not the patient. When a treatment fails, it's really traumatic and not helpful to have it put in the wrong context.
That said, I think many doctors are trying really hard to change this but they do slip up. Heck, even I occasionally slip up! Last year at San Antonio, the doctor presenting the TDM1 results slipped and said it wrong and was taken to task by an advocate during the Q&A.
I had a conversation with that doctor later in the day (we met by chance) and I told her I was in that study and doing well, and thanked her for her dedication and work. She was still beating herself up about having misspoken in the meeting! I agreed, the language we use is powerful but for me the most important thing was to keep making progress on the REAL goal of defeating cancer!
That will make semantics of "treatment failure" irrelevant 
__________________
Chris in Scotts Valley
June 2002 extensive hi grade DCIS (pre-cancer-stage 0, clean sentinal node) Mastectomy/implant - no chemo, rads. "cured?"
9/2004 Diag: Stage IV extensive liver mets (!) ER/PR- Her2+++
10/04-3/05 Weekly Taxol/Carboplatin/Herceptin , complete response!
04/05 - 4/07 Herception every 3 wks, Continue NED
04/07 - recurrence to liver - 2 spots, starting tykerb/avastin trial
06/07 8/07 10/07 Scans show stable, continue on Tykerb/Avastin
01/08 Progression in liver
02/08 Begin (TDM1) trial
08/08 NED! It's Working! Continue on TDM1
02/09 Continue NED
02/10 Continue NED. 5/10 9/10 Scans NED 10/10 Scans NED
12/10 Scans not clear....4/11 Scans suggest progression 6/11 progression confirmed in liver
07/11 - 11/11 Herceptin/Xeloda -not working:(
12/11 Begin MM302 Phase I trial - bust:(
03/12 3rd times the charm? AKT trial
5/12 Scan shows reduction! 7/12 More reduction!!!!
8/12 Whoops...progression...trying for Perjeta/Herceptin (plus some more nasty chemo!)
9/12 Start Perjeta/Herceptin, chemo on hold due to infection/wound in leg, added on cycle 2 &3
11/12 Poops! progression in liver, Stop Perjeta/Taxo/Herc
11/12 Navelbine/Herce[ptin - try for a 3 cycles, no go.
2/13 Gemzar/Carbo/Herceptin - no go.
3/13 TACE procedure
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12-21-2009, 02:22 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Southern Indiana
Posts: 455
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Re: SASC: Choose Your Words Carefully
Hey Chris,
I agree,no one needs to beat themselves up for misspeakng. And I really like your semantics on the irrelevant part.
And so glad the T-MD1 is so successful for you
__________________
Alice
04/08 age 50 III IBC Her2+++ ER/PR-8cm 14/14 Double M, Body and Brain CT/PET clear, ? on spine,Muga 53
06/08, 4 A/C, Neulasta
08/08, Herceptin/tax 12 every week
10/08, CT/PET clear, ? on pelvis, hips, MUGA 43, started Enalaprial for heart, Herceptin every 3 weeks
11/08 33Rads; 12/08 MUGA 48
2/09 MRI spine and bone scan, old mets to spine, Chest x-ray, blood work, IV NED,regular CPAP use,Zometa x6, first -flue like symptoms 2 days;Herceptin x3; stage 2 lymphoedema..sleeve and glove
4/09 Brain MRI - CLEAR; MUGA 54
7/09 chest ultrasound,
10/09 PET, brain and spin MRI NED Herceptin only. MUGA 59!!!
1/11 Hip replacement 7/11 Hip 2 replacement
4/12 4 years!! Herceptin
6/12 start reconstruction finish in 12/12
2/14 Herception - 6 years!!!
1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you
can stand up under it."
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