Herceptin and Treatment Center

[Annemarie]

I was wondering if the ladies who are currently NED and are Herceptin can share with me where you are being treated. As you may know I am catching some resistance from my Dr. but if I can tell him other Drs. at large centers are using it maybe he can confer since he knows a lot of other oncologist. He is a very nice man and I am sure with the right information he will come around. I do have a second opinion set up with another oncologist.

[Kitty]

I am being treated by a private oncology practice in Columbus, Ohio.

[Sandy]

In answer to your question on treatment centers. I was told by my oncologist that they all network together and are constantly researching at what other areas do. He is plugged in to NCI and the big research centers such as MD Anderson and Dana Farbar in Boston and I am sure there are others. If I bring something to his attention and he is not aware of it he will check it out. I think this is wonderful that they do that. I have noticed that my treatments have been right in line with other areas. I live in a small rural town and that doesn't matter in this day and age. It took me a while to figure this out. Hugs, Sandy H.

[susanne]

Any oncologist that is not hooked into the current standards of treatment is to be avoided. There are some that are just not up on the latest ideas. Then there are some that just won't think out of the box---you know, if it is not in the textbook, it is not worth looking into. You need one who is both literate on current medical treatment AND alternative or complimentary treatment. And it helps if he or she is a praying person.

[lauren]

I agree with Susanne. Hard as it may seem, you should probably find an onc who will think outside the box. I am in NYC and I am at Columbia, but different doctors there think differently too. It all depends on the doctor.

[Annemarie]

I work with Drs. for a living and some strictly follow the package insert to the letter. Some practice medicine outside labeling. It does not make a Dr. necessarily good or bad in my book. Drs. today do have to consider law suits. Dying is a bad side effect from some medications out there so being that oncologist are not dealing with the most healthy pts. they are probably very cautious. I am not making excuses for my Dr. because if he does not come around to my way of thinking with Herceptin I will go else where. Just trying to explain the out of the box theory.

[lauren]

I understand what you are saying. When I was first dealing with my onc, she knew I was Her2 pos, but didn't know my hormone status. So, she was recommending the WORKS for me - ACT, thinking about maybe doing the herceptin study. Then she found out that I was hormone positive, and she totally backed away from ACT and pushed me more toward AC and T separately. We only made the decision to do Herceptin with the T later on as she saw that I tolerated chemo well. I think it would have been terrible if she wouldn't have given ME herceptin, since I was in good healthy, good shape, tolerating chemo well....

[Annemarie]

Lauren,
I live on LI. I am not familar with your situation maybe you wish to share it? I am very interested.

[Beth]

I wanted to voice support for an earlier posting about finding a good balance between following protocol and responding to the latest information on treatments. I get opinions from three very good oncologists and I am always amazed by how different their opinions are. There is a lot of research being done all the time on drugs, not all of it good. Much of it doesn't include a statistically significant number of people. Also, I've heard a lot of complaining among doctors about biases in research, certain centers mysteriously and repeatedly producing research that can't be replicated. A lot of these studies are funded by drug companies. I was amazed today to see the Women's Health Initiative study on hormone replacement therapy which included thousands of women and had rigorous oversight come under attack for not being representative enough.