Herceptin Taxotere Clinical Trial

[Davlin]

I was diagnosed with HER 2 Breast Cancer three years ago. I was in a world wide clinical study at the Cross Cancer Institute, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. There has been a lot of talk about this trial in the news lately. There were three arms in the study. They compared Taxotere (me) and Herceptin, and the same old standard treatment. Herceptin was the winner hands down. I had been feeling sort of protected by the Taxotere, but now I know that it doesn’t do anything other than cause horrible side effects, which I now suffer with. Although I have recently moved from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to Kamloops, British Columbia I am staying in the study and will go back to the Cross Cancer Clinic every 6 months for monitoring. If the cancer does return then they will put me on Herceptin. I go through my ups and downs with this, but, I don’t let it rule my life.

Is there anyone else out there who has had a similar experience?

[Janet/FL]

Davlin
So sorry you are continuing to have side effects. Since I am starting on Taxotere tomorrow morining, I was wondering your thoughts on the drug? What were your side effects and do you know if others in the study had a lot of side effects also?
How long have you been off the Taxotere/Herceptin and what are your long term side effects?
Wishing you the best and glad you are able to go to the follow ups. I remember you city from long ago. Kamloops. Quite hilly if I remember right. I had a new car that had carbertor problems. I think I saw a Toyota dealer for service in every town all across Canada and definitely in Kamloops with my poor car trying to manage the hills!
Janet

[karen w]

Davlin,

Are you saying that the arm of the trial that just used Herceptin had the best response?

Thank you.

Karen

[*_Davlin_*]

Hi Janet,

I heard a lot of good things about Taxotere when I was going through my treatment. You probably know that it is a synthetic a Pacific Yew Tree derivative. There was a lot of praise of the pure form quite a few years ago. My experience with it wasn’t good, but everyone reacts differently. The first few days after the infusion I felt great, but as time went on I felt worse, the opposite to the first round with the standard treatment. The side effects for me were tingling, numbness in the soles of my feet and palms. As the treatment progressed the worse it got. Now I have permanent nerve damage in my feet and palms. This isn’t too bad, I’m used to it now. I also gets sharp stabs of pain in my toes, feet and legs. I have had short term memory problems and fatigue. This could be because of the standard treatment, the Taxotere or both. This has been the biggest problem for me. I finished this treatment over two years ago. I know a couple of other women who were in the same study but have lost touch with them. The last I heard they were both doing extremely well.

What is your situation? Is this the first line of attach? What part of the world are you in? I’m guessing you’re in Canada if you know Kamloops.

Good luck tomorrow!

All the best,

Davlin

[*_Davlin_*]

Hi Karen,

Yes, that's right.

Davlin

[karen w]

Hi Davlin,

Thank you for your quick response! I was wondering how I could get a copy of the trial you are talking about. Please let me know, as I am very interested in finding out more information about the use of Herceptin alone for early stage disease.

Thank you.

Karen

Oh, one more thing. Your symptoms from Taxatere will probably go away with time. I was told that the symptoms from, Taxol (that is what I received) can last for a couple of years.

Hope this helps.

[Davlin]

[attachmentid=36]Hi Karen,

I have attached a Word Document with a few articles from the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp.) I don't know if my group status allows me to send documents. If it doesn't go I'll just post the articles, although it will be rather lengthy.

Best Regards,

Davlin

[karen w]

Hi Davlin,

Thank you very much! The attachment did come through.

Karen