what's next for me?

[Unregistered]

Hello,

I'm new to the site and would like some info. I was Dx stage III, her2+++, pr- in 2003. I had masectomy, 6 cycles of carboplatin, taxotere and herceptin followed by a year of herceptin and radiation. It's been 2 years now and a recent PET shows spots around my reconstructed breast and on my liver. I had a liver biopsy 2 days ago. What should I be studying up on and ready to hear from my onc?

[michele u]

I was dx same time Aug 2003. I had 34 pos nodes and had one year of herceptin. First, you don't know what it is yet. I had spots of my liver when i had a laparoscopy once and it was nothing. IF it is recurrence, there is soooo many drugs to use. go up to Joe's post on trials for Her2 pos gals. Look through those and ask your dr. about them IF it does turn out to be recurrence. Don't give up!!

[al from Canada]

...but that's what you need at this point. Stay caml and wait for your biopsy results and let us know.
good luck,
Al

[Unregistered]

Thanks guys!

I will look up the new drugs. Do PET scans have false positives?????\

Melissa from Texas

[StephN]

are usually what they think they are and are common. If you have never had a CT that showed your liver to have some spots, then that is why they did the biopsy. My liver looked like swiss cheese and my CA27-29 tumor marker was elevated so there was NO need to biopsy - just get me on some new drugs pronto.
A PET may have one or so places that are actually healing scars that could give a false reading, but the radiologists are very careful about those things. Several places showing up on the PET would have a low chance of all being due to false positive.

Let us know how it goes. And best wishes as you carry on with this disease.

[Esther]

I think that some false positives is why sometimes they run a PET/CT scan. Then they compare the two to get a fairly clear picture of the situation.

I hope that your liver is clear like Michelle's, but if it's not, come back here with questions. Many of us have faced that diagnosis and gone through successful treatment for it.