Herceptin 9wks vs. 1year
 

My oncologist was telling me about a study that showed that 9 weeks of adjuvant Herceptin delivered the same results over 5 years as the more traditional 1 year of treatment. He is suggesting due to my poor MUGA results that I consider stopping early. I have been on Herceptin since early December 2005. Started with 11 weeks of weekly dose in conjunction with Taxol and then switched in Feb to Herceptin only every 3 weeks.

I do like the idea of stopping, but I want to be smart about this decision. Does anyone have any opinions on this? Has anyone else who was early stage cut their Herceptin treatments early as a result of this study?

Your thoughts and comments would be much appreciated.
Patricia

dx 7/22/05, partial mastectomy 7/29/05, 1.6 cm IDC Stage 1, Grade 3, Her2+(strongly), ER+(weak), PR+(weak). ACT +Herceptin, Lupron, Aromasin, Rads 4 of 36 (32 more to go)
Papilary Thyoid Cancer dx 8/15/05, Total Thyroidectomy 9/15/05, RAI (still to do)

Patricia...Here are some previous posts on this discussion...hope they help.
 

http://her2support.org/vbulletin/sho...hlight=finnish

http://her2support.org/vbulletin/sho...hlight=finnish

http://her2support.org/vbulletin/sho...hlight=finnish

Rhonda

My onc is also of the opinion that 9 weeks is as effective as 1 year without as much risk to the heart. This was before any studies were out. She kept me on herceptin only because it is " the of standard care" at this time and I wanted to continue. Last month my echo came back with 20% decrease in left ventrical contraction so I had to stop early.Its a little scarry to be without a safety net but I'm getting used to it. When I consider how further damage could affect the quality of life and possibly cause death due to treatment I feel it is the right thing to do for now.
Good luck to you, Alice