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Chelee · 09-24-2007, 07:20 PM

Welcome Sue, As the others have said, sorry you had to join us under these circumstances. But you being her2 you have found the best bunch of women & men to help answer your questions.

I did Taxotere, carbpotin & herceptin. (TCH) This is a good chemo combination and isn't as hard on the body as "AC". Nothing is easy...but TCH is very doable. I think one of the worse things for me was the "trash mouth" I had. Every thing tastes terrible. You will get a little achy at times and can feel pretty tired...but its not as bad as "AC". Most likely you will lose your hair with TCH. I lost mine I believe on day 17. So being prepared ahead of time and get your wig or whatever you choose to use. It usually the 3rd day after your infusion that it will hit you. The first two days aren't bad. Of course you will be tired and fatigued through some of it. But believe me....you will have many good days. Heck, some people do great on this combo and even continue to work. Amazes me. Everyone reacts differently so no one can say for sure how it will affect you. But your ahead of the game asking questions now. As to the side affects of herceptin...its not too bad. Its a piece of cake compared to the other drugs. It can make you a little tired at first. Plus a slight annoying runny nose that can drive you nuts. Plus it can cause the inside of your nose to crust up and hurt if you don't stay on top of it. Some women get a slight headache now and then with herceptin. But over all it really isn't that bad. You will have to have a MUGA or ECHO to check your heart every 3 months. But your oncologist has probably explained that to you?

You will get alot of help here...you've come to the right place. In fact check out the top of the board and look for the "search" box and type in "TCH", and do a search on herceptin and you will get LOTS of information on those two topic's. Again, welcome...and know we are all here for you.

Chelee

09-24-2007, 07:20 PM	#7
Chelee Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Southern, CA Posts: 2,511	Welcome Sue, As the others have said, sorry you had to join us under these circumstances. But you being her2 you have found the best bunch of women & men to help answer your questions. I did Taxotere, carbpotin & herceptin. (TCH) This is a good chemo combination and isn't as hard on the body as "AC". Nothing is easy...but TCH is very doable. I think one of the worse things for me was the "trash mouth" I had. Every thing tastes terrible. You will get a little achy at times and can feel pretty tired...but its not as bad as "AC". Most likely you will lose your hair with TCH. I lost mine I believe on day 17. So being prepared ahead of time and get your wig or whatever you choose to use. It usually the 3rd day after your infusion that it will hit you. The first two days aren't bad. Of course you will be tired and fatigued through some of it. But believe me....you will have many good days. Heck, some people do great on this combo and even continue to work. Amazes me. Everyone reacts differently so no one can say for sure how it will affect you. But your ahead of the game asking questions now. As to the side affects of herceptin...its not too bad. Its a piece of cake compared to the other drugs. It can make you a little tired at first. Plus a slight annoying runny nose that can drive you nuts. Plus it can cause the inside of your nose to crust up and hurt if you don't stay on top of it. Some women get a slight headache now and then with herceptin. But over all it really isn't that bad. You will have to have a MUGA or ECHO to check your heart every 3 months. But your oncologist has probably explained that to you? You will get alot of help here...you've come to the right place. In fact check out the top of the board and look for the "search" box and type in "TCH", and do a search on herceptin and you will get LOTS of information on those two topic's. Again, welcome...and know we are all here for you. Chelee __________________ DX: 12-20-05 - Stage IIIA, Her2/Neu, 3+++,Er & Pr weakly positive, 5 of 16 pos nodes. Rt. MRM on 1-3-06 -- No Rads due to compromised lungs. Chemo started 2-7-06 -- TCH - - Finished 6-12-06 Finished yr of wkly herceptin 3-19-07 3-15-07 Lt side prophylactic simple mastectomy. -- Ooph 4-05-07 9-21-09 PET/CT "Recurrence" to Rt. axllia, Rt. femur, ilium. Possible Sacrum & liver? Now stage IV. 9-28-09 Loading dose of Herceptin & started Zometa 9-29-09 Power Port Placement 10-24-09 Mass 6.4 x 4.7 cm on Rt. femur head. 11-19-09 RT. Femur surgery - Rod placed 12-7-09 Navelbine added to Herceptin/Zometa. 3-23-10 Ten days of rads to RT femur. Completed. 4-05-10 Quit Navelbine--Herceptin/Zometa alone. 5-4-10 Appt. with Dr. Slamon to see what is next? Waiting on FISH results from femur biopsy. Results to FISH was unsuccessful--this happens less then 2% of the time. 7-7-10 Recurrence to RT axilla again. Back to UCLA for options.