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Louise O'Brien · 08-30-2008, 12:27 PM

Hi Pink Girl...

I think because both of us come from Ontario - and were treated at major regional cancer centers, we come from a place where the treatment is standardized. The fact that we're on OHIP is also a factor. I know too that much of the direction for treatment comes from Canada's leading cancer center, Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. And that Herceptin has been a standard for treatment of HER2 positive patients since 2005.

I never minded that standardized approach because of my experience with the way my own treatment changed, depending on recent developments or research.

(I also agree with Joan - that there may be more standardization with early stage treatments.) So while you and I could ask for second opinions, we'd get the same response. I suspect it could be different for later stage patients.

I was orginally scheduled for eight rounds of chemo (forget the combinations) but literally at the last minute this was changed to six rounds of FEC/Taxotere followed by Herceptin. This was as a result of a major study out of San Diego pointing to the success of this protocol and the belief that taxotere was slightly easier to tolerate with less neuropathy.

I was happy to hear there was that much consultation going on across borders and that treatment appeared to respond to the latest research. In fact my oncologist is one of Canada's leading researchers on HER2 and has travelled to the states many times to give papers.

And when I went on taxotere, the nurses showed up with iced mittens for my hands and boots for my feet to ward off neuropathy because "they just started doing this at Princess Margaret and they've had really good results." (I always asked for a second set when the first ones warmed up and I never developed neuropathy in my fingers or toes.)

I wonder if the treatment now is the same as it was nearly two years ago when I began chemo, or if it's shifted once again.

So I never felt that our treatment was dragging behind. My oncologist is now working on a paper on early stage HER2 patients (he says I'm in it as a statistic) but he says it will be a few years before its out.

Good or bad - he told me we're the newbies when it comes to research. There just isn't enough data over a long enough period of time to tell us how we're going to do.

But he said his observations are anecdotal - without anything solid to back it up. Both he and a colleague have noticed that they're not seeing many - if any - early stage HER2 patients returning. In his words, he told a colleague "you know... we're just not seeing them back here."

I know it's anecdotal - but hey - it's good enough for me.

08-30-2008, 12:27 PM	#10
Louise O'Brien Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 75	Hi Pink Girl... I think because both of us come from Ontario - and were treated at major regional cancer centers, we come from a place where the treatment is standardized. The fact that we're on OHIP is also a factor. I know too that much of the direction for treatment comes from Canada's leading cancer center, Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. And that Herceptin has been a standard for treatment of HER2 positive patients since 2005. I never minded that standardized approach because of my experience with the way my own treatment changed, depending on recent developments or research. (I also agree with Joan - that there may be more standardization with early stage treatments.) So while you and I could ask for second opinions, we'd get the same response. I suspect it could be different for later stage patients. I was orginally scheduled for eight rounds of chemo (forget the combinations) but literally at the last minute this was changed to six rounds of FEC/Taxotere followed by Herceptin. This was as a result of a major study out of San Diego pointing to the success of this protocol and the belief that taxotere was slightly easier to tolerate with less neuropathy. I was happy to hear there was that much consultation going on across borders and that treatment appeared to respond to the latest research. In fact my oncologist is one of Canada's leading researchers on HER2 and has travelled to the states many times to give papers. And when I went on taxotere, the nurses showed up with iced mittens for my hands and boots for my feet to ward off neuropathy because "they just started doing this at Princess Margaret and they've had really good results." (I always asked for a second set when the first ones warmed up and I never developed neuropathy in my fingers or toes.) I wonder if the treatment now is the same as it was nearly two years ago when I began chemo, or if it's shifted once again. So I never felt that our treatment was dragging behind. My oncologist is now working on a paper on early stage HER2 patients (he says I'm in it as a statistic) but he says it will be a few years before its out. Good or bad - he told me we're the newbies when it comes to research. There just isn't enough data over a long enough period of time to tell us how we're going to do. But he said his observations are anecdotal - without anything solid to back it up. Both he and a colleague have noticed that they're not seeing many - if any - early stage HER2 patients returning. In his words, he told a colleague "you know... we're just not seeing them back here." I know it's anecdotal - but hey - it's good enough for me.