HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - Her-2 and hormone therapy?

Chelee · 07-22-2009, 01:30 AM

Hi Karen, I am Her2, 3+, Er & Pr weakly positive. (Er 15% & Pr 10% if I remember right?) My onc wanted me on an AI but I was peri-meno. FSH & estradiol checked every 3 months so I decided at that time to have an ooph so I could start on an AI.

My FSH & estradiol levels never went into menopausal range until just recently. (It took almost 2 yrs since my ooph to now be menopausal.) So in all that time I have not been on anything. Now that my labs say I'm in meno range I can start Femara if I want too. I have a bad case of scoliosis (curvature of the spine) so I am always very concerned about my back/bones. After much research I'm very worried about the damage Femara will do to my back & hips so I asked my oncologist what she recommends? (After all it's been 2 yrs & 4 months without & AI...and I am trying to weigh the risks & benefits for my personal situation.)

She said her job is to tell me what the standard of care is & make sure I know all my options...but she left it up to me. I pressed her some more and said I'd really want your opinion on this, taking into consideration my scoliosis and dexa scan which isn't good.

She said, "Well you know your not the usual case...but if you had been on Femara the last two yrs I would of said to you today....see the Femara is working!" Since I am weakly positive & with my other ortho problems I was hoping for a more direct answer from her. So I am still trying to decide if I should take it? If God forbid "it" came back I would always wonder if Femara would of kept it away...but I'm scared to death about anymore damage to my back.

The fact that they don't know if it will really help me or not... bothers me. (I hate all these decisions.)

Chelee

07-22-2009, 01:30 AM	#22
Chelee Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Southern, CA Posts: 2,511	Hi Karen, I am Her2, 3+, Er & Pr weakly positive. (Er 15% & Pr 10% if I remember right?) My onc wanted me on an AI but I was peri-meno. FSH & estradiol checked every 3 months so I decided at that time to have an ooph so I could start on an AI. My FSH & estradiol levels never went into menopausal range until just recently. (It took almost 2 yrs since my ooph to now be menopausal.) So in all that time I have not been on anything. Now that my labs say I'm in meno range I can start Femara if I want too. I have a bad case of scoliosis (curvature of the spine) so I am always very concerned about my back/bones. After much research I'm very worried about the damage Femara will do to my back & hips so I asked my oncologist what she recommends? (After all it's been 2 yrs & 4 months without & AI...and I am trying to weigh the risks & benefits for my personal situation.) She said her job is to tell me what the standard of care is & make sure I know all my options...but she left it up to me. I pressed her some more and said I'd really want your opinion on this, taking into consideration my scoliosis and dexa scan which isn't good. She said, "Well you know your not the usual case...but if you had been on Femara the last two yrs I would of said to you today....see the Femara is working!" Since I am weakly positive & with my other ortho problems I was hoping for a more direct answer from her. So I am still trying to decide if I should take it? If God forbid "it" came back I would always wonder if Femara would of kept it away...but I'm scared to death about anymore damage to my back. The fact that they don't know if it will really help me or not... bothers me. (I hate all these decisions.) 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.