"I was told I don't need herceptin as it is probably doing nothing for me"
Seems like the shift is towards continuing Herceptin post progression and adding Tykerb. i.e. total her2 blockade:
http://her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=41397
Will you be continuing Herceptin with Tykerb? Can you get Tamoxifen (cheap/low tier drug)? It has non ER mechanisms that can synergize with chemo and can be helpful by themselves:
http://her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=41711
Do you know whether your mets are still ER-, Her2 +? I know that's not easy to answer definitively, even with a single mets biopsy. And Her2 treatment can increase ER components:
http://her2support.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=38998
The new thinking on continuing Herceptin begs a question. Just because something isn't doing "enough", is it logical to assume it's doing nothing? When my mom was diagnosed with mets, her then onc canceled the Arimidex. It seems like things ramped up between that and treatment decision. So..was it doing nothing or just not enough? And I am finding there are numerous strategies to rensensitize tumors to therapies despite the prevailing tendency to scratch them off the list.