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05-13-2005, 10:41 PM

Thanks for the info, Christine--but I still have a question. Yes, my score is now <15. But, so is yours and you are still taking Herceptin???
Last October I had the CTC and my score was 4. A score >2 is considered significant.
I did have a year of Herceptin. I have been told that I had bone marrow mets to all the vertebrae in my thoracic spine. I have been told there are other signs of bone mets. I have 30 to 40 enlarged retroperitoneal nodes--matted together. I had PET scans that showed uptake in the submandibulara gland that was recently removed.
At the time of my dx I had advanced b.c.--3 types of very aggressive b.c. I had a lesion in my liver (still there) that has never been biopsied. I had several enlarged retroperitoneal nodes (which have increased). I was Her2+ (+3), had 9 of 12 positive nodes (although first CT scan said there appeared to be remaining positive nodes that were matted together (the ones removed were not matted together). I had extracapusular spread and extensive lymphovascular invasion.
So, my question is based on the above why should I not be given Herceptin at this time with a score of 12? Does that mean I am in remission and would no longer benefit? At the same time you report that your score is now 6. Does that mean you are in remission? If so, wondering how one can justify long-term use of Herceptin for some and not all?

05-13-2005, 10:41 PM	#9
Kaye Guest Posts: n/a	Thanks for the info, Christine--but I still have a question. Yes, my score is now <15. But, so is yours and you are still taking Herceptin??? Last October I had the CTC and my score was 4. A score >2 is considered significant. I did have a year of Herceptin. I have been told that I had bone marrow mets to all the vertebrae in my thoracic spine. I have been told there are other signs of bone mets. I have 30 to 40 enlarged retroperitoneal nodes--matted together. I had PET scans that showed uptake in the submandibulara gland that was recently removed. At the time of my dx I had advanced b.c.--3 types of very aggressive b.c. I had a lesion in my liver (still there) that has never been biopsied. I had several enlarged retroperitoneal nodes (which have increased). I was Her2+ (+3), had 9 of 12 positive nodes (although first CT scan said there appeared to be remaining positive nodes that were matted together (the ones removed were not matted together). I had extracapusular spread and extensive lymphovascular invasion. So, my question is based on the above why should I not be given Herceptin at this time with a score of 12? Does that mean I am in remission and would no longer benefit? At the same time you report that your score is now 6. Does that mean you are in remission? If so, wondering how one can justify long-term use of Herceptin for some and not all?