HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - Very upset and confused by last topic posted

05-22-2005, 11:50 AM

I know the study that I posted is hard to read. It was for me as well. Remember that it is just ONE study. And most info I've seen says that the prognosis for most early stage bc is good. I also agree that it is important to focus on the positive to help with healing.

I also understand that chemo only delays recurrence or limits the number of recurrences.

The problem is that for early stage bc there has been no way to accurately tell which early stage bc's will recur, so although the majority of us would be fine without any treatment other than surgery, many of us are recommended to have chemo, rads, and sometimes hormonal treatment.

I posted the article because I think it does help me to understand (and believe, which is hard for me to do) why some early stage bc patients who are treated end up with recurrence. I think that is very important to understand.

I am very, very encouraged by many of the studies that are being done to help figure out which patients are most likely to have recurrence, like gene profiling.

But in the meantime I think it is just as important to provide the "negative" information as it is to provide the "positive" information, so that each one of us can talk to our oncologists, ask reasonable questions, and find a better answer for our own particular situation.

We know there are women who are early stage and who recur and wonder why they did when so many don't. I think that these women might have something to say about my suggestion regarding further clinical trials to see whether additional Adriamycin simultaneously given with a taxane and Herceptin could have prevented recurrence for them.

I also think it is possible that women are out there who refused chemo in the first place because they were told like I was, that it only delays recurrence or limits the number of recurrences, and they realized that most women in early stage don't ever have a recurrence so they focused more on maintaining their immune system than on destroying it with chemo. These women are not even discussed. If you were one of them and read the study I posted and heard about the new Herceptin results, perhaps knowing that the new combination regimen has so much more to offer might be of interest to them.

I just didn't find adequate discussion about this possibility in the ASCO information.

A.A.

05-22-2005, 11:50 AM	#3
AlaskaAngel Guest Posts: n/a	I know the study that I posted is hard to read. It was for me as well. Remember that it is just ONE study. And most info I've seen says that the prognosis for most early stage bc is good. I also agree that it is important to focus on the positive to help with healing. I also understand that chemo only delays recurrence or limits the number of recurrences. The problem is that for early stage bc there has been no way to accurately tell which early stage bc's will recur, so although the majority of us would be fine without any treatment other than surgery, many of us are recommended to have chemo, rads, and sometimes hormonal treatment. I posted the article because I think it does help me to understand (and believe, which is hard for me to do) why some early stage bc patients who are treated end up with recurrence. I think that is very important to understand. I am very, very encouraged by many of the studies that are being done to help figure out which patients are most likely to have recurrence, like gene profiling. But in the meantime I think it is just as important to provide the "negative" information as it is to provide the "positive" information, so that each one of us can talk to our oncologists, ask reasonable questions, and find a better answer for our own particular situation. We know there are women who are early stage and who recur and wonder why they did when so many don't. I think that these women might have something to say about my suggestion regarding further clinical trials to see whether additional Adriamycin simultaneously given with a taxane and Herceptin could have prevented recurrence for them. I also think it is possible that women are out there who refused chemo in the first place because they were told like I was, that it only delays recurrence or limits the number of recurrences, and they realized that most women in early stage don't ever have a recurrence so they focused more on maintaining their immune system than on destroying it with chemo. These women are not even discussed. If you were one of them and read the study I posted and heard about the new Herceptin results, perhaps knowing that the new combination regimen has so much more to offer might be of interest to them. I just didn't find adequate discussion about this possibility in the ASCO information. A.A.