RE: Serum Her-2 Test
Dear Friend,
You are at least the 7th person this week who has told me that their onc's REFUSED them this test!!!! I am so outraged for you. I have had to beg borrow and practically "steal" to get this number taken regularly. In the early days, my onc made me sign a formal agreement that I would pay the $150 bucks for it from Specialty Labs, back in 2003. It has long since now been a STANDARD test on both LABCORBS and QUEST LABs books for at least 2 years...and is NO MORE DIFFICULT than measuring your liver enzymes or anything else. THAT Doctors are uninformed about this LIFE SAVING, cost effective test is ridiculous. HERE are some tips though. If your mother's onc REFUSES...no big deal..ask her PRIMARY care to simply write down the words: Serial Serum Her-2 on his/her Rx pad and then take the prescription to the lab that her insurance covers and they will look it up in the book, get the number and drawn the blood (which does have to go through the centrifuge and be frozen ASAP as the marker deteriorates rapidly...sighhhh). Also, I HIGHLY recommend that you chart both the CA 27/29 and the serum her-2 on a REGULAR basis...taking the blood at the SAME time and NEVER AFTER a herceptin infusion....If you need more ways to get at these tests email me direct at
GPOPP@Comcast.com. Best of luck to you both, Gina