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I think you were wise ...
to opt out of the Benadryl, but if I were you, I would stick with the decadron as there is some evidence that it is synergistic when taken together with Herceptin. Also, Sandy is right. Depending on what else you were taking, the decadron can be really important. I know Al disagrees with me about the decadron, but in practice, I have seen it boost Herceptin, which I agree...goes against my general rule of NOT dampening the immune system, but decadron's action on the same receptors that are sensitive to Vitamin D is very complex especially since there is a lot of research about deficient Vitamin D and elevated levels of cancer. Also, it depends which parts of the immune system the decadron dampens as there is other data that shows her-2 mediated cancers can actually use the grans (neutrophils) of the patient's own immune system to make the cancer worse. If the steroids are dampening these types of cancer fueling responses, it could actually be helpful to shut them down, and thus, boost Herceptin's overall action. This is very complex. When I get time, I will investigate this further and share what I can find.
In the meantime, are you charting all your tumor markers to see if by stopping the decadron your numbers are getting worse or better??? Really, folks, our bio-chemistries are so complex and individualized that sometimes you have to make the call on a case- by-case basis. I personally, however, do not take ANYTHING with Herceptin, well, except sometimes I drink a cranberry juice while I am infusing...smile. Have taken it that way for over 6 years with very good benefit and relatively few side effects. My recent Muga was 68.1.
That is my two cents,
Gina
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