1. I am on Aromasin (did Tamoxifen for a year and was switched to Arimadex for 3 months, then was diagnosed with reccurance... doc took me off AI's and I went immediately into carbo/taxol/herceptin. About 3 months in, he put me on Aromasin). Finished carbo/taxol in Jan. 06 and now am on Herceptin only.
2. 6 treatments of TAC in '04 put me into early menopause.
3. Forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating & finding words seemed to clear up for the most part within a month of being off of chemo. Memorywise, nothing I can complain about too much on Herceptin only. Heart is still strong, too - after 8 months on Herceptin (4 of those combined with chemo).
4. Did your dry nose, stomach aching, shortness of breath, breaking nails, rib or hip pains, dry eyes, diarrhea or other symptoms experienced while on Herceptin improve?
Those symptoms/side effects were what I experienced with chemo, and have definitely improved since I finished chemo. Herceptin by itself doesn't seem to cause any of those for me (dry nose hung on for a while, but is now much better, also - occasional minor rib flanges, but those started on TAC and have continued ever since).
4. I will reach a year on Herceptin in September. So far I feel lucky that it has been a very smooth ride.
5. I definitely attribute most of my persistent side effects (recurrent UTIs, occasional dry nose, minor memory issues, etc.) to lack of estrogen and drying soft tissue that is so dependent on estrogen.
6. The most annoying left over side-effect that might also be related to Herceptin is the stiffness and numbness in my feet, stiff/painful knees, and upon waking - stiffness and pain in the knuckles/fingers of both hands.
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