Herceptin with or without Taxol

Hi all,
I was diagnosed with Stage 3A , 12 out of 22 lymph nodes positive in 11/04.
Have gone thru 4 AC and 4 Taxol rounds. I was Her2++ (6.2 amplified).
Now with the new studies and reults I am going to start on Herceptin next week. Also in 2 weeks from now I will start 33 radiation cycles.
Now I am a little confused as according to study results Herceptin showed better results concurently with Taxol rather than sequentially after AC and Taxol. I am going to ask my onc i fthey can give me more Taxol together with Herceptin so that I can benefiet from Herceptin with Taxol.
ANyone has any view point on this and also on Herceptin together with radiations.
Has anyone done Herceptin concurrently with radiation...
Also is there some serious side effects I should wory abt with Herceptin..
Cheers
Rupali..

I went off the herceptin during the radiation treatments. I started again as soon as the radiation was over. Sally

Rupali
I agree that you should ask for taxol with herceptin as an adjuvant therapy . With your diagnosis the 23 nodes + could be targeted in the midst of this agressive therapy being offered to you now after ASCO . The radiation is also a very important part of the tx and is to your overall benefit. You must do everything possible at this time to make sure you have a good chance of beating the BC down.

Yours sincerely, Hugs, Christine

Yes, I recieved Heceptin while I had the radiation with no ill effects.

Bonnie

I finished chemo 8 weeks ago. Do you all think it is even possible to get Taxol again with Herceptin?

Your oncologist may not agree to give Taxol again as you already took it. Samething happened to me. He might give someother chemo instead of Taxol. Please ask your oncologist.

Best wishes,
Julie

Hi,
My mom had Herceptin with the rads and she felt OK except for fatigue. She also had the Taxol then Herceptin, but she finished her chemo 6 mths ago. Do you feel it is important to return on the Taxol. I don't know what the cure rate difference is with concomittant Taxol than sequentially?
Good luck and get it if you can,
Anne

Hi Rupali, I have had Herceptin with radiation heaps of times, no problem, the last radiation Xeloda was added, because of the Xeloda being toxic it increased the burning of my breast, inside and out. I was to have 30 rounds also but only got in 23 and ended up in hospital for pain relief. I had Xeloda previously with the recommended doses and I had Taxol with Herceptin with the only side effect being peripheral neuoropathy which I still have, your onc will have to work out how toxic the Taxol is with radiation, the oral Xeloda was more convenient and recommended with radiation but I took 1000mg per day instead of 500mg so it was my own fault. Herceptin/chemo usually helps the other drugs to work more effectively. Hope this helps

Love & Hugs Lyn

Hi Sally

Just wanted to ask you....my onc has also suggested that i come off the Herceptin during the radiation but i just wonder why? do you think it is too toxic?

gill

Some folks have concerns about doing radiation along with herceptin if the rads are on the left side because of possible heart stress...

That said, my partner Rachel did it all at the same time and was fine...

Additionally, there was a small Japanese study a few years back that suggested that herceptin might be a "radiosensitizer"--that is, that it might enhance the effects of the radiation...

All the best,
Jeff

Yes, to Herceptin side-effects. One of the most serious is heart toxicity. While I'm Stage I and my insurance company WILL approve its use, they're insisting on a MUGA test (more detailed than an echocardiagram) before they'll approve it since I did have a bit of heart damage from the adriamycin I received w/ last breast cancer (4 years ago on the other side).

I think Abraxane is not as toxic as Taxol because its active ingredient is not activated by a toxic solution. I think it's water soluble or something like that. I don't rmember what kind of toxicity Taxol has but think Abraxane has the same warning. I don't remember if it's heart or other organs, but suspect an oncologist would be hesitant to prescribe it again.

You may want to "google" both Abraxane and Taxol to find out what the side-effects are. Just because it may help potentiate Herceptin, you have to consider the probability that it will and what that will mean vs. the stats on toxicity of Taxol/Abraxane beyond a certain dosage. But I would discuss this w/ your oncologist, armed with the data you find so they can't just make a decision that isn't the one you would necessarily make for yourself.

Too often these doctors treat us as idiots (even though some patients probably act like it) unless we push them as acting like partners and arm ourselves with relevant and scientifically valid information.

Hope this was helpful to you. I can go off on a tangent--can I ever! ;-)

Hi,I know Carboplatin is a radiosensitizer and so is Xeloda.


Cheers Lyn