My onc. sent e-mail about 9 wks. of Herceptin

Before she left for San Antonio, my onc. sent me the following e-mail. I hope some of you will also find it helpful in determining your treatment or finding comfort in it.:

Vicki,
I thought of you when I saw this at San Antonio website-it's abstract # 2. (I think you seemed worried when I told you the current NCCN recommendation was for 1 year of Herceptin).

This abstract will put your mind at ease. It will make for a great discussion. All investigators who have been giving preoperative trastuzumab will agree. These people adminstered only 9 weeks of Herceptin and they are seeing stunning results at 3 years of follow up. I am flying out tomorrow for this incredible event.T stands for trastuzumab(herceptin) T given concomitantly with docetaxel or vinorelbine for 9 weeks was well tolerated, and was not associated with a decrease of LVEFs making monitoring of the LVEFs unnecessary for most patients. Short duration administration of T is highly effective in preventing recurrence of BC with erbB2 amplification when given concomitantly with potentially synergistic chemotherapy, and may be better tolerated than one-year use of T.