***Request for those of you finished with/finishing one year of Herceptin***

[juanita]

I finished cmf chemo a year ago in June. And i had my final herceptin June 21, 06. I was stage 1, er/pr-. I am chemopausal and not taking any other breast cancer meds at this time. My blood counts were still down in August when my family doc checked my cholesterol again. My vision has improved, but it's still not as good as it was before. I had ibs before this, so nothing changed there except a little more sensitive now. Headaches are fewer and farther in between thankfully. I'm still at a loss for words a lot. People are just used to it now though. Most of the aches are getting better except in my ankles. They are worse in the mornings. Didn't have a problem with dry eyes or dry nose, mine ran all the time which isn't so bad now. I still have a problem with my energy level, but doc says blood counts could account for part of that. And i still have problem with my right hand swelling, cancer was on the left side so all of my treatments went in on the right hand. I never lost my eyelashes or eyebrows even when I did tac with the first onc and lost all of my other hair. My fingernails aren't peeling as bad as they were and are finally getting harder. Still have insomnia, but doc says menopause can do that. I will post again on this in about three more months.

[suzan w]

I agree, this is a great idea...my last treatment is 10/4 it has been every 3 weeks. I am also on Arimidex. Will keep checking back to see everyones progress...Rhonda...start writing the book!!!

[Diane H]

My last treatment [was on a three week dosing schedule] was I think in June. I am ER+ PR- . My eyes have stopped watering as much but my vision seems much worse. Still very sparse eyelashes and eyebrows. Energy level is much better but I do not seem to heal and recover as well from colds as I used to. Pretty constant muscle and joint/bone pain but I attribute that to Femara. And I am very happy to report that memory functions are getting back to a reasonable level! Will check in again in three months.

[Peggy]

I finished Herceptin (one year) in June (5th I think). My last chemo was Oct, 05. I am gaining energy and blood counts are coming up. I still haven't lost weight, but my body shape has gone back to normal...I have a waist and don't look like a football linebacker. My runny nose is gone but I still have very thin eyelashes and eyebrows. The chemobrain is gone but I still sometimes search for words, mainly nouns (hope that changes soon). I am having more days where I feel "good" so I am very hopeful!

Peggy

[Kaye]

I had Herceptin weekly for one year. After my reaction to the first one (which I got with Taxol) I did not have any reactions that I can recall. In fact I opted not to have any pre-meds with it after that first (or maybe 2nd) time. In retrospect, I am wondering if I may have had some Tylenol just before it, but I don't think so. One thing, though, I asked if it could be given over an hour instead of half an hour. It gave me time to do a nice power nap and relax. I asked for that because I think, again if I remember correctly, that I had read that it may be more effective if given at slower rate.

[Christine MH-UK]

I thought that it was getting buried in all these newer messages and I think that alot of us want to know how everyone is getting on post herceptin.

[Her2nSue]

Hi,

I finish with Herceptin in early Feb. 07 and I'm anxious about what all our results will be post Herceptin. I've been told that with the Chemo it could take a year for our bodies to come back to it's full potential with energy levels. But seems no one knows what to expect from our bodies after we're all done with Herceptin, so with all of us keeping track on one another is such an excellent idea. Congrats to all of you who have finished your herceptin treatments (even though it makes us feel like our security net is gone). Hugs to all.

Sue