her2 breast cancer cured (when transplanted in mice) using triple targetted therapy

[Belinda]

Thank you, again Lani. Your article, and now your interperetation of for us, has helped me pull through a dark post-chemo week. This seems to be the best news going at the moment, and I agree, anything we can do to push it we should. I agree that Gentech needs to get on the bandwagon - it is heartening that the initial research is independent, but to get the funding needed to make this thing really move along will need the drug companies to get on board. And getting trials takes soooooo long... Was there anyone involved in the early Herceptin days? What worked then?


Bx

[Christine MH-UK]

I was just wondering how much this combination might cost if it works. Does anyone have any idea?

I saved up for herceptin and would not have gotten it under my circumstances if I had not prepared for it financially, so I always think about this. Ironically, about 1/3 of the way through my treatment, the UK National Health Service decided to fund herceptin, including my herceptin, but I wouldn't have gotten it if I hadn't already been on it.

It might also be useful for people to know so they can be prepared for their copayments.

If I never need this combination then at least I will be well prepared for my old age.

[MJo]

As someone who had to stop Herceptin before 12 months due to heart issues, I will be very interested in any side effects on the heart. Otherwise, this is wonderful news.

[Lani]

I believe there is a book sometimes available on Amazon about the making of herceptin, which chronicals the history of the discovery, the difficulties finding the right target population to treat (which almost stymied its development) and the parties involved (including Dr. Slamon, of course).

I believe Lily Samuels Tartikoff was terribly helpful in fund-raising (she got Revlon involved) for the early stages of the research.

I haven't read it myself to see how the ideas generated by Dr. Slamon got developed by Genentech into an approvable drug.

Anyone out there who read it?

[saleboat]

I read the book and the story is pretty amazing. Scary that Herceptin almost didn't get out of the development phase. One of the take-aways from the book was the power of the advocacy community-- they really rallied to get as many women as possible included in the adjuvent trials, with the well-founded hunch that the drug would be a wonder.

Given the premium that these drugs are commanding, I can imagine that the business development people are all to happy to take bets now on targeted therapy-- at the time Herceptin was developed, it really was out-of-the-box thinking.

Here's a link to the book:
http://www.amazon.com/Her-2-Making-H...8212264&sr=8-1

Jen

[Gerri]

I read it (twice) when I began my journey into the world of BC. The name of the book is HER-2: The making of Herceptin, a revolutionary treatment for Breast Cancer, written by Robert Bazell. I found it at my public library. Now with chemo brain in full mode it is hard for me to remember all the specifics but I will try to give a brief summary.

Lily Tartikoff was instrumental in securing the initial funding for Dr. Slamon’s research. He had treated her husband Brandon Tartikoff for Hodgkin’s disease and she was so grateful, that she made it her mission to get him the money he needed to move his research forward (he was having trouble getting funding). She approached the CEO of REVLON and challenged him to do more for women than just make lipstick. The fundraising “Fire & Ice Ball” and the Revlon Run/Walk for Women were a result of this challenge.

The book details the many years of research that went into the discovery of the HER-2 protein and the making of Herceptin. It also tells of how the pharmaceutical companies finally came on board. Most of all, it shows the relentless dedication and passion that Dr. Slamon put into this research, not to mention the brave women who participated in the initial trials.