Depression from Herceptin

[Westcoastgirl]

Dear Elizabeth,
I would urge you very strongly to try and continue with Herceptin. If you look at the signatures on here where women had small tumors and did not have Herceptin they sometimes recurred and a recurrence is truly a change of life. All the current data points to early(small) stage cancers such as yours benefiting greatly from Herceptin. I am wondering if you should seek counseling for this so you can continue your treatments. I know there are some side effects with Herceptin but wonder if your depression is more a result of being on infusions rather than the actual infusion of Herceptin itself. Our minds can do very strange things indeed to us. I truly urge you to find help to conquer this reaction to Herceptin and stay the course. Wishing you all the best, Carolyn

[Elizabeth1227]

Dear Carolyn,

Thank you for responding to my post. The herceptin is affecting my hormones which is causing the depression. I was hoping there was someone else who has had this side effect. I am feeling better and know it is the herceptin that causes the hormonal imbalance. I would rather be on the herceptin than not but don't know how to cope with the hormone imbalance. I am not estrogen or progesterone positive but I did not need hormone replacement therapy after I went off of the hormones when my breast cancer returned in Feb 2010. It wasn't until the herceptin that my hormones starting affecting me again with depression, over sensitivity, and hot flashes. It is has been almost 4 weeks since my last infusion and the last week I feel like myself again and the hot flashes have subsided. I would live with the hot flashes but don't know how to live with the depression. It has been frustrating to explain what a hormone imbalance can do when someone has not experienced it themselves. It is equivalent to severe post partum blues is the best way I can explain it.

I did not include that I had a secondary primary cancer which I finished treatment in May of this year. I was on very strong chemo Mytomicin and 5 FU and I did not have a side effect like this. I did lose my hair and the radiation caused 2nd burns to my body. I have been through a lot this year but my faith has been getting me through it. Thank You God.

Gratefully, Elizabeth

[Mary L]

I agree that maybe you are depressed because of your cancer rather than from Herceptin. You had 2 different cancers in 1 year. That's alot to face. Talk to your Dr. about it and see what he recommends. Best wishes. Mary L

[Westcoastgirl]

Hi Elizabeth,

I have found that there are a multitude of side effects to each and every drug we are prescribed and most often the list is very, very long. I have had a few strange side effects to the medications they have given me and sure enough way at the end of the list is my symptom and then again sometimes it's not there at all, (for example I had a rash after radiation and it was suggested here on this site that I had radiation recall. My onc. told me that was impossible as there were no documented cases of it when on Femara, only Tamoxifin. Well after many hours of searching I did indeed find a documented case of radiation recall on Femara.) I think that there are most likely other women that have had your hormonal side effect to Herceptin but the timing of your post or the luck of the draw has just simply kept those women from seeing your post or replying to it. Before you give up on Herceptin I would try your counselor as many suggest. You have been through quite a battle this past year and as I said the mind is one powerful entity....but also I would talk to your onc. about possibly substituting another drug that is known to afford a similar protection; for example Tykerb or perhaps some part of the T-DM trials or the vaccination trials, or.... Of course I do not know what I am talking about but it seems to me when I read the different trial reports there is more than one way to skin the Her2 cat. Best of luck! Carolyn