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Old 04-24-2011, 10:49 PM   #1
trasia
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Join Date: Apr 2011
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Re: Sisters with Mets...should I stop Herceptin?

stephn,
your story sounds encouraging! by the way, did you ever take complimentary therapies along with your standard care? how about the other ladies in this thread?
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I learned to hold myself with dignity, respect and humility. My mother taught me to love and care for humanity, and a compassion that I have never seen matched. She is brilliant, and more generous than any person I have ever met. I know my mother loves me more than life itself. Her latest lesson is Courage as WE seek treatment for her condition and she enter the great unknown, and faces her inner demons…And I promised her that I will be her strength when she needs it, and her patience when she cannot bear it anymore..

~trasia (primary caregiver of her 60 year old mother- IDC Stage 2B ER+ 90% PR- Her2+++ 3/25 lymph node involvement (Diagnosed Jan 2010- BMX- Feb 2010)
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Old 04-26-2011, 06:47 PM   #2
mamacze
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Location: Madison, Connecticut
Posts: 638
Re: Sisters with Mets...should I stop Herceptin?

Hi Girls!
I love reading your opinions and ideas...and I am sorry for being absent for a while...I have this trouble of getting distracted with kids, holidays, sunshine...
StephN! How wonderful to see you and hear that you are still doing well! Is the wine store still doing well? And Kim! I feel like this is old home week and I am getting caught up with life long friends. I am just so darn happy that you both are doing well.
Yes, I did sleuth this out and here is what I found out. I spoke at length with Dr. Dang at Sloan. She has several her2 patients who are being maintained with mets. Her opinion is that yes, we can take a holiday from Herceptin. Many of her patients have stopped their Herceptin but they have all reoccurred at some point. Some as soon as 4 months and others have not reoccurred for 2 years. When she sees a renewal of cancer activity, she restarts the Herceptin and they continue to respond.
I am also worried about the radiation from all those scans. I have decided to stop the scans and go instead to tumor markers; traditional and Cell Search Circulating Tumor Cells. If one or both markers rise; then I will get a scan. Finally, I have decided to take the summer off from Herceptin from mid June through Mid September.
OK, enough yakety yak from me. While thanking God for many years of NED we will also have to continue to compare notes! I love hearing from you!
Love Kim from CT
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2001 - Stage 0, lumpectomy, radiation, tamoxifen

2004 - Stage 4, mets to 4 lobes of lungs and liver, lumpectomy, er/pr -, her2 neu+++, Herceptin and Navelbine then Herceptin only.

2005 - Breast Ca vaccinations with the Tumor Vaccine Group in Seattle

2011 - Still Herceptin only and NED


2011, June - STOPPED Herceptin and kicked up my heels!

2012, February - 1 small tumor came back to haunt me in my lungs - back on Herceptin only, tumor stable.


2015, November - tumor on lungs removed (Segmentectomy), back on Herceptin only
Received U of W vaccine clinical "booster" Vaccine


2022 On Herceptin and NED continues - WOOT WOOT!
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Old 04-27-2011, 09:43 AM   #3
KDR
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Re: Sisters with Mets...should I stop Herceptin?

Kim
I think you have a great plan. I think it's well thought out and you are on the right path. I wish you the best, best, best, and that your markers never rise. You are an inspiration to us all.
Love
Karen
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World Trade Center Survivor (56th Floor/North Tower): 14 years and still just like yesterday.
Graves Disease, became Euthyroid via Radioactive Iodine, June 2001.
Thyroid Eye Disease. 2003. Decompression surgery in 2009; eyelid lowering surgery in 2010.
Diagnosed: June 2010, liver mets. ER-/PR+10%; HER2+++.
July 2010: Begin Taxol/Herceptin. Eliminate sugar from diet. No surgery or radiation.
January 2011: NED
April 2011: Progression in liver only. Other previous affected areas eradicated. Stop Taxol/Herceptin after 32 infusions.
May 2011: Brain MRI: clear.
May 2011: Begin Tykerb daily, Xeloda twice per day for one week on, one week off, and Herceptin.
November 2011: Progression in liver. All other tumors remain eradicated.
December 2011: BEGIN TRIAL #09-093 Taxol, MCC-DM1 (T-DM1), Perjeta.
Trial requires scans every six weeks, bloodwork and infusions weekly.
Brain MRI: clear.
January 2012: NED. Liver mets, good riddance!
March 2012: NED. Developed SMA (rare blood clot) in intestinal artery and loss of sight in right eye due to optical nerve neuropathy. Resolved when Taxol removed this month.
Continue Protocol of T-DM1 weekly and Perjeta every 3 weeks.
May 2012: NED.
June 2012: Brain MRI: clear.
June-December 2012: NED.
December 2012: TRIAL CONCLUDED; ENTER TRIAL EXTENSION #09-037. CT, Brain MRI, bone scan: clear. NED.
January-March 2013: NED.
June 2013: Brain MRI: clear. CEA upticking; CT shows new met on liver.
July 3, 2013: DISASTER STRIKES during liver ablation: sloppy surgeon cuts intercostal artery and I bleed out, lose 3.5 liters of blood, have major hemothorax, and collapsed lung requiring emergency resuscitative thoracotomy, lung surgery, rib rearrangement and cutting deep connective tissue, transfusion. Ablation incomplete. This life-saving procedure would end up causing me unforgiving pain with every movement I make, permanently, otherwise known as forever.
July 26, 2013: Try Navelbine/Herceptin. Body too weak after surgery and transfusion. Fever. CEA: Normal.
August 16, 2016: second dose Navelbine/Herceptin; CEA: Normal. Will skip doses. Watching and waiting.
September 2013: NED, Herceptin only. CEA: Normal. Started Arimidex.
October-November 2013: NED. Herceptin and Arimidex. CEA, CA125, 15-3: Normal.
December 2013: Something brewing. PET lights up on little spot on liver; CEA upward trend, just outside normal. PET and triphasic liver scan confirm Little Met. Restart Perjeta with Herceptin, stay on Arimidex. Genomic sequencing completed for future treatments, if necessary.
January 2014: Ablate Little Met on the 6th. Happy New Year.
March 2014: Brain MRI: clear. PET/CT reveal liver mets return; new lung mets. This is not funny.
March 2014: BEGIN TRIAL #10-005 A(11)-Temsirolimus plus Neratinib.
April 2014: Genomic testing indicated they could work, they did not. Very strange drug combo for me, felt weird.
April 2014: Started Navelbine and Herceptin. Needed something tried and true, but had significant progression.
June 2014: Doxil and Herceptin.
July 2014: Progression. Got nothing out of it. Brain: NED.
July 2014: Add integrative medical hematologist-oncologist to my team. Begin supplements. These are tumor-busting, immune system boosters. Add glutathione, lysine and taurine IV infusions every three weeks.
July 2014: Begin Gemzar, Herceptin & Perjeta. Happy.
August 2014: ECHO perfect.
January 2015: Begin weekly Vitamin D Analog infusions. 25 mcg. via port.
February 2015: CT: stable.
April 2015: Gem working, but not 100%. Looking into immunotherapy. Finally, treatments for the 21st century!
April 2015: Penn Medicine. Dendritic cell immunotherapy.
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