Diagnosed at extensive Bone mets Stage IV

[leez]

Hi, I am a long time reader of this forum but a first time poster. I really appreciate all of the active members. Your information and support are always helpful. I am posting here for a friend in China. I myself is a cancer survivor but I amTriple Negative. This friend of mine is her2 positive. Here is her information:

1/2010 Diagnose: 1cm IDC Breast Cancer. ER++, PR-, Her2+. Extensive bone mets. 8 Rounds of TAC. Followed by Herceptin + Xeloda 2 rounds.
2 months later (October 2010), metastsis to Lung and Liver. So she is on Lapatinib + Xeloda 5 rounds till now. Recently her CEA is up to 17.

Please note that she didn't have a surgery as her doctors in China thought it would be useless. Is that true? I would think it is necessary to remove the site of original tumor.

Also, she is only on Herceptin 2 times. In China, Herceptin is very expensive and is not covered by insurance. I would think she should be on herceptin all the way. Don't you?

What about Zometa? When she was first diagnosed, she had such an extensive bone pain that a minor move of her body could cause her to faint. PET/CT showed extensive bone mets. She is better now. Can type, move around and do simple stuff. So the chemo is doing the job but we all hope chemo can do a better job.

Thanks for all your help!