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Then, moderate concern is appropriate...
Hi, Julie,
I have tried to respond twice to you here, but the system keeps throwing me out for some reason. Anyhow, first of all I am so proud that you are getting the markers taken properly, just before your herceptin infusion. This is the way to go.
Second, I find that it is not the liver enzymes affecting the serum her-2, but unfortunately, the other way around. In me, the liver enzymes AND the her-2 marker AND the CA 27/29 all tend to go up at the same time, which, again, for me, has always meant something was going on somewhere, often the liver or the bililary tree. Also, at times, my Alk Phos and bilirubin had risen along with these as well. You might compare your last Alk phos to the most recent and see if it is higher than last time.
Third, I think most folks think of Navelbine as a "light" chemo, but its job is still to take out your WBC's and it is very hard on the immune system as it takes out both the first line immune system and the back-up one.
While on Navelbine, you may have contracted some other low level bug that is weighing you down and causing the numbers to rise, but fortunately, this rise is so slight and so early that again, in my case, I have been able to make the number drop just with swift NUTRITIONAL, supplemental intervention. I would be sure I was getting enough Vitamin A&D (in your case, temporarily increasing A to 50,000 IU and D to 1000 would not be over kill, just drop the A back down after a couple of weeks), plus up the zinc (either with the Desitin on the feet or with your diet...oysters and lamb are rich in zinc, as is peanut butter)...be sure you are getting PLENTY of plain magnesium and ABSOLUTELY NO supplemental calcium, although normal calcium from food sources is fine. Be sure you are balancing your omega 3's and if you are not already taking it,you might add olive leaf to your regimen as it is anti-viral; anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal, just in case you have picked up something.
Also, be sure you are not stressing yourself out too much as after your initial good news you may have gone back to work or started working more or had some personal crisis that also drags you down. Get plenty of rest and drink lots of good fluids.
If it were me, I would discontinue the Navelbine immediately as you need to BUILD your IMMUNE SYSTEM BACK UP ASAP and ask for an extra loading or boosting dose of herceptin, but most oncs will be unwilling to do this...sigh...
Also, there is some evidence that WBC drugs like the one you mentioned you were taking in another post can make certain cancers worse while temporarily relieving symptoms of fatigue, etc. caused by lowered white Blood cells that were lowered by the navelbine...not the herceptin...sighh... You might want to examine the time relationship between when your numbers were going down to when you took the White cell booster and see if there is any correlation...if you even think it had something to do with the her-2 numbers increasing...do not take it again.
Remember, in many ways, her-2 mediated disease is much more like an infection than cancer...there are many things about it that oncs and even scientists just don't understand yet, so please be sure to guard your own immune system and let it help you beat back down the her-2 disease.
Keep up the good research--your excellent ability to record and report your data about the changes inside you will help MANY of us learn more about this dreadful illness. YOU ARE SO BRAVE and are providing an excellent role model for pro-active management of this illness for us all.
Godspeed,
Gina
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