What Turns On HER-2/neu Oncogene

DebbieB

What Turns On HER-2/neu Oncogene

DebbieB

When I was dx'd back in 2001, there wasn't a whole lot of information available about being HER+ and what little you could find wasn't good at all.  You weren't even offered Herceptin unless you were stage 4.

So here I am almost 7 years later and am just wondering if anyone has read anything that would suggest what could possibly trigger this HER-2/neu oncogene to turn on and go crazy.

I've often wonder how much stress played into it.  The year I was dx'd, my mother was in and out of the hospital and died 5 months prior to my dx.  It was the most stressful year of my life.  it scares me now when I start getting really stressed because I'm afraid it may some how trigger this HER-2/neu oncogene.

Any thoughts?

Debbie

swimangel72

Excellent question Debbie - I too think stress played a role in my dx, but how can we ever be sure? Also - I was exposed to DDT when I was between the ages of 9 and 13........and I've read that this can increase your risk for BC.......I need to read more about that connection. I'm grateful however that my BRCA1 & 2 tests came back negative - at least the HER2+ isn't hereditary, so I don't have to worry about my two college-age daughters as much.

angie27

I also agree that this might be related to heavy stress, i know that 6 months prior my dx, I was under a lot of stress, emotionally and financially.  so I do believe this really plays a roll, at least in my situation.

I hope one day the can find the link. 

suemed8749

Hi Her2+ Gals:

This is a great topic, and one that I've been trying to explore ever since finding our my Her2+ status. I really can't think of any times of special stress in recent years. . . Swim, thanks for the info that Her2+ isn't herditary since my daughters are 23 and 20. If anybody finds any research about what causes this to occur, please post.

(Debbie - 7 years since your dx - awesome!!! Thanks for posting!)

Sue

JoniB

I really think my BC was due to stress - at least partially.  However, are there any studies that support this?  I am working to destress since my diagnosis but now they are having lay-offs at work and I'm the one that carries the health insurance!  With a son entering college in the fall, the thought of no job, and having breast cancer together with outrageously expensive health insurange - my stress level is definitely up. 

apium

I am her2+++. My onc said I have the highest overexpression she’s seen in her practice. She specializes in bc only. I was not under any stress prior to diagnosis. I was, however, very deficient in vitamin D because I avoided the sun like the plague for 10 years. My medical doctor (not onc) said it’s possible that a vitamin d deficiency could cause overexpression.



I would really like to know why my gene went crazy. I eat well, no stress, have a good life, just no sun. Oh, I was heavily exposed to DDT for most my young life. My dad would spray our room at night with it so the bugs wouldn’t bother us. He worked on an Army base and had access to it. This was in the 50’s.

jerseymaria

i will say that i have been under  extreme stress for close to 20 years, at times unbearable.  some might say why didn't you change things, well we all know we don't have control over everything.  however this past year, i came to find out that i was pretty low in vit. D and have been taking supplements ever since.  i'm due to have it retested for the 1st time later this month.  i wonder though if something like a common vit. deficiency is enough to trigger such a deadly cancer.

AlaskaAngel

It may not just be one thing, but several happening at once. Inflammation seems to be a likely culprit, which stress probably contributes to.

I was under significant stress also for the year or so prior to diagnosis, and for the first time in my life I went on a sweets eating frenzy.... I deliberately lost all that weight in the summer when the tumor first was suspected (but that just added to the stress I think). I think diet has a lot to do with it, and diet tends to go haywire when we are under stress.

A.A.

DebbieB

The Vitamin D link is interesting.  Everyone I work with is on this mega doses of Vitamin D after reading some book that ties vitamin D deficiency to all kinds of stuff.  So I started taking it but not in mega doses.

I have been extremely healthy my entire life.  Eat well, didn't drink, smoke, didn't have high blood pressure, cholesterol always great.   I also had the child before 25 and breast fed.  I was considered very low risk for bc.  The only difference in my life was the increased stress that last year.  It actually only got really really stressful the last 6 months.  I can remember sitting in the floor of my mothers house after emptying it out to sell it and I was absolutely exhausted, crying and I can remember thinking it can't get any worse than that.  I will never ever say that ever again.  Cause you know what?  It can! The dx of aggressive HER+ bc increased the stress and anxiety to a level I couldn't even imagine and wouldn't wish on my worse enemy. 

I might have to break down and buy the book about vitamin D deficiency that my co-workers read and see if it offers any insights.

Debbie

debic

apium

Do you mind me asking, what was your number for overexpression.  I have tried to find what the numbers can be.  They just keep telling me if you are Her2 +++ you are Her2+++ it doesn't matter, but I think it does.

Debi

AlaskaAngel

For the discussion of vitamin

I was watching the Discovery channel and saw mention of the use of special sunglasses that are being developed, so looked it up on the net:

http://www.socsci.flinders.edu.au/psyc/staff/LeonLack/bas.php

I very strongly believe in the need for sufficient sunlight and natural vitamin D. I think there are parts to it that we have not yet discovered, that are not provided by the vitamin D we get in pills. The article about the sunglasses and the effort to make sure the right light and color of light goes through the eyes is one aspect of it. There have been studies pro and con about melatonin use for breast cancer. The sunlight that goes through the eye is transferred to the pineal gland where it stimulates the production of melatonin. That won't happen with a vitamin D pill. Ever since diagnosis I have made a concentrated effort to get 20 minutes of sunshine a day on a broad area of exposed skin, although that does not happen often enough where I live in Alaska. So believe it or not, I go out in my swimsuit even when it is 30 degrees outside, just to get what I can.

One of my wilder personal speculations about it is that I wonder if the radiation that comes from natural sunshine might even cause apoptosis of the circulating cancer cells as they pass through the tissue that is being penetrated by the sun's rays, thus decreasing the number of cancer cells wandering around in there....

AlaskaAngel

pepperpot

Before my breast cancer diagnosis,(aged 44)my uncle who was like a second Dad to me died and my Mum,my best friend in the whole world died,this all happened during the 18 months,leading up to my diagnosis,lobular breast cancer,her2+++so it does make me wonder if the stress had any baring on things,although everything I have read says stress is not a factor,it does make me question that fact though,take care everyone,love Pepperpot x

apium

debic,

She told me what it was when I was first diagnosed but I can't remember it.  All I can remember is her comment, the highest she's seen in her practice.  I'll have to ask her next time I see her.

AlaskaAngel,

I believe you are right, the sunlight offers something more than supplemental vit d.  As long as my eyes get sun they don't get as strained.  I discovered this when I started to get out and get more sun.  I take my glasses off and look at my surroundings and this really helps.  I never thought of the melatonin connection.  Thank you for the info.

lisa39

I wonder if exposure to carcinogens might make the HER 2 oncogene start mutating and over-producing?  I used to fill one of those hard clear plastic water bottles - (the shatter-proof kind) and sip it all day at my desk.  I was diagnosed with er/pr - HER 2 + bc last November.  I live in Canada and just last week, our National Health dept. declared Bisphenol A a toxic substance linked to cancer.  That substance, Bisphenol A, or BPA is a key ingredient in those plastic water bottles as well as baby bottles, liners of tin cans (food and soda) and many other plastics used to store food and drink.  I wonder if my exposure to BPA has something to do with my diagnosis....

I also wonder if it's linked to pesticides.  I've always been a big fruit and veggie eater... any thoughts from anyone?

Lisa  

bluejay1

Here is a link to read about this:



http://www.salon.com/src/pass/sitepass/spon/sitepass_website.html



I have huge suspicions about plastic and have stopped using those, along with 99% of to-go cups, which are dyed and processed and lined with chemicals. This plastic stuff is all made from petrol chemicals, largely imported from nations I don't want to support, these products pollute like crazy, and it is a waste of money on top of it. It is one of the biggest scam in consumer goods, along with plastic bottled water as "better" for you than tap water.



Besides the pollution aspect, I stopped plastics before my BC diagnosis because people had been warning me that these refillable jugs and plastic bottles harbor bacteria.



I use a variety of better containers: clean glass bottles, I bring ceramic mugs to Starbucks (they give you a discount for that) and have one in the car and in my backpack at all times. I use a steel Bodum commuter container as well. I wrap sandwiches in wax paper and never use cellophane either.



And I love it!

AlaskaAngel

The plastics issue has been confusing. One of the major research institutions was given credit for bringing it to the forefront, and then after that there were reports indicating that was not true and it was all falsified.... and more recently other reputable research on it is indicating that it IS a very real concern.  (Please don't take my word for it; I'm just commenting on the whole discussion about it.)

What is rather funny to me about it is that originally I simply felt it made much more sense ecologically to switch anyway to glass and ceramics (rather than being part of the throwaway society), so I did. But my husband was.... less than convinced, shall we say?  Anyway, he kept using plastics.

But with the latest discussion, which he understands on a technical level in various scientific discussions, has managed to convince him.  He's a hard sell. I like to think that is why he is still with me after 35+ years.

AlaskaAngel

ElaineM

Hi,

People who have lived in Hawaii for many years have been diagnosed with Her 2 positive breast cancer. Hawaii is a place with alot of natural Vitamin D from the sun. Stress can contribute to many health problems, including cancer. There is a book about the Her 2 nu story listed on the http://langetc.tripod.com/health11.html website, but I guess it might also be possible to do a search about the causes on the internet.

Anonymous

AlaskaAngel ...  in a swimsuit in 30* weather?  You must freeze your buns off!  What do you do? Sit outside with a propane outdoor heater going full blast? 

Anonymous

Elaine, I clicked on your website that you sited (and it's also listed as your homepage) ...  you sure have a lot of good information on there.