periods and HER 2 - mixed up

lisa39

Hey girls,

I had a very confusing talk with my radiation onc. yesterday.  Hoping you might be able to help me de-code. I'm 39 and my period stopped in April two months into chemo.  Chemo ended on July 10th and I'm halfway thru rads now and will continue Herceptin till April '09.  I have always been able to tell when I'm ovulating and I think I am right now.  My hotflashes have also just stopped abruptly in the past day or two.  Anyway, I was talking with the onc. yesterday and asked him if it was possible that my period would come back this quickly.  He said yes, but went on to say that it might not "necessarily be a good thing, because let's face it, you were very young to get BC" ( I was 38 at dx).  He said it might not be good for me to have higher levels of estrogen in my blood again and then went on about how sometimes they need to keep you in menopause with either hormone suppression injections or with a prophylactic oopherectomy!!!!!   I told him I hadn't thought that would apply to me because my tumor was ER/PR negative and HER 2 +.  He told me that even so, estrogen could be a factor in recurrence and that we'd have to keep an eye on things.  I was thinking the return of my period was a good thing, because it meant my body is getting back to normal and no more hot flashes, etc.  Meanwhile, he's telling me I might have to get my ovaries removed or get special injections every month?  What gives?  I'm very confused. Any info would be appreciated.

Lisa 

anitach

Lisa,

My periods never did stop through 8 rounds of Abraxane, Cytoxin, and Herceptin. My onc. never said that that was a bad thing. I am like you and also felt like keeping my period was actually a good thing in that it seemed that my body remained "normal" despite all the poison being injected. I have had a Pap since I finished my chemo and remain on Herceptin only. When I had my Pap I was seeing a new Dr. who asked me if I had had my ovaries removed as part of my treatment. I told him I had not and that they never mentioned it since I was ER-. His opinion was that he didn't see any reason for me to have my ovaries removed as I was ER- either. He said too many oncs. are too quick to remove the ovaries unnecessarily. Of course I am different from you in that I am considered Stage IV because of a mediastinal node that lit up. I am NED now though and have been since Aug. '07. Of course I am always second guessing my decisions about chemo, radiation, and surgeries. It seems to be a crap shoot no matter what you do anyway. Let me know how it turns out for you and what you decide to do. 

Sassa

My oncologist never worried that I was perimenopausal when I was diagnosed because I was ER/PR -.  She only laughed and commented I must have some strong ovaries when my periods came back after chemo with AC (I was 57 at the time, give me a break!!!).

I would certainly get a second opinion before having your ovaries removed.

lisettemac

With all due respect, I think you should discuss this with your medical onc, not your radiation onc.  My onc always told me it was good that I was in chemopause and only needed to consider Lupron/ooph because I was ER+.  I would think that the return of your period (and increased estrogen) wouldn't matter if you are ER-.

lisa39

Thanks for the input.  I do plan to discuss it with my oncologist, Lisette.  There is no way I would have my ovaries removed without a lot of due diligence and solid research first.  The radiation oncologist is a bit of a loudmouth, you know, the overbearing doctor type who likes the sound of his own voice.  His 'opinion' was the first I'd ever heard re: keeping ER/PR - women in menopause. That's why I wanted to post on the HER 2 + board and see what you all had been told about your periods coming back.  Keep the stories coming, ladies.

Thanks,

Lisa