er-,pr- her2+ what treatment?

vivo

I was supposed to be er+,pr-, her2+ and now I maybe am er-. Due to reoccurance I am trying to see what the next step will be. Anyone er-,her2+ can help by posting her treatment plan and results..?

Thank you.

Brenda_R

I'm ER- PR- Her2+.  My treatment was lumpectomy, then 4x A/C chemo, then 35 rads, followed by 1 year of Herceptin.  I am currently NED.

fightinhrd123

I had four DD AC and then four DD taxol and am finishing up a year of herceptin. Hope that helps

Good luck!

Laura

vivo

Unfortunatelly only Hercepin doesn't work for me. We have to add something else in the formula...

maryannecb

I had 4 FAC, then 4Taxotere with H, then 25 rads, followed by completing a year of Herceptin.

I started Zometa 6 months ago as had read some promising studies in prevention of mets. I am receiving this every 3 months.

I am happily still NED/

Good luck!

orange1

Hi vivo -

Can you get lapatinib? it is a different treatment for Her2+ cancer. 

Also as maryannecb wrote, there is reason to believe zometa (zoledronic acid) may be effective.  In the austrian study where it  demonstrated effectiveness in reducing recurrence in ER+ women (as adjuvant treatment), it was very highly statistically significantly effective in PR- women even though there weren't that many PR- in the trial (only about 11% if I remember correctly).  Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but I see PR- as a kind of marker for Her2+ (At the time the study was enrolling, they didn't test women for Her2+, so the actual proportion of Her2+ isn't known). Probably most in the study were Her2-, because only about 20% were high grade, but it seems like the PR- responded particularly well.  I figure if it worked well as adjuvant tx, it may work well for recurrence as well.  Also, there is NO evidence that zometa won't be just as effective for ER- as it was in ER+.  In the austrian study, they tested it in ER+ only because they were testing it only in relatively low risk cancer - they gave zometa + hormonal therapy instead of chemo.

Good luck. 

vivo

Lapatinib is surely on the mind of my docs. I will have to wait for the new treatment plan...

orange1

Just edited as you were posting

janie44

I had a lumpectomy and double breast reduction.  After clear margins, I had AC x 4 every 3 wks, taxol x 12 weekly, rads x 26 and one year of herceptin.  I am NED after 5.5 years.

Hope they find your best options soons.  Hugs,  Janie 

cmharris59

I had neoadjuvant AC for 12 wks, then mx, then taxol and herceptin for 12 weeks, then 6 weeks of rads  and herceptin. I had to stop herceptin due to congestive heart failure. That was 18 mths ago. My docs have not suggested anything to replace the herceptin yet. I am due for recon surgery in Dec.

C

Brandi-33

Hi.. I am er-,pr- & her2+ (very stong overexpression) I am stage 1c.no nodes involved.  had a bi-lateral mastectomy on 9/18/09. (very strong family history).  I am on TCH (taxotere, carboplatin, and herceptin) given every 3 weeks. 6 cycles of the taxotere, carboplatin & herceptin and then will continue with the herceptin to finish off a year.  From what I know this is pretty standard treatment for er-/pr-/her2+.

mason204

When I had my first recurrence, I was given Herceptin and Navelbine.  It pretty much put me at NED for about 1.5 years.  No hair loss, minimal SEs.  I'm currently on Xeloda, Lapatinib and Denosumab for my bones. 

Cheryl.

GracePang

I am er-, pr- and her2+++. Was given 4 AC and 4 Taxol in 2004, Herceptin 2006-2007. Recurrence this September and just received my treatment of Taxotere +Herceptin. I hope this will work and kick the cancers butt.

DianaT

when I had my recurrence, the onc added tykerb and avastin to the herceptin.  Xeloda was taken for a while (6 mos) then stopped that when my scans all kept coming back NED.

vivo

Diana that's seems to work quite well! That's great!

So overwelmed with the insiring stories!!!!

Thank you very much

chainsawz

Herceptin needed some help after I finished TCH, so I am also taking tykerb along with it.  Tykerb is also a smaller molecule and is thought to maybe pass the blood brain barrier and help treat and prevent brain mets. 

I was taking xeloda this year but had to stop, but many others have great success with it :>   I am stable with the herceptin and tykerb combo and hope to put chemo off for a bit longer!  lisa

GrandmaMickey

I am ER-PR-HER2+ invasive ductal cancer - 5 cm tumor - went on A/C treatment - in one week the tumor shrank 1 cm - but I am having blood level issues which is unusual - mine is a new cancer not a recurrent but I hope that helps.  The treatment plan is AC every 2 weeks until 12-22 and then to Herceptin and Taxol for weekly treatments for 12 weeks - surgery then radiation -

janie44

Maryanne,

Did you ask to go on the Zometa as an added precaution after reading about it?  Were you in a clinical trial for Herceptin?  Janie

Somuch

I too am er/pr- and Her+++. Bilat. Mas. w/recon on 10/20/09. The IDC was found at the time of surgery and it was only .5 mm in two different places. My Onc. recommends Herceptin every three weeks for a year, no chemo or rads. Is there anyone else doing just the Herceptin? If so how are you doing with it? What side effects have you had? I am scheduled to start at the end of December or the start of January. 

maryannecb

hi Janie...

I have very little access to trials as I live in a small city. When I was diagnosed herceptin had become standard of care for HER 2 ladies...but not everyone was being tested...I had to ask for the test.

My oncologist is willing to think outside the box. I read about  Zometa first over on the stage three board. As I am also osteoporotic and this drug is designed to fight taht too i suggested we start it. He looked into it and agreed.:))

I am happy to be taking something to prevent Mets...till now i have felt like I am on the edge of a cliff...this makes me feel like there is a rail to hang on to.

So far so good for me...

shadow2356

I am ER/PR- and HER2+   I will be doing TCH every 3 weeks for 6 times. Herceptin every week at first and then every three weeks for a year. I also had BLM first. (my choice, 3rd gen with this, BRCA-)

There is a study posted about TCH vs ACT.

Gayleebug

My signature lines show most of what I've had as treatments.  I did dose-dense TCH for 6 rounds (approx 18 weeks)... same as shadow2356.  My chemo was neoadjuvant -- done up front.  It shrunk my tumor(s) to nothing after the 2nd round.  I'm done with my year of Herceptin, although I would have taken it forever if they'd let me.  Right now I am NED and looking forward to stage/phase 2 of my bi-lat DIEP reconstruction ... I see the plastic surgeon again in Jan to discuss & set it up.  I'd like to be in one of the trials like for neratinib (sp?) because I too (like maryannecb) feel like I am on the edge of a cliff and want to TAKE something to improve my chances of nonrecurrence, but my PS wants all my healing from surgeries done before I start any more drugs. Bless all you stage IV ladies -- keep fighting!!! (((((hugs))))) Gayle

chainsawz

Somuch - there is a great thread on this forum called:

HERCEPTIN - QUICK SIDE EFFECTS POLL

It is a discussion thread for herceptin users where we talk about side effects.  You can get some good info on what to expect.  I have been on herceptin for 16 months and the side effects are there, but minimal and definitely doable :>  

swimangel72

Somuch - you're fortunate to have an oncologist who will give you Herceptin alone (I think that's called "off-label" use). My onc gave me Herceptin for a year after 4 months of Navelbine, which is also not the typical protocol recommended by the manufacturer or Herceptin since it's not supported by studies. But my onc told me Herceptin has been proven to work well with any chemo, and I had 3 other oncs agree with him so I felt reassured. Did you get a second opinion on your treatment plan? I think many many women would take the Herceptin alone if it would be approved by their oncs and insurance companies........and hopefully soon they'll have some studies supporting it's use alone. I found the SEs from Herceptin hardly noticeable (compared to the Navelbine). Good luck with your txs!

Somuch

thanks swimangel172 - Yes I did get another opinion. I was told that since I'm hormone- and the breakthrough cancer was so small, chemo would not be sugested and Herceptin was the only medical treatment available that might help keep the BC from returning. A healthy lifestyle - you know, eat right, exercize,... was the other recomendation. 

kerrip1327

Is anyone in this particular discussion someone that was diagnosed in their 20s or early 30s??  I have about 2 million questions about being her2+, er/pr-... 

kerrip1327

I had herceptin alone for the first month as a result of a clinical trial.. then I did 18 weeks of chemo (carboplatin, herceptin and something else I can't remember off the top of my head).  I am Her2+. Er/PR -.  I want any and all information that anyone has.

Herceptin has been a great drug as far as my recovery.  I was part of a clinical study where they determined that herceptin had decreased the inflammation and slowed down the aggressive nature of my cancer.  I suggest everyone that is Her+ to try this.

lovemygarden

Bilateral mastectomy (no recon; one breast prophylactic). Onc originally suggested Taxotere/Carboplatin/Herceptin but I had done a lot of research prior to our discussion and for many reasons I wanted to instead get 12 weekly Taxol/Herceptin, of which I've now completed #7 so five more to go. I am going to tell my onc that I want to do the Herceptin-only phase (scheduled to start in mid-June pending the results of my early-June 2nd MUGA) weekly, instead of every 3 wks, for the rest of the year (because SE prevention is a huge quality-of-life factor for me and the 52-weekly schedule is a Genentech-approved protocol).