here is what i've decided to do

PiscesMoon

i had a left mx, idc, neg nodes, no vascular invasion, 3.5 cm long, her2 pos, and er/pr pos.  i did the tch for six round and am still doing herceptin every three weeks until march or so.  i've refused the AI's and the tomoxifan.  i asked the onc to order testing to see where my hormone levels are and results should be back soon.  my bmi has me as obese and i've seen studies where AI's don't work as well with obese women.  also have seen studies that had suggested the herceptin doesn't work well with obese women either.

i turned all of this information over to my oncologist who nodded his head at me, said i'd done my homework, and that i would get 'little benfit' from the hormone therapy they were offering, but they 'have' to offer the treatment anyways.  wonder if they're worried about being suid?

anyway i've decided the best way for me to go is to finish the herceptin and then work on losing this weight i have.  fat cells store estrogen.  then again they don't know that estrogen causes cancer.  they don't know the trigger that shoots the starting gun for the cancer to start racing.

also, if the upcoming muga scan shows that my efr is very low this time i'll opt out of the rest of the treatments.  i have a muga scheduled for tuesday and an ekg tomorrow.  i've been having weird heart rythyms and palpatations.

enough is enough for me.

i wonder if anyone else is like me?

misfit

PiscesMoon - After much discussion with my onc I declined as well. Weight wasn't a huge concern for me but my BMI did put me in the overweight category. I've managed to lose 20 lbs so far and I hope 10 lbs more in the next few months. I'm not on a strict diet, just no sugar and limited fruit and grains, and I walk about 5 miles every day. Thankfully I haven't experienced any fatigue from the Herceptin, but I do have a lot of joint pain that seems to be improved a bit with exercise.

I've had preventricular contractions (benign, apparently) for a long time. I take 1:1 cal/mag supplements and they go away, if I stop they come back. I was really worried about how chemo and Herceptin would affect my heart. My starting EF was 56% (which I thought was a bit low but my onc says normal) and has stayed the same so far. I just had H number 7. I am going to see a cardiologist in the new year anyway though.

Good luck with your heart tests, hopefully everything will be okay and you can stay on Herceptin.

lago

PiscesMoon my gut tells me you will benefit more from losing weight then taking any drug. Not only will this reduce your recurrence risk but also reduce risk or help for many other health issues. I have seen people lose weight and reverse their diabetes and no longer have high blood pressure!

It will take a long time but don't get discouraged. This is an excellent decision you have made.

BTW from what I have read estrogen does not cause cancer, it fuels it. So if there are active cancer cells feeding them cancer will allow them to "grow and prosper."