Living Proof - The Story of Herceptin

Alicethecat

Hi everyone

I can thoroughly recommend Living Proof, a DVD that tells the story of how Dr Dennis Slamon and his team fought to develop Herceptin, an antibody therapy targeted at HER2+.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Living+Proof&x=0&y=0 

Best wishes

Alice the Cat

Caya

Great movie, and the dreamy Harry Connick Jr. plays Dr. Slamon!  Bernadette Peters is in it as well.

Alicethecat

Hello Caya

Wonderful to see a lady who was diagnosed in 2006 responding, thank you!

I think Trudie Styler for the Brits was rather good as well. Actually, everone involved is so good.

Great film. Thanks to Rene Zellwegger for being executive producer. I guess that probably helped the film get made.

Best wishes

Alice the Cat

ElaineM

Copies of the Living Proof  movie or the book that inspired it "The Making of Herceptin" should be in every oncologist's office for her2 positive patients to borrow or view in the office. I loved the movie !!

ElaineM

diagnosed in 1999.

Denise-G

Just watched the movie "Living Proof" last night.  I cried the entire way through it.

I felt such gratitude that I am alive today as a result of the courage, persistence,

and determination of all of those people!!  I will NEVER complain about having

to receive Herceptin again. 

suemed8749

FYI: Dr. Slamon is now the head of the Breast Cancer Dream Team for StandUp2Cancer. Amazing man!

Hindsfeet

I finally watched the Living Proof last night. It is an inspiring film. It did raise a few questions in why it didn't work for some of the women. I also wished they would had taken us through the process of how the doctor first discovered it and what went into it all. The film mostly portrayed the doctors struggle to get it approved rather than understanding how the miracle drug was discovered and made.

It would had been more balanced if the movie addressed the side effects. They told the women, who took it that there are no side effects. That could be a time bomb for those watching the film and based on that take it and end up with heart failure. My oncologist and the oncology nurses made light of the side effects. My oncologist said those who take herceptin with chemo are the one who have the heart problems and me taking herceptin alone wouldn't have side effects.

I am grateful for the man who just about sacrifice his life to give us this wonderful treatment. What is sad is there are probably so many similiar treatments that never make it to market due to the red tape and $$$. Sad.

pupmom

Eve, seriously, why would Herceptin be able to make it to market and others not because of "the red tape and $$$." What was different about Herceptin? I do not believe that greedy pharmaceutical companies and/or comspiracy inspired oncologists are keeping life-saving treatments from cancer victims. Do you really think that?

digger

Unfortunately, yes.  This conspiracy theory is really getting tiresome, the more I see it.  Now that's really sad.

Kaara

yorkiemom:  If you watched the movie you would know why....it was made pretty clear.  The pharmaceutical's only want to bet on a sure thing.  Had it not been for one woman's hard work and dedication, this drug might never have seen the light of day.  Sad but true.  Eve...you are right...the movie was inspiring.

suemed8749

The movie is based on the book Her2: The Making of Herceptin, a Revolutionary Treatment for Breast Cancer by Robert Bazell. The book answers many of the questions that I'm sure the Lifetime channel didn't feel were pertinent to a movie they made to inspire and entertain.

Kaara

digger:  There is no conspiracy...it's just downright greed that keeps these potentially safe and effective alternative treatments under wraps.  If there is no profit, there is no interest...period.

Mardibra

Im so over hearing about this conspiracy theory stuff.  There is no conspiracy.  Rather, pharmaceutical companies are, in fact, businesses and not charities or not for profit organizations.  Businesses do not throw money at anything without some reasonable belief that they will receive a benefit. What you dont ever hear about are the drugs they do throw money at, lots of money, and end up having to scrap because they didnt work out. 

Every business needs to turn a profit or it will go out of business.  Do they make more than they should?  I dont know.  This is reminding me of the other thread claiming oncologists make too much money.  I couldnt disagree more. 

Mardibra

Another thought....the movie was a drama.  I saw it on Lifetime!  A documentary on the same topic would be fascinating.  As someone mentioned earlier, we would get a more balanced and thorough look at the process.

pupmom

I would also like to remind people that sometimes the caution exhibited by the FDA is beneficial to public health. Thalidomide was not approved in this country during the late 50s to early 60s because its safety had not been established. It was widely available in Europe, however. Many mothers who took the drug for nausea, had grossly deformed babies as a result. 

Kaara

Well, all I can say is thank God the trials were completed and Herceptin was able to be manufactured for use on women with HER2 bc.  So many lives have been extended as a result.  God bless the research scientists and doctors who give tireless hours to development of these treatments...then they have to fight with the FDA to get approval.  The movie was an eye opener for me.

digger

Kaara, you state:

it's just downright greed that keeps these potentially safe and effective alternative treatments under wraps.  If there is no profit, there is no interest...period.

So, just to clarify and elaborate, the "cure" is out there in the alternative world, but it's unfortunately suppressed by Big Pharma.  Is that what you're saying?  Sure sounds like a conspiracy theory to me.   What I do find curious is that one of our very own bco.org members claimed to have a cure, the secret, but as it turns out, refused to let anyone else in on the key to her success.  And she plans on going on national tv with her "cure."  Who's making money on that one?

Mardibra

high 5 digger!

ElaineM

Living Proof was based upon the book, "The Making of Herceptin".

suzieq60

Digger - she probably needs the money to pay for the exhorbitant cost of the alt treatment.

We are so lucky that the government pays for our herceptin here in Australia.

Chickadee

These so called safe alternative cures don't make it through the rigorous trials for many valid reasons. One being the developers behind these "cures" aren't willing to submit to the entire process. Especially if they reach the trial period where it becomes obvious their cure doesn't produce the results that would propel it to the next level. They have much more to gain financially in book sales, TV appearances, and opening clinics and attracting desperate clients with cash. Now we should talk greed.



They don't have the cojones, tenacity or determination of a Dr Slamon.

lago

ElaineM My onc never mentioned the book but her name shows up on 11 pages in the book. She's the one that broke the double blind to save her patient and presented with Dr Salomon (chosen by Genentech) at ASCO. I read that after I finished chemo (but was still doing herceptin). She really is a great onc.

She is still doing research on HER2+ treatments for metastatic patients.

I still haven't watched the movie. The book opened my eyes to the politics. I always knew money was an issue but the politics and snobbery of these teaching centers and their MDs is really upsetting.  

--------------------------------------

I also am grateful to Everlyn Lauder, a breast cancer survivor. She  passed this past November of ovarian cancer.

Hindsfeet

I didn't bring up or say anything about a conspiracy theory. If you saw the movie, or like Largo, who  read the book, you would know it wasn't a cake walk for the doctor, who discovered herceptin, and if it weren't for that one woman who raised the money needed herceptin might not be available for us. Not only that it was $$$ and the right contacts that also made this treatment available to us her2+++ girls.

The baking soda was ridiculed here at bco alternative board is now being studied in trials in Canada and Arizona University. Some of the alternative theories that have been considered quackery maybe one of the next cancer treatments. We don't know. There's a lot out there that might be great treatments that don't have the $$$ or connections to make the studies needed to put it to the next level.

I'm not trying to start a battle here between alternative and herceptin. I'm just saying it is a miracle Herceptin got to trial 1 to trial 3. It was a uphill battle for the doctor to get it approved..and at times it was rejected. It baffles me what one must go through to get something approved.

Largo, I' got to read the book. I suppose you can buy it on Amazon.

pupmom

And I suppose Pennicillin, the Polio Vaccine, Tamoxifen, all the Als etc., etc. etc. were miraculously developed, approved and prescribed. Nope, they were the result of intensive research and rigorous scientific testing. When deemed to be safe and effective, like Herceptin, they were released to the general public. Someday a cure will come about in exactly the same way.

vballmom

The movie also made me want to switch all of my make-up over to Revlon!

stephib

vballmom-

I totally agree!  The movie made me thankful for the hard work that led to Herceptin, Lilly Tartikoff and all of her fundraising and REVLON!  All of my makeup will now come from them

Soccermom4force

Diagnosed stage 2B December 2004..AC/T dose dense + 52 weeks of Herceptin... 7 years 5 months later STILL HERE...'Nuff said!

PS watched the movie when it premiered in '06 (?) loved it and am forever great full to the Docs and patients who persevered!!!

lago

evebarry I bought the book used on Amazon over a year ago. Really enjoyed it. Now if I could only get through the Emperor of all Maladies… another eye opener.

Denise-G

Soccermom4force:    Thanks for the encouragement of 7 years and 5 months!!  GREAT news!  I am completing Taxol this coming Tuesday (yippee) and will continue on Herceptin.   

And Revlon is much more near and dear to my heart now!!