Herceptin question

maa764

Hello, I have finished my chemo in Oct, feeling great.  I received 6 treatments of TCH.  I am on treatment #7 of herceptin (out of the 12 stand alone treatments).  Yesterday I had my echo and this morning the dr called to tell me my numbers went down - and he wants me to see a cardiologist.  Treatment on Hold until I see the Cardiologist.  I am freaking out a little - have come so far and now feel like I am shot back down.  I feel fine - recovering from my bmx and exchange surgery only 3 weeks ago. I am wondering if that has to do with this.  I told the ON that I had a little bit of shortness of breath after climbing 3 flights of stairs (I was going up quickly and just felt that was what was going on).  Now I am worried I won't be able to finish my treatment and have caused damage to my heart.  Anyone experience this - I don't know what my numbers were and or are at this point but I will find out definatly on Tuesday. 

Thank you,

Michelle

SpecialK

This did not happen to me but there are a number of ladies on both the TCH thread and this one linked below.  Generally speaking, a reduction of ejection fraction (simplistically - the heart's pumping action) below 50, or more than a 10% reduction of the total number, is what your doc is looking for as far as a negative effect of Herceptin.  For some, this is a temporary issue with Herceptin - they take a holiday and can come back to infusions when their EF comes back up.  For others, it is something that causes an end to their Herceptin infusions.  I would imagine your onc wants a cardiac consult to determine if there is any other underlying cardiac issue that may complicate things.  You may want to get copies of all your echo/MUGA scans so you can see what has happened to the numbers.  I know some of these ladies have been put on meds to improve things.  Hope you find some good info.

 http://community.breastcancer.org/topic_post?forum_id=69&id=776430&page=1

maa764

thank you.  After reading thru those posts I do feel a bit better.  I am still freaking out since I just want to be able to finish my treatment and move on with life.  

I started chemo in June 2012 - had my 6 treatments of TCH with several delays because of blood counts - managed to get thru without getting illnesses from people around me.  Had my bmx in dec. and exchange surgery Feb 25 - recovering from that well - feeling great so was surprised to hear that my numbers dropped.  I will know more on Tuesday when I see the new dr. cardiologist. 

SpecialK

Glad to help - hope everything goes well for you!

TheLadyGrey

Make sure you get a second echo AND a second opinion on your echo if it looks like you may not be able to finish Herceptin.  

My oncology cardiologist told me that.  He said he sees FAR fewer material drops in LVF than statistics suggest.  He is doing a study on the cardiac implications of chemo and Herceptin at Southwestern Medical School and reads all the echos from Baylor and Presbytarian in Dallas.   

Evidently, reading echos is more subjective than one would hope.  

My LVF actually went up (???).  As did my blood pressure (:( ).  I have fallen through the cracks with BP.  The oncology cardiologist released me, my oncologist doesn't do BP, my OB/GYN now "works" in an unspoken hierarchy way for my oncologist and doesn't do BP, so I suppose I'm going to have to go my internist seeing as how the current medication causes me to faint when I stand up at a normal rate.  

Hmmmmm--I wonder why medical care in the US is so expensive????

I'm one who will go with the medical flow even when I shouldn't (hence why I keep fainting) but Herceptin is worth going to the mat for.   I TOTALLY didn't get it when I found out I was HER2+++++ -- so what?  I had no context or understanding of what I was dealing with.  I wanted to blow the whole thing off (starting with mastectomy) as it all seemed like overkill. 

A year plus later, I'm very glad I stayed the course.  HER2++++ is not to be trifled with.  

maevictor

If you are still able to do routine tasks without being short of breath and are not noticing swelling in your feet/ankles I wouldn't worry too much.  Mine went down  (60 to 54) but I was able to work out for 30 minutes.  I had more issues with the newly installed water balloons...also knows as expanders, than I did with breathing. They may have you see the cardiologist as a precautionary measure. 

maa764

I saw the onc today and he said that the cardiologist stated my heart if fantastic - his words LOL.  Anyway my # is between 50 - 60 so he said that is normal and we will do a followup in 11 weeks for another echo but the cardiologist will do it vs the hospital where I have been going.  So I now will get my herceptin tomorrow and will be back on track again.  So end date in July is still in sight. 

Thank you all for your help and support.  I also got the clear from the PS to resume exercising - I have gained about 7 lbs since stopping PT after the BMX since I have not been able to do much of anything but walk. No weights or pec work for another 2 weeks but at least I can go to the gym and ride the bike/eliptical treadmill etc.