Give me hope...Her2+++

oranje_mama

mommy13, here's my story re Perjeta.  I was diagnosed in November and my BS sent me to MO pre-surgery (I was already a good candidate for lumpectomy) because of the approval of Perjeta and a new protocol in the breast center that all early stage Her2+ patients should consult with MO pre-surgery in case they are candidates for Perjeta.  In the US anyway, Perjeta is only approved for neoadjuvant (pre-surgery) use for early stage cancers.  At my consult, MO then recommended TCHP.  I went on to get more testing done in prep for chemo.  When I went back to MO for final pre-chemo visit, she had changed her recommendation from TCHP to TCH alone.  She had just (literally day before) returned from the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, and based on findings there, no longer recommended Perjeta for me.  She said the results from TCH alone (no Perjeta) were so good, she didn't think adding Perjeta would make a measurable difference in my case.  So, in the end, I went forward with neoadjuvant chemo (even though it was technically not necessary, could have had the lumpectomy immediately) with TCH alone.  My MO is very highly respected doctor here in the Washington DC area.

I tell you this story mainly so that you hear the very recent, fantastic clinical results for Her2+ cancer is showing with TCH (actually, my MO told me she believes that FEC results are very similar, and just a different protocol more common in Canada and Europe).  The key to it all is the "H." 

jfrone

mommy13, I have great news for you!  My mother is a 21 year HER2+++ breast cancer survivor with no recurrences.  She was diagnosed at at time long before Herceptin, and today she is healthy and strong.  In addition to my mom, 7 years ago at the age of 32 I was diagnosed with HER2+++ BC. My daughter was 20 months old at the time.  After a mastectomy, chemo, and herceptin, I am cancer-free and I have a 5 year old son that was my post-cancer miracle baby. 

There are HER2+++ survivors out there and you are one of them!   I hope this message encourages you and others out their with HER2+++.

mommy13

That is awesome news jfrone!! I am so glad to hear about you & your mom 

gives me lots of hope!! 

Rlsteadman

I am also HER2+ and ER-/PR-.  I am not going to have any treatment for it because my IDC was only .12 cm. I saw 2 different MO and they said it was to small to recommend treatment.  So no chemo or Herceptin. I am afraid I will have a reoccurrence with no treatment.  Can't find any studies where Herceptin was given on cancer less than .5 cm. Just have to hope for the best.

Dlia

Hi Mommy13, I too had Her2 bc along with one of my sisters. 3 of us had bc at the same time. Initially they told me that because the cancer was so small that I would just do the lumpectomy and radiation. They called a multidisciplinary meeting with the doctors and decided that they recommend Herceptin. It blew me away because I had conditioned myself into doing just the radiation. I finished Taxotere and Cytoxan December 2011 and Herceptin September 2012. Headed to the oncologist this morning praying everything is all good.

jcd10

Hello Ben50,

Thank you for your very helpful posts! My wife and I are researching the choice of (TCH) vs. (AC followed by TCH) for post-surgery chemo. Do you have any links to studies that address the relative effectiveness and safety of these two choices, in particular any that show that TCH is just as effective as AC? Thanks!

ben50 writes: >TCH has been proven to be less toxic to the body than AC (while producing the same results).