Diagnosed with question about Her-2 status?!?!

bratmobile

Hi all,

I've been diagnosed with IDC, DCIS stage 1a (I'm 2 mm away from 2 cm though) based on biopsy results, 2 ultrasounds and mammogram. Just had an MRI done so maybe more info will come to light through that. I was reading my pathology report and my BS said they were waiting for HER-2 status to come in. I am ER+ and PR+. I believe she said that if I am Her-2+ then I will have chemo and if HER-2- then I won't. This one thing sounds like a big predictor of treatment options to me and currently is unknown, and therefore, bugging me like crazy.

It says in my pathology report:

HER-2/neu (Dual ISH and IHC) Addendum to follow

Can anyone help me interpret? Does "neu" mean neutral? Like somewhere in the middle? I've read there is grey area for HER-2 status.

I've just started reading about HER-2 and am not sure if its something I should be hoping to be positive or negative. It looks like maybe I should be hoping to be negative? Or maybe its just a different type of cancer with different treatment options? Hopefully, I'm not offending anyone based on their own HER-2 status. I don't know how to read this and just really just want to understand the results better when they come in.

Thanks for any help. I'm really stunned by all the knowledge here.

ElaineTherese

Hmm, no "neu" does not mean neutral. It just refers to the oncogene involved (proto-oncogene Neu). From BCO.org, "IHC, or ImmunoHistoChemistry, is a special staining process performed on fresh or frozen breast cancer tissue removed during biopsy. IHC is used to show whether or not the cancer cells have HER2 receptors and/or hormone receptors on their surface." Meanwhile, the Dual ISH test is another test used to figure out if breast cancer cells are HER2-positive. Apparently, these two tests must have been equivocal about the presence of HER2 receptors, so they may have sent a sample out to be tested again, via the FISH test. My HER2+ status was discovered by the FISH test.

Eh, you probably don't want to be HER2+. Treatments for HER2+ cancer have gotten better, and BC patients with this kind of cancer have outcomes similar to other BC patients. But, because HER2+ is typically aggressive and is treated with targeted therapies, the treatment is more extensive. I had five months of chemo, six weeks of radiation (+ boosts), and a year of targeted therapy (Herceptin). It's a marathon not a sprint.

bratmobile

Thank you. That was very helpful.