MUGA Scans

I got only a pretreatment MUGA (received no MUGA on treatment or post treatment). I also had TCH (6 cycles) but was 46 at diagnosis.  I have never heard of someone not receiving a MUGA at some point.  In the only large clinical study where TCH was tested, 1056 patients received TCH.  Out of these there were 0 cases of cardiac related death, 4 cases of grade 3/4 heart failure and 89 cases (8.6%) of patients with a >10% relative LVEF decline (left ventricular ejection fraction - a measure of your heart's ability to pump blood).  From what I've read, heart damage due to Herceptin alone tends to reverse itself unlike heart damage from Adriamycin (the A in AC TH). 

Maybe some of the women who were treated more recently can pipe in - maybe the standard of care has changed.

Good luck with the rest of your treatments.

I am on Herceptin for life and it has kept my liver mets in remission for over 5 years.

I get echocardiograms every 5-6 months, and my onc fees that they are very necessary.

Denise

Alaina,

I would demand an muga scan.  Herceptin can damage the heart although it doesn't appear to be as toxic as Adriamycin.  I went thru AC chemo 8 years ago at age 45.  My onc didn't do any scans and when I asked him about them, he said they were expensive.  I told him I had fantastic insurance and had more than met my deductible and out of pocket.  But he said he would rather go by symptoms I might develop.  Needless to say 6 years later at age 51 I developed congestive heart failure and cardiomyopathy from the Adriamycin.  I have permanent heart damage in my left ventricle that my cardiologist said was from Adriamycin.  I wish I had demanded a muga scan and then if he still said no, I would have gotten another onc. 

When I was dx'd with bc, I researched and tried to find out all I could about my dx.  I knew adriamycin could cause heart damage.  But in all the research I did and questions I asked, it never dawned on me that I should have had mugas and I get so mad at myself for missing that.  But then I get really pissed at my onc, because I'm NOT a doctor.  I shouldn't know all this.  He should.   I think sometimes we trust doctors too much.  I know we need to take some responsiblity for our own healthcare.  But are we supposed to know it all?

 Debbie

I was diagnosed in Nov 2007 and went through 6 treatments of TCH.  I had a pre-treatment Muga and then one every 3 months until I was finished with the chemo and Herceptin.  I would demand this scan.  I mean you are already going through cancer why risk heart disease... I was 46 at diagnosis.

Good for you Alaina!  I'm glad you pushed the issue.  I just finished my last Herceptin this week and had a MUGA before my first infusion, then every 3 months after.  My onc. says otherwise perfectly healthy people (I'm a runner) can be affected by the cardiotoxicity at any time during the treatment with Herceptin.  If they catch your MUGA declining significantly, they can give you a break until it returns to normal, then resume the treatments.  Any damage is reversible, but not if it`s so severe it`s fatal.  So I was told the MUGAs were critical and that I should not get my heart rate higher than around 130 during the time I was on Herceptin.  All went well for me, my MUGAs started at 78%, then went to 77%, then 75%, then 74%, then to 73%, then I was done.  I`m supposed to give it about 3 weeks then start aerobic exercise gradually.

Gina

When I started my Herceptin treatments after my AC my heart scan was in the high 80s. It dropped to 44%. Now one year later it has come up to 55%. I was very active prior to my dx and tx. I was 48.  I have lots of health issues now from the chemo.  I wish you luck with yours. They have left my port just in case they decide to finish my Herceptin. We discontinued it after 3 mths due to heart trouble.  It has been a year since we stopped tx.

Good Luck!

C

I had MUGAs during Herceptin, and had to discontinue the Herceptin due to low LVEF thanks to the tests.  Then I went to a cardiologist and he said he prefers echocardiograms.... MUCH easier on me too, so I was happy with that.  Anyway, it took 2 years for my heart to get back to normal after just Herceptin (I was on TCH).... and if we had continued the Herceptin without knowing that it was causing problems, who knows what would have happened.  I'm glad you're getting your tests now.

My pre TCH muga scan was 72%, after 3 months it was in the 50's, 3 months later up to 60%.  I finished chemo in April but was to finish Herceptin til the end of the year.  I went for my MUGA scan yesterday & my results today show I'm at 46% and they cancelled all remaining Herceptin treatments & scheduled an echocardiogram for tomorrow.  Heart damage was my fear from the beginning even though my scans were normal so now I'm really scared.  My onc says normal is 50%.  I hope I don't have to go back on Herceptin.  I've been on it for 8 months & in other countries the protocol is 16 weeks.  I keep thinking if we would have stopped 3 months ago, my heart would still be normal.  Wish me luck. Gail

Hi there - I got a MUGA because I had ACT 9 years ago - now I am starting CTH so they want to baseline me and give me a couple of checks during my treatment.  ( I actually just had the MUGA today - did anyone else's mouth feel funny afterwards?)

Got the results from my echo & my heart is healthy.  The echo shows 60-65% - I don't understand the difference in the MUGA.  My onc said she would have no problem continuing my Herceptin today but protocol shows if there is a certain percentage drop that it should be held 2 times. I asked her about the protocol in Europe & she said there is no documentation that she knows of that says under one year of treatment is acceptable.  I didn't argue since I google most of my info online.  But I'm happy my heart is healthy.