Weekly Herceptin-alone instead of every 3 wks (after chemo/H)

I also worried about switching to the 3 week Herceptin regimen after Taxol.  I'm glad I did it though.  I had no side effects, cardiac or other, no premeds and was in and out of there in an hour.  I got my life back. You might want to try it. 

When I started the herceptin only part of my treatment in February 2007, I was on the weekly dose until July 2007.  In July, I switched to the one every three week regime.  Although the dosage for the three week regime was higher  than the weekly treatment, I was surprised to find that some of the side effects were less and my hair started to grow faster.

When I mentioned this to my chemo nurse, she wasn't surprised and told me that the one every three week dosage was less herceptin than the  sum of the three weekly dosages (this would be true for anyone on the weekly vs the every three week regime).  She pulled out my dosing records and proved it to me.

It was than that I understood why my oncologist was insistent that I take herceptin weekly for at least three months before switching to the one every three week regime.  She treated my BC aggressively because she felt that it was better to hit it as hard as possible at Stage 1 to try and prevent any recurrence.  She obviously wanted me to have the advantage of a higher dose from the weekly infusion.

weekly here..after completing DD AC/T in June 2005, I elected to have 52 weeks in the hopes of minimizing risk to my heart. (I also have significant family history of CAD). I had minimal SEs and ejection fraction stayed in the 60's.

Warmly,Marcia

Weety,

I don't understand either.

My dosages were the reverse of yours, 100 mg per week (total of 300 mg over three weeks) vs the 270 mg every three weeks).  My chemo nurse said my dosage schedule is typical of weekly vs three week dosing (It has to do with drug half life and maintaining a therapeutic blood level).

I'm getting herceptin every 3 weeks,absolutly no side effects,MUGAS have been fine.

Only 2 more Herceptins left for me.

I have had it every 3 weeks over 90 mins, no premed, no side effects, much more convienient for me than weekly.

I'm wondering about that fatigue that your onc mentioned.  I had felt like I was slowly getting back to normal after chemo, but now that I switched to the 3-weekly dose, I'm back to being exhausted all the time.  I felt best during my 6 week herceptin break during radiation.  Maybe some of us are just more sensitive to the difference in amounts than others. 

I still wonder why we are all getting different amounts though.  I would have thought there would have been a standard "so many mg per pound" that every facility went by.  Does anyone know about that?

Hello Ladies, on weekley herceptin since sept, when I started taxol.  Taxol was fine until week 8 of 12....nurapathy bad, nails sooo brittle, joint pain....then the kicker loosing your lashes and brows AFTER you are done with it. My onc insists on weekly(a constant level stays in your body)...I go to the U of Minn, she hit me with everything for my stage 2b....rads after taxol. My liver counts got high after rads...so I couldn't take herceptin for 4 weeks....I was concerned about that...but she told me in Great Britian, studies have shown that taking only 15 weeks of Hercepitn reoccurance was not really differnt the taking 52.  Now I want my 52...but made me not feel so bad about missing the 4 weeks. I have noticed SE....joint pain...like arthritis....feet, ankles, knees, hands.  I thought is was still taxol, but a BC sister finished taxol same time as me and doesn't take hercptn and she is feeling fine) I missed 2 weeks and it got better. my onc said 6-8% have that SE.  Great, i'm trying to get back to normal and I'm the 6-8%!!!  I am training for a 1/2 marathon in June...it's been hard.  One thing I noticed last week was my WB count was kinda low...4.2 and in Feb it was 2.8....I got sick and didn't know if I should panic, like they told us while on chemo...and my onc said that herceptin will lower your WB count and you should still be cautious!!!  I have noticed more fatigue too...sleeping  later....weird!!! Only 26 more weeks to go!!!!

Sorry what is EF? I saw some said what it stands for...but I've never heard of it.  I get weekley blood panels to monitor my liver levels, also heart echo every 3 months.

Thanks, Polly

Weety911: Why did you have a break from herceptin while doing rads? I'm not, in fact I have rads today followed by my 3 weekly herceptin treatment. I've got 2 treatments while undergoing rads and they have scheduled my rads so I can go straight upstairs for the infusion.

Sue

Melinda41 - At my last chemotherapy today I received the first of an every three week regimen of Herceptin (I had previously been receiving it weekly for the last 11 weeks). My infusion nurse told me exactly the same thing as what you stated.