Calling all TNs

TFJ- another cooking show junkie here too. I love them.  I also bake and ice wedding cakes,   I wish I knew how to add a photo so I could show you one.

MBJ - I do hope you feel better soon. This seems to be one train that just won't slow down. Thinking of you and sending hugs.

I don't think the metformin would help me because as I understand it, it is only for early stage cancers so I don't think it would apply to me though I may be wrong.

Susan - I do hope you are feeling better today and that the sun is shing for you. Thinking of you heaps. 

Annie     

CS-I may be wrong but I believe you are still considered early stage

Annie- I am still working on flowers, not my best area. If you can figure it out, I would love to see one of your cakes! My most difficult so far was a 4' long electric guitar cake.

Cocker spaniel- there is a stage 4 trial in canada, I have heard of it benefiting all levels of BC. I guess we will all see if it helps me. It changes the way the liver excretes glucose and also affects the food supply to cancer stem cells. I'll actually be starting it Tuesday not tomorrow after I get my lab tests done for chemo.



Yum, I love cake! All of your cakes sound so good.

Babs37, Mccrimmon, Laurajane - thanks for your posts but would I still be deemed as "early stage cancer"  if I am stage 3,  111a and it has already gone to the node?.  Not sure at all what the staging means other than it not so good.  

Tifj - I will try and get my daughter to put one on.  She is a wiz at the computer as she does training for it at her place of work.

Susan and MBJ - I do hope you are both having a good day and the sun is shining for you. Sending lots and lots of huggs.

Annie  

Babs37 - which trial are you participating in? With the exception of BRCA1, our diagnoses are similar.

lisa- I'm on the Metformin clinical trial. I started this last april after chemo and right mastectomy.

I have a question about staging. Since I did neo-adjuvant chemo, which tumor size should be used to determine staging - the pre chemo estimate (4 to 4.5 cm) or what they actually found at surgery (1.1 cm)?  All of the online calculators for staging don't specify which size should be used for women who did neo-adjuvant chemo. My nodes were negative. Thanks.

I got a PM requesting that I re-post the information on the Metformin clinical trials.  I'm always willing to help my BC sisters, so here goes:

This link will give you a list of ALL the metformin and breast cancer clinical trials that are registered through the NIH.  There may be others conducted at local cancer centers, but these are the "biggies."

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=metformin+and+breast+cancer

The one most of you will be interested in is titled "A Phase III Randomized Trial of Metformin vs Placebo in Early Stage Breast Cancer"

If you look in the details, you may qualify for the trial if your breast cancer meets the following criteria:

T1-3, N0-3, M0 disease, with one of the following TN combinations:

• T1c, N0, AND ≥ 1 of the following tumor characteristics: histologic grade 3, lymphovascular invasion, negative estrogen and progesterone receptors, HER2-positive, Oncotype Dx recurrence score ≥ 25 (of if Oncotype Dx recurrence score is not available, Ki67 > 14%)
• T2-3, N0
• T1-3, N1-3

There are other criteria, but the biggest exclusions are no recurrence, no Stage IV, no known kidney or liver issues, no diabetes, no drinking more than 3 drinks a day

For Stage IV ladies, you will be most interested in this one:

A Trial of Standard Chemotherapy With Metformin (vs Placebo) in Women With Metastatic Breast Cancer

The purpose of this one is to combine metformin with standard chemo protocols to determine if metformin increases the effectiveness of the chemo and to determine if it changes progression-free survival.

There are other trials, either ongoing or concluded, that have tested whether metformin taken prior to surgery can have an effect on the existing tumor, either by reducing the Ki67 or causes apoptosis (not the same as necrosis)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apoptosis

In my case, going back to my original diagnosis, I started taking 1500 mg of metformin on the day my lump was found.  My mammogram and MRI showed a lump around 3 cm.  When I had my lumpectomy, the actual lump was around 3.4 cm but pathology showed the cancerous portion to be just 1.8 cm.  No one could explain the cause of the death of the rest of the tissue.  Might have been caused by the metformin???

Another interesting study in this group is

Phase II Short-term Adjuvant Therapy and Biomarker Studies With Targeted Agents in Women With Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer

This study, funded by Komen and to be conducted at MD Anderson, will be used to determine if taking metformin can "prevent" cancer in the unaffected breast of us TN gals.  If this study had been in the works last year, I might have held off having a bilateral mastecomy and just done the Uni. 

There is so much research being conducted with metformin, it will be grossly disappointing if these studies don't pan out. 

For those of you who have an MO who is not enthused about prescribing metformin, I have a couple of suggestions:

• your PCP is more likely to be familiar with metformin because it's the first line of defense for anyone diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes;
• it's dirt cheap - $4 a month / $10 for 3 months at Walmart and other pharmacies - no insurance required for that price;
• if you are overweight, it will be easier to get your PCP to prescribe it;
• if your fasting blood sugar is approaching or over 100, it will be easier to get your PCP to prescribe it;
• if you suffer from PCOS, your PCP or GYN will usually be willing to prescribe it;
• search your area for clinical trials - they are taking place in hundreds of locations across the country;
• seek a second opinion from another MO in a different practice than the one your current MO is in;
• if you are in the Kansas City area (TifJ - this is for you), try Dr. Shalina Gupta-Burt, she was very knowledgeable about the metformin trials - she told me last year that I was on the right drug.

http://hcamidwest.com/healthcare-services/cancer-care/pdf/cancer-Burt.pdf

http://www.healthgrades.com/physician/dr-shalina-gupta-burt-x3p93/

Good luck, ladies! 

Suze:  I am glad you checked in, and good to hear that you are happy with the hospice care:)

MBJ:  It's so good to hear from you (((hugs))) 

riley702:  Good question, I had neoadjuvant also.  We get staged twice.  I did see a calculator online which allowed you to put in both stages to get a statistic, I think it was through MD Anderson.

mccrimmon - I am sorry if I missed your prior conversation with Michelle, but what exactly is free?  Do you mean metformin is free in a public grocery store?  Please do tell us more if you are talking about Metformin.  Thanks.

Lovelyface.  Oh, I never thought about "Publix" being misread as "Public"  So sorry.  Yes, I do mean Metformin is free in Publix, which is a chain grocery store in Florida and in the SE US.  Sorry, I was the one who actually PM'd Michelle asking for the links again, so I apologize, I guess it was confusing when I jumped in at the end. 

I just had my physical on Friday and my primary put me on it for weight loss even though my sugar was fine.  He explained that since Metformin has not been "approved" for cancer treatment it couldn't be prescribed in that manner for me so he had to come up with a different reason.  If you onc declines you, please try your primary, explain your situation and see if he can prescribe for one of the other reasons Metformin is approved for. 

mccrimmon and LuvRVIng - thanks both for the wonderful information.  I will let you know what my Onc. says this Friday.

I will say that the weight loss tapers off after a while...otherwise, I'd be wispy by now!  My weight has stabilized right where I need it to be, even though I take 2000 mg. a day.  And I know a few diabetics who take 2000 mg and don't lose weight. So it's not a universal thing.

Fighter_34 - very good news for you!

Fighter, I keep thinking I'm going to check out some of the recipe threads, we're so tired of eating the same things over and over again. 

Tonight is grilled chicken, brown rice and asparagus.  BORING!!!  but healthier than we used to be.