Perjeta/Herceptin/Taxotere

Trish_is_me, I'm sorry that your onc gave you such a disturbing prognosis. I don't really understand why he would do that because everyone responds so differently to treatments. Since your tumor markers are dropping, it sounds as though the chemo is working. Have you had scans yet? My onc ordered scans after my 3rd cycle of P/H/T. That's the only way to know for sure if the tumors are regressing. You might want to get another opinion.

Hugs, Trish

Trish-is-me: sorry the taxotere has hit you so hard. I got thrush for a few days every cycle-bleah. I should have tried the ice trick. I think your onc is giving you the old school numbers on stage 4 prognosis, but my onc feels that being triple positive gives lots of treatment options and told me 5 years was "doable" and 10 years possible but a stretch. Everybody's different but all it takes is one of these new treatments to hold the cancer back for an extended time. If you hit that jackpot then you'll prove your onc wrong...

Renemarie,

I'm very sorry to hear that your cancer has come back. It must be really difficult after being NED for 5 years. I also have liver mets, and P/H/T has shown good results for me so far, shrinking my tumors by 30-40% after 3 treatments. Did you have liver mets in the past; if so, I'm wondering what treatment got you to NED for 5 years? I hope these drugs give you another 5 years and more.

Yes, the Taxotere will cause you to lose your hair. I hope you do well with P/H/T. Keep us posted.

Hugs, Trish

Beth,

I have heard of surgery to remove liver mets when the mets are very small and there aren't any mets anywhere else, but I don't know how often it's done. It makes sense because the liver does regenerate. I'm sure some other ladies will have more info on this. I'd be curious about knowing, too.

Trish

Hello Ladies,

Again, I am so thankful for all of you sharing your stories.  I have a question and I'm not sure if anyone will know an answer but I thought I'd throw it out there.  My mom has stage IV breast cancer with mets to the lungs, liver and bones.  She was on Taxotere and Herceptin but after 3 months of stopping that regimen, there was progression.  She is now enrolled in a study and is taking Perjeta, Herceptin and Capecitabine.  Her first round of follow-ups tests recently showed the tumors are stable.  A co-worker of hers has been strongly suggesting she take vitamin B17.  Does anyone know about taking this vitamin, while on these drugs?  Has anyone else heard about the benefits of vitamin B17 in fighting cancer?  Is it generally not a good idea to start taking certain vitamins while on chemo drugs?  Any info would be greatly appreciated.  I'm going to do some google searching as well; I just wanted to see if any of you ladies had any first hand experience.  Thank you:)

Trish is me- Hang in there. Your MO is a rudy(My two year old's favorite insult). My mo won't give me numbers. As he puts it the drugs we're on haven't had enough time in the general public to know how long. So don't give up. I have kids 2,6,9 and I am homeschooling the 6yr old. Yes the taxotere sucks and works at the same time. I started pht September 13 last year. I've been on ph only since October. That's a lot longer than six months. You are you. Your not a statistic, you're a person whose body has already shown a very positive response to the treatment plan. Sorry for the rant. I just really dislike negative people who are supposed to be in our court.



Kingcour-I'm going to miss you. Keep us posted.

i had one very large mass on my spine. It had consumed a large portion of my T11 I had several other suspicious spot activity. One in my lungs and one in my liver. Yes I am on the less severe end in terms of number of tumors. I only had to do two thp. I have been NED since. My first round in 2011 I did six taxoter/carboplatin/herceptin. I had 27 rounds of rads to my chest. And continued on herceptin only until April 17, 2012. They thought I was done and I had my port removed May 6,2012 on June 2, 2012 I had an incident that sent me to the er. The chest ct showed my tumor. What scens couldn't show was that it had started climbing like a vine up my spine. After my initial rounds of pht I've been on ph only and have remained with no evidence of disease. I get ph every 21 days. I also get xgeva for my bones and depolupron to keep me in menopause. I was also on femera, but it started being counter productive. Ok so I hope this gives you enough information. I also now have bone & ct scans each month. I am hoping you find great success with this combo and can see regression. I'm praying you get years of stability and need. The worst side effects of ph only is the "purge" of perjeta. Sorry I wrote another book. I just wanfed to give you hope. Anything is possible.

My blood counts went down but I never missed a tx. Food tasted terrible second week. I think it is the perjeta that causes the diarreah.

I am still on pht. We lowered the taxotere last time. I am not ned

Trish is me The purge is from perjeta. At this point I am still NED. I have my quarterly scans at the end of the month, I'll let you know. Weird tastes hit me only for a few days. I also seem to get a case of insomnia the weekend before the next treatment. Most se's on ph are very mild for me.



Bhd1 I am amazed that you've pushed through with the taxotere. You are one strong woman.

Oh my...I've missed so much in the last month.  I've been mostly out of town (with the change from navelbine every week to 2 weeks on, 1 week off & P/H every 3rd week I've been able to have a bit more of a life!). 

As far as surgery on the liver, we asked my onc about that when first diagnosed and she said mets are a bit like the soap bubbles little kids play with.  She said when the bubble lands on cement and pops, you can see some of the soap spread.  She said that's what the mets do...they never really go away, they just lie dormant (hence NED).  I don't know if other mo share her thought, but she also said it's possible that mets may be lying dormant elsewhere and it's not a good idea to put your body through the stress of surgery, which could cause a flare up there.  I can't express as she did, but she basically said surgery's not an option. 

Fujii...I really am so happy you're reaching the 1 year mark...an inspiration!   I welcome our new sisters...with the disclaimer that I wish you didn't have to be here...but you came to a place of love & care!  I really don't know what I'd have done without all my bc.org family!

My scans are tomorrow....with scans at 5 months showing 80% reduction, you know I'm praying, hoping & doing chants for that last 20% to be disappeared!!!!   Since going to 1 week off, I'm hoping it still did the great job it was doing!!!!  

As far as neulasta and neupigen go....I didn't get chemo when my counts were low so it basically wasn't a choice as to whether I'd have the shot or not.  I've always had neulasta..until last week, when I need neupigen for a quick fix.  Neulasta is more of a time release shot.  With both, claritin was the day before, day of and day after.  My first Neulasta was horrid and I cried with pain in my shins...so awful.  That was 4 years ago with 1st diagnosis.  Since then, there's just a minor squeezing feeling, mostly in my ribs but sometimes in my hips. 

Gotta get to bed but wanted to check in...after being gone for so long...have missed you all but you're always on my mine!!! XOXO

Ronnie, we really wish that 20% is gone. Best of luck today!!

-- The Mods

RonnieKay I'm so glad to see you back on the boards. We will still have to get together one of these days. I am praying for that NED for you. Glad you're feeling better.

RonnieKay, I hope you get a good report from your scans and that that remaining 20% is gone. My nails are getting a little funky, too. They have pink horizontal stripes across them, and I'm wondering what will happen with them. I have one more treatment with Taxotere and hope they'll hang on until I'm off that if that's what's causing the change.

I'm also curious to know if my hair will start growing back when I'm just on P/H. That would be a nice surprise.

Trish

Well kids, I'm just on herceptin 😬 since April 30th and my nails are shot, peeling, splitting etc. and my hair...well..you know those wispy little curls elves have...hrmppp

Mine are silver and NOT growing! And I have every side effect that ever existed with herceptin....so don't worry about being vain Ronniekay, we're allowed..



I want herceptin to work forever! Perjeta has been approved by Ontario health but not funded so unless you have private insurance (we don't) I can't get it unless I pay for it. So GO herceptin! Jo