Taxol and Herceptin only for stage 1 HER 2 positive?

So today is day 19 after my 1st TCH treatment. I have no symptoms aside from my hair still thinning out. I have lost alot and I mean alot of it, but like I said before, I have lots and lots of hair, so any random person can not tell, but I can definitely feel the difference. Other than that, I am feeling great. I went out this morning for a run and I am feeling pretty awesome. This Wednesday is my 2nd TCH treatment... Lets get it done .... I'll Keep you all posted. God Bless

I had the same diagnosis and just finished 12 weeks of taxol and herceptin three weeks ago, and just had my first herceptin only treatment yesterday. This will continue once every three weeks through December. It was less toxic than other regimens and I did quite well. I am now about to meet with the radiologist to get markers and set up a schedule. I'm not keen on the radiation, but am told that it ilessens reoccurrence by an additional 20%.

The worst side affect has been fatigue, and sometimes body aches. I have not lost all of my hair, but it is still thinning. Exercise, like long brisk walks have been helpful, and a healthy diet of vegetables and protein.

I just found this forum after hanging out in other (friendly) forums for the past 9 months. I'm from the UK and got Taxol + Herceptin (August -> October 2015); I have been on 3-weekly injections of Herceptin since then.

To those still on Taxol, life gets a lot better about a month after stopping it. And I'm encouraged by the postings from those who have finished Herceptin, who assure us that life again gets a whole lot better when that finsishes too!

I didn't get any bad side effects or infections when on Taxol/Herceptin but a month ago I got terrible septicaemia even though my white cell count was normal (about 4). Yet it had been as low as 0.9 when I was on chemo. I think I got sick because I've been thinking I'm "back to normal" so doing life at 110% pace (work, sport, the usual stuff). Whereas when I was on weekly taxol my life was on hold.

I'm fine now but wondered if anyone else had had this kind of setback when on Herceptin?

Colleen, everyone is different, and whether or which hormone blocking meds we are takingmakes a difference too. I am 4 months from my last Herceptin and have most of my energy back, I took a 2 month break from Arimidex and felt fabulous, so I know at least for me, fatigue issues are no longer from Herceptin.

Hi Ladies,

I am new to this trend. I just finished 3rd weekly taxol yesterday and 1 Herceptin. So far feeling good. I was able to exersise and run about 3-4 miles every day. Not fast run but still! I hope it is not going to get worst.

Any of you used cold caps? I am doing cold caps and was wondering if anyone has similar experience, when to expect shedding?

Hi Daniella, I am also at Sloan, I don't understand what are you questioning? What should be done?
My friend had kind of similar cancer and was treated at Hackensak Hospital and was given AC first and then Taxol and herceptin. She is saying she think she was overtreated. As for Sloan I think they the best in this field and I wouldn't question what they doing. I know many people from other cities come to Sloan to be treated.Who was your MO? Where in NJ are you? I am in North NJ.

Daniella

You had the right treatment. I had exactly the same and it's what's recommended internationally. USA tends to overtreat people!

DaniellaD:

In my layperson's understanding, "standard of care" may include a variety of suitable options, including some suitable in certain patient subsets or situations. In general, for any given patient, there may be more than one reasonable choice. In this area, risk profile and risk/benefit vis-a-vis cardiotoxicity appear to be some of considerations in selection of an appropriate regimen.

2016 consensus treatment guidelines from ASCO and NCCN and a 2015 guideline from ESMO all include the option of paclitaxel plus trastuzumab in the appropriate case. For example, NCCN guidelines (Version 2.2016) comment:

"Paclitaxel + trastuzumab may be considered for patients with low-risk stage l, HER2-positive disease, particularly those not eligible for other standard adjuvant regimens due to comorbidities."

"The NCCN Panel has included paclitaxel and trastuzumab as an option for patients with low-risk, HER2-positive, stage 1 tumors. This is based on a trial that studied this combination in 406 patients with small, node-negative, HER2-positive tumors. The results showed that the 3-year rate of DFS was 98.7% (95% CI, 97.6–99.8) and the risk of serious toxic effects with this regimen was low (incidence of heart failure reported was 0.5%)."

The study cited in the NCCN guidelines is Tolaney et al., a study in the setting of HER2-positive, node negative disease. Table 1 of the paper includes information regarding tumor size of study subjects. Patients with T1c size tumors constituted the largest sub-group with 169 patients (41.6 %) in the study.

Tolaney et al., 2015: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1406281#t=articleDiscussion

Best,

BarredOwl

Hi, Daniella:

I am treated at UC Davis, my oncologist recommended CTH, but I decided to use TH recommended by my Sloan oncologist. ( I have my surgery done at Sloan). My UC Davis oncologist agreed and told me that it is becoming the standard protocol now. I have done a lot research and won't regret my choice, in fact I am not thinking too much about my diagnosis, I quit my job as an senior engineer and become a zoo docent. I enjoy spending my time with my kids and zoo animals.

I am doing fine with Tamoxifen, suffered some minor SEs, join pain, mood swing etc

Hi Ellie. I took glutamine and B6 plus a general multivitamin with B12. I also tried to eat a normal healthy diet (fish, salads, that kind of thing) even when I lost my sense of taste. I didn't get any neuropathy. Most people don't actually, on the taxol/herceptin combo.

I am so happy to find this thread. I am new so I don't know all the abbreviations or how to get the info in a signature line.

Anyway - I was diagnosed with IDC July 5, 2016, lumpectomy and node removal on July 19,2016. ER/PR+ stage 1, small tumor ( .9cm) , margins clear, 3 nodes removed - all clear, and am HER2 + , I am 60.

Doctor recommends this same 12 week treatment. Taxol with Herceptin, then Herceptin every three weeks for a total of 52 weeks. After chemo, radiation for 5-6 weeks and then anti-estrogen pill (likely tomoxifen?)for 5-10 years.

We are going on a pre cancer scheduled trip next week so I will have a port put in August 23, and start the chemotherapy August 30 . I will have a chemo class August 22.

I am happy to read the success many of you have had with this treatment. I think I was more concerned about the treatments, than I am about the recurrence of cancer. Fear of the unknown side effects can make you crazy! I will go back and re-read every post. Have to admit I only read the ones that were more recent since the earlier posts from 2014 spoke about the "new" protocol.

This thread has been the most promising and positive info I have learned since the diagnosis. Thank you all!

M

Hi MLMSC - I also had Taxol/Herceptin, lumpectomy, radiation and now tamoxifen and tolerated it all well. I'm now almost two years from Dx and almost one year from finishing Herceptin. It does go by pretty fast! You may be so relieved to have a plan that you don't want more options, but I did want you to know that you are very likely eligible for the ATEMPT trial. It has two arms - one is standard Taxol/Herceptin as you are planning and the other is a targeted therapy called TDM-1, which is Herceptin linked with a chemotherapy drug. They appear to have very similar effectiveness and the TDM-1 usually comes with fewer side effects - no hair loss for example. There is a thread here with much more information if you are interested - just put ATEMPT into the search engine. I don't know if your oncologist participates or knows a local site that does, but if this is of any interest, you may want to ask him/her. Have a wonderful vacation and best of luck with your treatment!

Yes, I just started this treatment last week on 8/8/16. Curious of others' experiences and any advice

Hello, I just found this group and am so happy to see you. I was diagnosed 5/20/26 with Stage 1, grade 1, 5mm tumor. Lumpectomy on 6/28/16 showed clear margins and lymph nodes. Originally told I would probably only need radiation. But HER2+ changed all that. Oncologist recommended taxol, herceptin combo for 12 weeks, herceptin every 3 weeks for a year and 3 weeks radiation. I waffled about doing this but ended up agreeing. Started taxol/herceptin on 8/4/16. Just finished 3rd infusion. Had bone scan and CT scan prior to start. Told everything was clear. Now I am being told I need scans again after 6 weeks of treatment. Told it's to see if treatment is working. But if I'm cancer free - what is going on???? I am almost 70 and would not have even started chemo if told I had other issues. Has anyone else had scans along with treatment? I admit I have not read every post on this topic and apologize if it has been discussed previously. Thanks for any input.

Sandikr I'd agree to heart scans but not any other scans. I had a heart scan every 3 months all through, all were fine but it's a precaution. You will do FINE.