Neo-adjuvant treatment and fear

Hi Kattis!

Different countries have approved different regimens; just because you're not getting Carboplaitin doesn't mean that your regimen is necessarily inferior. FEC + THP isn't what is usually offered in the United States for HER2+ cancer, but there are some women on this board who have done FEC. I'm sorry to hear that it didn't shrink your lump, but you may see very different results with THP.

I was diagnosed with HER2+, and ended up doing AC + THP. You're actually lucky to be getting Perjeta; some of the Canadian women here haven't found it easy to access that targeted therapy. With Herceptin and Perjeta, your prognosis is very good. HER2+ breast cancer is aggressive, but the targeted therapies have made treatment much more effective.

With a 4.5 cm lump, you probably were Stage II at diagnosis. And, yes, it IS possible to have a relatively large lump and be node negative.

As for growth during neoadjuvant chemo -- presumably the THP will be fairly effective at shutting down the effects of being HER2+, which encourages cancer cells to divide. I guess I didn't worry too much about growth during neoadjuvant chemo because my tumor visibly shrank as therapy went on.

It IS hard waiting for the operation. I had five months of chemo and thought I'd never get my operation! But, I did. Moreover, neoadjuvant chemo had wiped out the active cancer in my breast and node, so I could opt for a lumpectomy instead of a mastectomy.

Yes, it's all about taking this one step at a time. Treating HER2+ cancer is a marathon not a sprint, but once you get past treatment, you'll be able to get on with your life.

((Hugs)) and best wishes!

Kattis,

Yes, there are good days and bad days -- days when you're hopeful, and days when you're fearful. So long as you're moving forward, you'll be OK. On the other hand, if you feel paralyzed by fear, you may want to talk to your doctors about an anti-depressant, anti-anxiety med, or counselling -- whatever you think will help you. Many women here have improved the quality of their lives by learning how to cope with their fears and anxiety. I myself have a little stash of Ativan (anti-anxiety med) that I take when I'm going in for a scan or mammogram and I need to feel more at peace with myself.

I'm a bit of a control freak myself. I'd like to think I'm always in control, but yes, sometimes you just have to leave it in the hands of your doctors and hope for the best. Hoping for the best for you!

Hi!

If you tested ER+PR+, that means you are "triple positive." That means that there's a good chance that you will be prescribed hormonal therapy (Tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor [AI]) after you're done with chemo. Being "triple positive" and Grade 3 means that your cancer is aggressive. However, it also means that your doctors have more weapons at their disposal to treat your cancer and keep it from coming back than if you were "triple negative."

I am also "triple positive," and there is an awesome thread on this board for others with this diagnosis. Since I finished chemo, I have been taking Aromasin (an AI) to starve my body of estrogen, which fed the growth of my cancer. I'm doing OK on it, but some women do suffer from its side effects.

Hope you have a productive meeting with your oncologist! I love my oncologist, but she's a scanner (likes to do a lot of scans). Fortunately, most of my scans have had good results.

Best wishes!

The triple positive thread is TRIPLE POSITIVE GROUP, found in the HER2+ forum.