Herceptin

Bump for Marine -- can anyone weigh in with their thoughts/experiences?

In June 2016, I starting on therapy for HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer consisting of six infusions of TCHP every 3 weeks, then surgery, then 17 infusions of Herceptin alone every 3 weeks.  For the 1st six infusions, I had to wait to see if my blood counts were good enough for each one.  My blood counts went down drastically, and I had Neutropenia and Anemia because of them among other side effects.  I had to have a blood transfusion after the fourth infusion because the blood counts were so low and I felt so bad.  Now I am on Herceptin only, and the side effects are much better, but there are still plenty of them. My blood counts are slowly but surely going up, but I am still neutropenic and anemic .  I have read on the internet that Neutropenia and Anemia are still common with Herceptin alone also.  I have 12 more Herceptin infusions to go, and I don't even want to leave the house for fear of catching something!  I can't imagine going to work with this!   I know I need to exercise and get out, but I am still too unnaturally cold and fatigued and weak due to this Anemia, not to mention this Neutropenia and my fear of catching something. The doctor says it's okay, but I don't really trust doctors that much.  I just know what I'm reading and thinking.   You have to be your own advocate.  Right?

Didn't they give her some shots to rebuild her cells? !!!

Anyone doing their year of Herceptin weekly instead of every three weeks? How's that going? Side effects? Hematologist/oncologists think that Herceptin might be what caused my ITP back in December. But I need it. So now they're testing me with a small dose, 1mg/kg, all by itself and then 2mg/kg tomorrow. If my platelets hold I think that's where they plan to keep me. Which is fine except for the weekly commitment. Whatever. I have no life.

warrior - your hair should start to grow back on Herceptin only, but you may have a runny nose for the duration of Herceptin. Toward the end of my year I did have a frequent low grade headache, but that was my only other issue - and it was solved with Tylenol. H only infusions are much easier, but I will add this word of caution. Some have experienced bone/joint/muscle pain with a fast (30 minute) Herceptin only infusion, and have found that pain was lessened or resolved with a longer infusion (60-90 minutes) time. Infusion time of 30 mins is within the dosing and administration guidelines, but it is not mandatory - many centers do it to get you out of the chair and on your way, and patients like it because it is a short visit after having had long ones with TCHP. I did not have bone/joint pain during chemo and Neulasta, and my H was run for all six of the first infusions at 90 minutes. My first H only was 30 minutes and I felt like I had been run over by a truck. The next one I asked to slow back to 90 minutes - problem solved. I found it much easier to show up for H only infusions because I knew I would not feel ill afterward - I started to feel stronger and more normal the longer out from chemo I got - particularly by the second H only infusion, it was a relatively brief visit as I did not need to see my MO each time, and things did resume some normalcy.