Taxol and Herceptin only for stage 1 HER 2 positive?

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  • RobynS4
    RobynS4 Member Posts: 25
    edited December 2018

    I am stage 1, grade 3, hormone negative, her2+. Had a mastectomy, clear margins and clear nodes.My Onc wants me on the TCHP regimen. I feel that treatment is overly aggressive and told him I want the 12 week course of Taxol with herceptin. Her2+ requires a taxane based chemo which Taxol is. Considering I am 63 years old, I refuse to have TCHP. Has anyone else on here had the same diagnosis and their Onc put them on taxol/herceptin with no problem?

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  • PatinMN
    PatinMN Member Posts: 920
    edited December 2018

    Robyn, I was 60 at diagnosis. PR negative, and ER was only 26% with weak staining. So we are close in diagnosis. Does your onc want to do TCHP because you are hormone negative? I had weekly taxol and herceptin. Perjeta was not available at the time, but I would not have received it anyway due to my small tumor (5mm). I was strongly HER2 positive, and my onc is sure that herceptin was the “cure” for me. I was the first person in his practice to get TH—that regimen was pretty new at the time. I’m glad I did not have to get anything harsher. Maybe get a second opinion

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  • RobynS4
    RobynS4 Member Posts: 25
    edited December 2018

    PatinMN...I had 2 opinions. Both said they want me to do TCHP but I'm totally against that harsh treatment. The 2nd onc said because of being grade 3 which I know is more aggressive however, taxol/herceptin is proven to be very successful for stage 1. The first onc said tchp because I'm hormone neg. The taxol/herceptin study did include hormone neg patients. There was over 98% success as you know! So that's why I prefer this treatment. Perjeta is actually meant for patients with node involvement but they include it with tchp for some reason even without node involvement. Perjeta causes major GI issues so the risk of that out weighs the small benefit..like 2% at most. I truly think its preference of the oncs. Considering my mastectomy got it all, the main reason for chemo is to get any cells that "may" have escaped and of course the herceptin to kill off the protein from her2. Congratulations on your 6 years!! ❤

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  • RobynS4
    RobynS4 Member Posts: 25
    edited December 2018

    Hi Michelle... I have the same exact diagnosis as you did. Only difference is I had a mastectomy. My onc wants me to have the tchp regimen which I'm refusing because I want the 12 week taxol treatment and the year of herceptin. He is doing that for me though. I wish you well!

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  • Michelle14
    Michelle14 Member Posts: 32
    edited March 2019

    Hi Robyn,

    I haven’t been on here in forever but every once in a while I feel compelled to check in on you ladies. I hope you are doingfantastic with the taxol/herceptin only. I am a little over 5 years out from time of diagnosis and in August of this year it will 5 years out from end of radiation. I am still NED and totally healthy. I don’t regret my decision with that regimen at all. It was tolerable and effective and I am so glad my oncologist offered it to me. Best of luck with your treatment.

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  • airstriptrip
    airstriptrip Member Posts: 13
    edited April 2019

    It's about 3 weeks into taxol and herceptin before the hair comes out.

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  • MCBaker
    MCBaker Member Posts: 1,555
    edited April 2019

    I have completed the Taxol/Herceptin 12 weeks. Now I am on the Herceptin every three weeks for 9 months. My Onco has suggested Nerlynx for a year, after the Herceptin is finished. I just turned 69, and two years of treatment with a cancer that is most likely to re-occur within three years seems reasonable. Is anyone else on Nerlynx, or had it suggested?

    My breast was full of DCIS (10+ cm), but all the computerized tissue analysis could find was 3mm invasive. There was no evidence of DCIS in my mammo the previous year.

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  • Pipandor
    Pipandor Member Posts: 157
    edited April 2019

    Hi MC. The Extenet trial results indicate that it doesn't make a difference for hormone negative HER2 and and that it has pretty nasty side effects. It's maker though, is pushing the drug pretty aggressively. I would ask your oncologist why he/she is recommending.


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  • MCBaker
    MCBaker Member Posts: 1,555
    edited April 2019

    I am planning on asking. He was impressed with how well I tolerated the Taxol/Herceptin. I didn't, I just don't complain much.

    The nine months of Herceptin are going to push the chance of re-occurrence into an acceptable range.

    As for SE, I would really like to lose weight, though!

    Thanks for the response.

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  • catshusband
    catshusband Member Posts: 1
    edited April 2019

    Hi,

    My wife just recently got diagnosed with Stage 1, Node Negative, HER2 3+ Breast Cancer (pT1AN0M0) and underwent mastectomy about 2 weeks ago. She is 40. We live in Thailand and her oncologist is going to start her on the 12 weeks of paclitaxel plus herceptin, then herceptin alone for the remaining year. We will be in Thailand for the entire chemo time, but move shortly after that. We move from Thailand in July and will spend two months in Atlanta, GA before moving to Abu Dhabi. Does anyone have any resources about getting coverage for a short amount of time to ensure she gets the herceptin injections when she needs them while in the US? Medicaid? Traveler's insurance? Any pointers would be great.

    Thanks,

    Mat

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  • Krees
    Krees Member Posts: 2
    edited January 2020

    Thank you Michelle for keeping us updated. I've just finished #7 of taxol/herceptin and have the same stage. It's good to read actual experiences and not just studies!

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