Is Chemo enough to start HER2 positive BC Treatment

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Mithz
Mithz Member Posts: 3
edited September 2021 in IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)

Hi

This is my first post here. I might be slightly bad at giving exact medical terms so please excuse

I have recently been diagnosed with BC ICB Ductal 2Grad Non specified. I am 48. My tumour within 15 days showed growth from 7cm in image guided Biopsy to 11cm in PET CT Scan last weekend...due to which my surgeon decided to do Mastectomy after Targeted therapy with Chemo for 6cycles

My question is what if I take only Chemo and not Heciptine since shrinking the tumour doesn't really matter cause the whole organ has to be operated upon. We have not been given any other benifit of using targeted thearpy so stand comfused

Since its an expensive drug we omitted but also are concerned should we consider it?? Also can it be added in my next Chemo cycle?? TIA

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  • Melbo
    Melbo Member Posts: 346
    edited September 2021

    I’m sure others will weigh in, but with Her2 positive, herceptin is considered a miracle drug that drastically improves your long term outcomes. When I was diagnosed my surgeon told me that 20 years ago my cancer would have been a death sentence. He was exaggerating of course, but not by a lot, and the difference in treatment has been herceptin. Without herceptin there is a high likelihood that the cancer will come back or spread — herceptin stops the gene from over expressing, which usually prevents the cancer from spreading or coming back.

    there is a tool called predict (google it) where you can put in a lot of the variables for your specific situation and it will give you statistics on how different treatment options change your survival outcomes. Just remember that it’s telling you about overall survival— it’s not taking into consideration whether the cancer has spread or not and what the quality of life might be.

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  • Aram
    Aram Member Posts: 417
    edited September 2021

    Hi Mithz, what are your concerns about Herceptin? As Melbo mentioned addition of Herceptin, regardless of surgery type, has been shown to better survival outcomes for Her2+. Also because it is not chemotherapy, the side effects are much milder.

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  • Mithz
    Mithz Member Posts: 3
    edited September 2021

    Thank You Melbo and Aram...I have to begin my TCH therapy and wanted to weigh the treatment with or without Herciptin since I am triple positive and wanted to see how it would help. Thank You ince again ...I guess I will go for it no

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  • AlwaysMeC
    AlwaysMeC Member Posts: 167
    edited September 2021

    Herceptin is well documented and accepted as standard treatment for HER2 positive invasive breast cancer.

    I would consider this an old article because it is from 2014, but you'll see that even then it was already established as very beneficial.

    https://www.breastcancer.org/research-news/hercept...

    If you are concerned about cost, the maker of Herceptin has a copay assist program. I am a member of their program to help pay for Perjeta. My health insurance annual deductible is 2500 dollars for which they paid 2000, and now I don't pay anything out of pocket for treatment. Their program pays up to 25,000 dollars a year. Here is their website:

    https://www.copayassistancenow.com/

    Edited by Mods to make second link hot.

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited September 2021

    Hi Mithz, and welcome to Breastcancer.org,

    We're so sorry to hear of your diagnosis, and your worries about treatment, but we're really glad you've found us. As you can already see, our amazing Community is full of incredible members always willing to offer advice, information, encouragement, and support -- we're all here for you!

    AlwaysMeC shares some good information above. In addition, check out the main Breastcancer.org site's pages on Herceptin for info on how it works, who it's for, and any side effects you might expect, and more. Also, our extensive section on Paying for Your Care offers great tips on how to lower your medicine costs, managing insurance, and getting help with other living expenses to offset treatment costs.

    We hope this helps and we look forward to seeing you around the boards! Let us know if you need anything at all.

    --The Mods

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