Is Chemo enough to start HER2 positive BC Treatment
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
Comments
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
-
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.
-
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
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team