Triple postive??

I'm also a triple positive.  Have just four more Herceptin treatments (mine have been weekly). 

I did A/C and Taxol, 52 weeks of Herceptin and have been on Arimidex for 8 months of my five years.

I opted not to do Radiation. 

I'm not a young woman and I'm tired and I'm anxious to get on with the life that I have left.

I'm triple positive too. Diagnosed in June 07. Started chemo in July and done in November. Surgery in December (double mast). Started radiation in January. My tumor was large but responded well to chemo and herceptin. I had 8 nodes removed and 1 still had evidence of cancer after chemo. I'll continue herceptin until September 08 and am currently on tamoxifin. I'm 37 with no family history.

I'm also triple positive, diagnosed 11/07, ALD; 1node +, 11 neg. My primary tumor is occult, meaning it could not be found by all the diagnostcs. Chemo: 4 AC followed by Taxotere (was switched from 3 weeks to lighter dose weekly) and Herceptin. Will need rads too. I feel weird not knowing what kind of cancer I have as I only had the encapsuled lymphnode (5cm) that showed the BC and triple pos. Anyone else have occult BC?

I am also +++ found out in Nov.07 and am been through bilateral masactomy with reconstruction. I had to have 1 expander removed due to infection. I had 5/27 positive nodes which through me into stageIIIa I was finally able to start chemo in March which was 4 rounds of A/C and then 4 rounds of Abraxane do to steroid problem so they decided to go that route instead of 12 taxol. I got neropthy from the abrazane and major joint aches with the herceptin which will go on for a year. I was stopped at the 2nd abrazane and did not get the 3rd and this Thursday they will decide on the 4th. It scares me cause I really want to beat this but they also don't want to disable me at the age of 44. So I will just have to trust there decision. I am trying to figure out if I am ever going to be able to work in the future do to the neropthy and pain. I work in a restraunt and need to be on my feet. I have taken the last 2 weeks off and will talk to onc. this week about it. Hopefully they can give me some clue!!!! If there is a se to have I have gotten it!!! Nothing seems to come easy and sometimes its hard to stay positive but I know I must. I need to listen to my heart and body, but I am a very active person and this is trhoughing me for a loop. And I think when you have constant pain it just does something to your mind. When I am around people I put on this act like its no big deal I hate people feeling sorry for me. So instead what have I done but vent to all of you!! I still have rads to go through and I am exhausted to think of it. I know their is not alot of out there and that scared me too having young kids and all but reading these posts have definatley made me feel better. Thank-you!!!!!!!! I hope we can keep talking cause I know I sure need it!!!

                                               Bridget 

hey there kimbly, i am also triple pos.Im so glad to finally discover some other people the same.Was begining to thionk i was the only one!! iwas dx when i was 26, just turned.i had a/c taxol and herceptin (thank god) , rads ,and am now taking tamoxifen daily, prob for 5 years. i absolutely hate being triple pos! but very lucky to have the herceptin, which was for one year.im finished hercep now.and im doing really well, healthy !

love spenc.xx

oh also,i was dx in 2006 (i think) im now 29. with no family history, which i hear is common with her2+.

Hi to all...

It's so good to read all the comments from such heroines -- I'm proud to be a "triple overachiever" too, AKA triple positive (always wanted to become an overachiever -- didn't think it would be THIS WAY). 

Diagnosed last Aug., DD AC X 4, then Taxol X 4 along with Herceptin each wk, then rads X 33 and now Herceptin until Dec.  Also, taking Arimidex for 5 yrs.  I didn't realize we were in such a minority -- I knew about HER-2+ happening in ~ 25-30% of breast cancers, but I didn't know ER/PR+ happened in only 10% of Her-2+ cancers.  

I have a port and it hasn't bothered me at all -- it's so easy to get the Herceptin through it.  I don't know what the best tx is for any of this because I keep reading different things and it all changes faster than I can absorb it.  Truly, I just hand it to God every day and, while it hasn't been easy (understatement), I feel safe and cared for.  So far all my MRI's, CT's, bone scans, etc., etc. show NED.  Don't know what's coming -- don't want to know. 

Kimbly, thanks for starting this thread.  I've learned a lot from reading everyone's comments.  You're definitely not alone as being triple positive.    And Jen, if you haven't already, why not start a new topic about Tykerb and Zeloda?  

Hugs to all !!!   

Add me to the overachiever list!!

I'm also triple positive -- didn't even know it until today when I was reviewing my OB/GYN records to send to my new doc.

I argued with the onc about chemo.  I was 1.1 cm and node negative, so didn't want to do it.  But, I was poorly differentiated and my Oncotype came back higher than I wanted, so I gave in the towel.  I did ACT, 1 yr Herceptin and I'm on my 2nd yr of Tamoxifen.  Also did rads.  I will probably switch to an aromatase inhibitor since I had an ooph in April.

Add me to the list.

I had a bilateral mastectomy in Dec 07, 6 carboplatin/taxol concurrent with 52 Herceptin.  I have finished the chemo and am now in my second month of Tamoxifen.

Beth, I like inquiring minds myself.......

They told me I was er+ 70% and pr + 30%.  I don't know where the cut off is for + is or what is considered strongly + .  I am tending to not look and worry anymore.

 I do recall them telling me I was strongly triple +.  My Her2 was 3++++.

Congrats on your 4 year affair with NED.  I am almost at 3 years!!  

Beth...   I dug out my path report and it reads:

                          ER:       80%       Favorable

                          PR:       60%       Favorable

                          Ki67      30%       Unfavorable (proliferation marker)

My Her-2 just reads positive, not HOW positive.  I guess that's a good question for my onc this week. 

Another highly triple positive here, three years out and still NED!

I believe herceptin has made such a difference to us all:)

Triciak

Hi Kimbly, another tripple positive here. Being HER2/neu + is good 'cause now they have Herceptin for that.

Taking TCH every 3 wk and H every week.

Best of luck to you

I am also triple positive..dx'd in 6/06 at 41..stage 2, multi-focal 3 tumors, 3/21 lymph nodes, vascular invasion, grade 3....coming up on what I consider to be my anniversay date (the surgery date, 8/9) had the mastectomy, did the chemo, radiation and Herceptin..had the oopherectomy...almost 2 yrs..feeling well..celebrating life...

Laura, to be honest, I handled the dx of bc ok but I had to wait awhile for the FISH test to come back and I got my hopes up on that.  I figured I'd just have to be in the 70-75% of cancers that were Her2 neg.  Not so, and that bothered me more than the other parts of my dx.  I kept reading words like "aggressive" everywhere and it unnerved me a bit. 

Then I looked up just about everything I could find on the Internet about Her2 and Herceptin and Tykerg and I started to feel more encouraged.  I also read a book called Her2+, the Making of Herceptin.  It was a long and pretty technical book (to me anyway), but I got the idea that it's a miracle this drug made it.  Lots of politics and such as with any new drug.  This one was in the making a long, long time.   It cuts our chances of recurrence about 52% and, along with chemo (and maybe radiation), the chance of recurrence is going to be lower.   I don't know much about Tykerg except that it's been in clinical trials for quite awhile and is available to those who need it and have tried other things. 

I feel very blessed that we have options and such good ones like Herceptin.  Let's all be survivors together !!!   

Love and hugs to all you ladies... and Bill.

Laura it is possible to have implants with radiation due to a lot of amazing breakthroughs in reconstructive surgery.

you can read here for more info www.breastreconstruction.org

Also, don't even waste a breath thinking about being her2+ before herceptin- everything you read was probably published long before herceptin was given to everyone.  And back in the day, being her2 positive definitely wasn't a good thing- but now with the miracle drug herceptin, the 5 year cancer free survival rates are totally different than what they used to be.

Is the 3+2+1 BR score... could be the Bloom Richardson scale which goes out of 9.  Maybe your score was 6/9... although on my path it was just listed as 8/9   not 3+2+.... I wouldn't fret over it too much.

Interesting to hear your ER/PR results... they say with even 5% positive Estrogen you would benefit from tamoxifen--. My path report was so broad- it said ER + >11- <39.  well, which is it- 12 or 38??? LOL- b/c of this Tamox only gave me a 3% benefit, and for me it wasn't enough to outweigh the risks.

Had I not taken herceptin, I never would've thought twice about opting out of anything.