First post on here. I'm about to start 4 rounds of EC for HER2 positive breast cancer. Can anyone give me advice on what to expect & any natural remedies or therapies I can use to help me get through it. Thanks in advance.
I have been through this for HER2 positive earlier this year. I found it very hard going but worth it as it reduced the size of the tumour. The Macmillan nurses are brilliant, just keep asking them for advice. Best wishes.
Thank you for replying. My tumour is 5cm so hoping it will reduce in size before they operate. I have no idea how I'm going to be & it's so daunting waiting for it to start. How are you now? What stage are you at? After my 4 rounds of EC I then have 4 rounds of targeted chemotherapy.
The waiting is bad. The treatment is no fun either but at least you know you are on the road that you hope willl lead to recovery. The targeted therapy is different but not good either. My tumour was over 5cm but reduced greatly in size. My operation was 19 days ago and now I am in agonies waiting for the lymph node biopsy results.
Hiya, there was talk of it starting on the 13th July. I just want to get going now. I am hoping to have breast preserving surgery after. It's only gone into the sentinel node so I'd rather not have all my nodes out.
Have you had breast perserving surgery with your lymph nodes out? Did they put a marker in for your tumour? Sorry for all the questions, just want to be fully informed so I get the best deal for me with the NHS! I hope you are feeling ok after the operation and healing well. I have everything crossed for your lymph node biospy result. Let me know how you get on. It's so good to speak to someone who has gone through it already, gives you confidence. X
I have the biopsy results and nothing has spread to the nodes which is a great reliel. I had four sentinal nodes out. That is better as all nodes out because that can give problems like lymphodema. There was an injection to mark which were the sentinal nodes just before the operation.
I hope your therapy starts on 13th July and you are on your way. Please let me know how you are doing
Hiya. My wife was originally put down for a full mastectomy, but due to her complete response from the chemo, it turned into a lumpectomy.
She originally had cancer in 2 nodes, and those were taken out during the lumpectomy, along with maybe two other nodes. They used fat from her thighs (used lipo) to build her breast back up, but I'm not sure every hospital/surgeon does this, as it was pioneered by the surgeon who did my wife's op in Edinburgh. Supposedly, thigh fat yields the best results as it's the best quality. They can also take it from your stomach too, but only used the thighs in my wife's case.
They do put new markers in pre op (the ones used during diagnosis are for the scans, not the surgeon, so new ones needed)
Great that you have had good results from your biopsy. I'm still waiting to hear if my treatment starts next week, but I have everything crossed. I will call the support line tomorrow if I don't hear anything, I don't want to keep pestering them but if I know then I can prepare myself for the first one.
Thank you for your message, it's great to hear of positive outcomes and I really hope I get the same quality of care at my hospital. I know they are good and I'm just desperate to start the treatment and keep the process moving towards and end goal.
I got a second opinion privately and they were brilliant, I can always go back to them for my surgery if I feel I need to. They're all about pervserving the breast and doing a much less evasive operation.
Thanks again for all your inputs, it really helps.
Hi sugar plum, I've had a diagnosis of grade 3 invasive ductal carcinoma Her2 positive. I did consider getting a private second opinion and wondered what that was in your case. Did it differ greatly from what your MDT told you? Thanks. Amy x
Yes I found the second opinion very helpful. Initially my MDT told me a mastectomy with all my lymph nodes removed, but private second opinion, who is a surgeon, advised a lumpectomy with just the one affected node removed (and surrounding nodes nearby). The MDT then changed their minds the night before I was due to go for the second opinion and their plan for surgery was then to do a lumpectomy, but still with all my nodes removed! I have now discovered that the reason why they have planned removal of all my nodes is because they do not have the facility to mark the node with a Magseed. I got this done privately and plan to switch my surgery under the care of the surgeon who I saw privately. Obviously once I have finished all my chemo I will take advice from both and decide which is the best course of action, but if I can avoid all my nodes out I would rather go down that route as I'm a dance teacher & don't want to risk problems with my arm.
Hope this helps you to decide what is best for you. I really wanted to be fully involved in my treatment plan. My body, my choice.
The good news is my tumour has shrunk so much after 3 rounds of EC I can hardly feel it anymore. I had an MRI on Sunday and I get the results in about a weeks time.
