My tumour which was removed at the end of January was contained to the breast are but classed as aggressive as it was her2 positive. I am having weekly taxol and three weekly herceptin. The herceptin I have to have for 18 months. Has anyone else had this and did you have side effects? When can you say your Cancer free after chemo or after herceptin? Any advice would be helpful. Thank you
I would be interested to knw this too, currently my mum has just had her tumour removed and we are awaiting results... We are anticipating she will have to have herceptin due to testing Her2 positive. Sorry I don't have any more information for you x
I am under the impression from my oncologist that all her2 positive tumours however small have to be treated with chemo and herceptin. Hopefully we will get someone who knows a bit more replying. Good luck to your mum hope she gets better soon and doesn't suffer to many side effects from her chemo xx
Thank you for posting a question. I am sorry to learn that you have breast cancer.
I am one of the nurses and Lucie our Cancer Chat moderator wondered if it might be useful for us to write on your post.
As you probably know, some breast cancer cells have a higher than normal level (an over expression) of a protein called HER2. This stimulates the cancer cells to grow. The drug trastuzumab (Herceptin) works by attaching to the HER2 proteins and this can stop the cancer cells growing. Herceptin only works in people whose cancer cells over express HER2. These cancers are called HER2 positive. Herceptin can be used alongside chemotherapy to reduce the risk of breast cancer from coming back. I am unsure why your specialist has suggested that you will have the drug for 18 months, as most people with early breast cancer will have it 3 weekly for a year.
Not everyone who has a HER2 positive breast cancer will have Herceptin. People who are not going to have chemotherapy, such as some people with very early hormone sensitive breast cancers, do not have it. This is because they are at a low risk of a recurrence.
I can certainly appreciate why you have asked other forum members about side effects, as it can be very helpful to know how other people have coped. If you do get answers from people going through it or those who have been through it, your experience may not be exactly the same. If you read about the side effects they can seem frightening, but everyone reacts differently to drugs.
Hopefully, after treatment your specialist will be able to say that you have no obvious sign of cancer. Unfortunately they will not be able to guarantee a cure or give you the all clear. This is because sometimes breast cancer can come back many years later, even after apparently successful treatment. This can be difficult to cope with. But in recent years breast cancer survival has greatly improved and it is not unrealistic for many women with breast cancer to hope for a normal life expectancy.
I hope that this reply is useful. If you have any other questions do get back to us. If you would like to telephone our freephone number is 0808 800 4040. We are here from Monday to Friday between the hours of 9am to 5pm.
what a sweet post from the nurses. So caring so supportive we are so lucky in the Uk to have this forum. Goodnight and God bless you all for being there for us ( and especially those like me who cannot sleep!!xxdebs
