CindyB

Shelbaroni - I would definitely do the port - especially if you will have herceptin for one year.  I think it's doable by veins, but not having to put chemo through those veins is a good thing.  I appreciate having my port, even though the seemed to give me a supersize one (about the size of a quarter_.

For, the TC part of treatment was over yesterday!  One more week to endure the fallout of the worst side effects and in a few weeks, I start radiation, which I'm not as stressed about for some reason.  Of course, I'll also do an estrogen suppression regimen. 

My best to all!

CindyB

Mary (and all),

My oncologist said that most likely it's the steroids or carboplatin causing fluid retention and worsening farsightedness.  Apparently, those things should return to normal after I'm finished with chemo.  My worst days are 2-6, so at this point in the cycle, things are looking up.

About decreasing the number of treatments from 6 to 4 - this was my oncologist's recommendation.  The only reason we initially said 6 was because that is the number that has been studied most, in correlation with the other major chemo that has 4 treatments - AC. She said that she gets awesome results TC with metastatic patients.  Many apparently have NO CANCER after 2 treatments.  From her perspective, with a small tumor and no lymph nodes involved, 4 rounds of chemo should be plenty.  She feels that over the long run, we will "get the most bang for our buck" with herceptin and tamoxifen.  The chemo is primarily for clearing out any renegade cancer cells.  I found all of that quite heartening.  This regimen has been a challenge for me.  Any possible side effects that could have happened, have happened.  I will be happy to move on to the next phase of treatment!

Take care,

Cindy

BlueJay,

Yes, our tumors resemble one another!  We decided to do 4 infusions of taxotere and carboplatin every three weeks.  We originally talked about 6 infusions, but the oncologist decided that 4 was sufficient and we will get "more bang for our buck" from herceptin and the ER/PR+ treatments.  So, I am 75% done with chemo.  I have herceptin every week during chemo and every three weeks for the next year after chemo.

Certainly with node negative cancer, the likelihood is that there were not cancer cells taking hold elsewhere, but since no one can say for certain, I opted to be aggressive.  I'm only 44 and plan on being around a long time.  I didn't want to have regrets a few years done the road.  The treatments have been pretty brutal on me, but nothing that won't dissipate when we're done.

I wish you well.  Let me know what you decide!

Cindy

I asked this question of my oncologist today and she said that they really don't understand the implications if one has a higher ratio of Her2 - 3+.  Basically, 3+ implies the ratio is higher than 3, but clinically there isn't any meaning attached to having a higher ratio - like mine being 12.9.

Ahhh, so grade 1 and Her2+ is rare, but not so rare as we might think! Seems others are having aggressive treatment as well.  I just didn't want to have any regrets, especially on the odd chance that cells could have broken loose even with no nodes involved.  I'm 44 and if eligible, will have the genetic testing.  If positive, like you Kathy, those things will be history!  I can imagine that was a hard decision to make all at once.

Swimangel - I'm afraid I don't know what navelbine is.  But I do have a port and am glad that I do.  It just makes things easier.  I did have an echo before herceptin, but didn't think to ask the numbers other than to know that the cardiologist found all was normal.  I'll have a second one in about a month.  More than anything, I hope that I can finish a full course of herceptin.

Take care!

Sherry and Beth - thanks for that encouragement!  I figure that there isn't anything I can DO to reduce that number anyway, so just go for the best treatment possible and plan for the best.

Heart issues are the most significant issue, so far as I know.  I believe also rare possibility of lung/breathing complications.

Greetings to all!

I had my first treatment of docataxel/carboplatin/herceptin on Thursday, along with the cocktail of accompaniments and neulasta yesterday.  Like Nancy said earlier, I just feel spacey, worn out, port hurts a bit (had that put in on Wednesday) waa, waa, waa.  Really nothing worth complaining about and I'm grateful for that .  Anyone else feel like you're waiting for the other shoe to drop?  Like, when do I start feeing bad?  Not that I'm asking for it, mind you!  Here I thought I would feel relieved when the first one was done, but I still feel like I'm waiting for something. 

Ah well, enough of that.  I wish you all a wonderful weekend and Easter.  Here in Fargo we had 7 1/2 inches of snow- so much for Easter dresses and sandals!

Cindy

Sorry about that.  TC is a particular chemo combo - cytoxan and taxotere, I believe, but someone correct me if I'm wrong.  I should know this off the top of my head.  The h just stands for herception, which they will give with the chemo.  My oncologist did visit with Dr. Goetz about the situation, and he agreed it was an odd combo.  She did say he was he was equivocal about chemotherapy, but if we did one, that was the one to do.  He definitely thought herceptin even without chemo.  My oncologist does want me to do chemo, mostly because I'm pretty young and it decreases odds of recurrence in my case by 5%.  I personally feel like I need to do all that I can to beat this.  If I didn't do it and it recurred, I would always wonder if I should have.

Keep me posted on you.  I wish you the best.

Austin,

Her2 is a protein in/on the cell that tends to make growth more aggressive.  You're either negative (1+), 2+ (equivocal), or 3+ (overexpressed).  My understanding is that is you have Her overexpressed, it means there are more copies of that gene than normal.  Fortunately, they have a medication, Herceptin, that sounds like it has done wonders for many of us who are Her2 positive.  My oncologist said that the speculation by researchers it that women in the past (before herceptin) who had recurrences were likely to be Her2+.  I'm just grateful that there is something to counteract it.

Good for you!  Be your own best advocate!