TRIPLE POSITIVE GROUP
Comments
-
Bji, yay that's awesome! I know what ya mean about a long year
Ttw, great news!
0 -
Awesome BJL!
Vicky
0 -
Congrats BJL! Enjoy your summer at the lake. Looks like a fantastic summer to me.
Tresjoli2: the oncology gyn I talked to said the notion that women with ovaries lived longer is based on one big study in which there was no adequate control of all the variables going into women living longer therefore the evidence is "murky" about the benefits of keeping the ovaries.
Poseygirl, I totally agree with you on the frustration of not getting a clear recommendation and instead leaving it to you to make the decision. With you in the big gamble, sister. I will start radiation in a week, all over the place like you got.
Thanks MommaTo3. I also think about weight gain. Hate gaining weight!
And thanks SpecialK for your illuminating analysis
Happy Memorial Day Weekend everyone,
LaughingGull
0 -
Thanks Demi - actually I was 72 last week and have a year of AI's marked off the calendar.
0 -
Just curious (/bored—I’m gettingT/H #2)—after we’re done with the T and it’s H only, do you get any pre-meds?
0 -
ingerp - I did not. During TCH I received Tylenol, Pepcid (for any stomach or esophageal irritation), Aloxi (anti-nausea), and Dexamethosone (steroid), but once I moved on to Herceptin only all of the pre-meds stopped. Toward the end of the year of H I started to have low grade headaches pretty often, and I took Tylenol myself for those, it is a common SE and disappeared once I was done.
0 -
Thanks, SpecialK. I'm just curious about the timing. I was whining over on the Weekly Taxol thread about how it's two hours between when I arrive at the infusion center and when I start getting the good stuff. #2 was an hour shorter than #1 (because of the 30- vs. 90-minute H drip), and I'm already wondering how quickly those H-only tri-weekly sessions might run.
0 -
HapB
Thanks for the predictor link very interesting. Looks very promising wo chemo. Will know more once meet with MO and set up appt for 2nd opinion. thanks for the resources, you guys are great on this forum. So very helpful and nice to share when others just don’t get it.....thanks
0 -
0
-
Hapb, just to mess with your mind, my MO at JH said that of women with our particular brand of BC - stage 1, grade 2, no nodal involvement,HER2 and hormone positive - only about 10% of us benefit from treatments. The catch, of course, is that currently there is no way to determine into which group we fall.
0 -
No, it means that the other 90 would have been just fine without treatment.
This isn’t advocating for non-treatment - we can only go with what we currently know at this point in time.
0 -
Once I was done with Taxol, my visits were reduced to one hour - 30 minutes to prep my port and wait on the blood work results and then the H infusion takes 30 minutes.
If I have to see the doctor this can add an hour as she is never on time - so frustrating.
Your first two H only might be longer, not sure why the first and second are given slowly.
0 -
BJI Congrat's, I can hear the echo of that bell here!
0 -
TTW this thread may help you. Filled with women who have between 1mm and 6mm of Her2 positive idc...
https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/80/topics...
0 -
Thanks Vicky and Phoenix. Vicky—were you getting IV Benadryl? And you got Tylenol? I get a Zofran/Decadron IV, and then a Benadryl and Pepcid push (heard from the nurse yesterday that they normally do an infusion for those but the small infusion bags are made in Puerto Rico and since the hurricane there's a huge shortage of them). Phoenix I got the H over 90 minutes for #1 but over 30 minutes starting with #2 (yesterday). I did fine with both.
0 -
Ingrep
Both were pills. Took 2 each and waited 20 minutes before Herceptin IV.
Later. I started taking the Benadryl and Tylenol as soon as I left my MO appointment. At my center there was a scheduling stop to make before infusion. Made the wait before infusion to about 5 minutes vs the entire 20 minutes sitting in one spot.
In hindsight, I wish I had slowed the Herceptin as TonLee and others have recommended.
Vicky
0 -
ingerp - I got IV Benadryl, pill Tylenol, IV Dexamethasone, and IV Aloxi. I was given the Tylenol before the IV pre-meds were started, which took about 30 minutes to infuse as they were given with fluids. Then I received TCH in order with 45-60 mins for the T and C, 90 mins for the H - this held true throughout all 6 infusions, and it made for a long day because I had a CBC, vitals, port access, and a visit with my oncologist before each infusion.
hap - it is not that the anti-hormonal, or the chemo and targeted therapy for that matter, don't work for people at your stage - it is that it is not needed. The problem is that nobody knows who falls into the small percentages that do need it. What PREDICT shows is that for about 90% of your stage surgery alone is enough, the rest is insurance. However, no calculator or doctor can tell you whether you will be one for whom surgery is not enough, so the meds are prescribed for all.
0 -
Thanks Vicky and SpecialK. Believe me I'm aware that you lovely ladies getting the heavier duty chemo drugs are going through a much worse ordeal, SE-, time-, and who-knows-what-else-wise (probably pain-wise too--AFAIK none of us H/T only gals get pain meds before tx). Being in and out in 3.5 hours in a comfortable place that gives me free lunches and massages is not bad!!
0 -
ingerp - the Tylenol is not given for pain, it is given to help stave off an allergic reaction, as is the Benadryl. This is the same protocol given prior to a blood transfusion, it is common for hives and an increase in body temp to occur.
0 -
Ingerp: I only had my first H/P and for pre-meds I had Benadryl in pill, wait 30 mins. No Tylenol. Fluids, then Herceptin then Perjeta. Then wait for 30 mins in observation. All in all, counting the prior visit with the MO, it was a half-day thing.
0 -
You got FREE lunch? Really?
Vicky
0 -
Vicky,
Some infusion centers around here have free lunches. Mine generally provided snacks (e.g., peanut butter and crackers) and various drinks. Mine did have some awesome soup, though. I loved it!
0 -
My infusion center always had snacks, yogurt, string cheese available, You could always order lunch (sandwich, chips, cookie) for free.
0 -
SpecialK I did not know that about Tylenol!
Laughing--roger that.
Vicky--yup. They told me ahead of time that you can order a lunch if you're going to be there over lunch time. It's hospital food but mighty tasty when you have some steroids on board! Charlottesville has two hospitals--the big UVA teaching hospital and Martha Jefferson, which is a private hospital. The conventional wisdom around here is that if you have some weird tropical disease or something you go to UVA, but for regular stuff, Martha Jeff is a little cozier. My tx team is at Martha Jeff.
0 -
The people serving the snacks were very nice but the snacks were high carb cookies, muffins, soft drinks, juices and such. I usually brought my own snacks and took the coffee and ice offered. It was free but no lunch or great soup.
I took Deviled Eggs once but as soon as I opened the container, I immediately closed it. What was I thinking? That smell could have easilystarted a throw-up contest around prone-to-be-nauseated chemo patients.
There was a mini restaurant on site. It was closed Mondays and that was my infusion day.
The things I learn from you ladies!
Vicky
0 -
Before infusion I am given 2 zofran tabs and offered Tylenol. When they hook me up they first give me an iv Benadryl then the Herceptin which I ask for 45 mins and then then the T and C. No snacks offered! We bring our sandwiches and water bottles. Very, very nice nursing staff. I have #4 on 6/6
0 -
thank you for passing on the board....you are right it reflects my dilemma perfectly, 3cm no lymph and clean margins, this blasted HER2+ is the only hiccup from walking away with no chemo. I just ready the MD Anderson algorithm for Invasive breast cancer which includes smaller than 5cm recommendations....approved in feb 2018. Was planning on doing a 2nd opinion at md anderson ......also looks like rads first due to lumpectomy then if decide chemo after...is there a time frame that chemo doesn’t work? If don’t have it for 3-4 months post surgery
0 -
BJI - Congrats on finishing your year of treatment. What an exciting time with your granddaughters and your new grandchild! Have a fun, relaxing summer and a wonderful life
0 -
ttw I had surgery, then chemo, then 7 weeks of rads..
0 -
I'm doing my Herceptin/Perjetta infusions after chemo and surgery. They always provide snacks and lunch too! Sandwiches, chips and cookies or nutritional bars. I ate chicken salad, passed on the cookies but I must confess, I ate the Cheetos!!! Every time. My husband laughed every time too. We eat pretty healthy so the Cheetos were my way of rebelling! ☺️
After this is behind me, I'll never look at a Cheeto the same way. It will always remind me of the Cancer Center, lol
0
