TRIPLE POSITIVE GROUP
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hapa, congrats to your finish line! Wish you nice sight seeing with you DH. I think that was great of you to gather such strenght to do the rads so far away! That is really inspiring.
W3C congrats to your pCR! That really is a wonderfull news! I don't know about scans after treatment yet.
My last Taxol no. 12 was yesterday!! I am sooo glad and sooo puffy and tired and... glad I even got so far. I got severe feet burning in the first half of Taxol and was freeking out... but it kind of resolved and now I have next to none. pretty weird, mybe the supplements helped, maybe the feet+hands icing did.... but I feel kind of numb, the day yesterday was anticlimatic, no bells in my country to mark end of chemo... and there's still so much ahead... BMX with recon, rads of unknown extend, Herceptin till September and AI's for god knows how long... well, you all know this, the tripple positive road really is long. Next week I just get a blood work and my first 3-week-dose of Herceptin which should take about 5 minutes (it's given as an injection here).
Rant alert!....... I usually felt quite good on Mondays before my Tuesday infusions, but this Monday I was totally drained emotionally... We had a weekend of birthday celebrations of my youngest one, which was nice,. Lot of preparations and dishes and everything, but nice. well, my whole nearest family was there and nobody asked about me. not. a. single. word. Not even when the kids were sleeping, even though I was tired and it must have been visible.... I don't know what I was expecting, maybe a question, maybe a well-wish, offer of some minor help with anything, with the kids or... I don't know. That really got to me...
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Congrats hapa!!
JaBoo— so sorry about the insensitivity.
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hapa:
Congratulations!
It sounds like you have a nice road trip ahead of you.
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JaBoo:
Congratulations on finishing chemo!
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Congrats Hapa and Jaboo on finishing!
Jaboo ... you are discovering who your REAL family and friends are. This is a great benefit to having breast cancer, really. It is sad but what great insight you have! Stay with the ones who care. Discard them because they don't and won't get it.
About scans ... I have the CA125 every six months, mammograms and PET Scan every year. Breast MRIs start in 2021.
Vicky
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Vicky:
Is the yearly PET something your oncologist does standard for stage 2A or is it something specific to your case?
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I don't know WC3. My MO said I would have the scan yearly and I accepted his approach. I see him twice a year.
I forgot that I also get a bone density scan every 2 years.
Vicky
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Hapa and Jaboo, congrats on finishing!
RE: scans -- I used to get mammograms every six months for the first two years, but I've since graduated to a yearly mammo. I get manual checks every three months with my MO; I still see her often because I'm on Zoladex. I also get dexa scans every two years.
Every MO is different. My first MO was a scanner. While I was her patient, I got three MRIs and three PET scans. I changed my MO in 2016 (long story), and my new MO is not a scanner. I don't really mind either way.
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Hi all, first time poster here. I'm 30 and had a similar diagnosis as Netiseret's this October (ER+, PR+ and HER2+). I started the adjuvant chemotherapy last week (Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin).
And Thank you so much for all the sharing here. It helps me understand each treatment better. It also helps me to keep a positive mind to go thought the whole treatment.
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BeStrong--I hope you'll also check in with the Starting Chemo in December group, as well as a month or two before then. They're wonderful advice and hand-holding with people who are or recently have gone through the same treatment.
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BeStrong, I agree with Ignerp, the chemo in August 2018 group has been so supportive and we help each other through all the treatments. Not sure I would have made it without them. Also shared info was invaluable
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Eily333 I was told by my MO and BS that IDC with ER/PR+ was aggressive. Then they both told me that the HER2+ makes it more aggressive. I met a woman recently who said "My Doctor told me I was LUCKY to have been diagnosed HER2+. He said 10 years ago there wasn't anything treat it, but now there are medications that will destroy it and let you live a long life." I'm glad I didn't hear that from either of mine because I think I might have exploded before the 2nd sentence!
HER2 is normally what tells our cells to grow to correct a problem. When HER2 is Positive it goes from telling the cells to YELLING at the cells...........Now the cells are working on OVERload growing. (sorry it's in such a simplistic description but that's it in a nut shell)
Here's 2 helpful articles about HER2::
https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/diagnosis/he...
https://www.mayoclinic.org/breast-cancer/expert-an...
Try not to worry....You've got this sweetie!!
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On Wednesday I take my 6th and final treatment of TCHP. Once I’m through with that I will get 11 targeted treatments of H and have surgery scheduled for the end of January. I’m excited to be near the end of chemo and on to the next phase although I’m of course nervous about the surgery.
I have a question for the group regarding targeted therapy after chemo. My OC is only doing Herceptin until he gets the pathology report after my surgery which is 4 weeks after my first Herceptin only treatment. Others in my August chemo group are getting both Herceptin and perjeta for after chemo targeted treatment.
I’m curious what others in this site have received and if there were specific reasons for H onlyversus HP.
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MACTAZ:
Congratulations for being almost done with chemo!
My MO said that in my case the overall survival between post surgery targeted therapy after chemo only differed by 1% between the herceptin and the herceptin plus perjeta groups but gave me the choice of doing both. I chose both because I want to keep doing what has been shown to work in me.
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I get a 3 d mammo on surgical breast every 6 months and once a year on the other. Nothing else so far.
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Hello all! Just joining this group. I'm scheduled for my 9th round of Taxol this week. Beginning to feel neuropathy but it's more numbing sensation, not pain. For those of you who had Taxol for 12 weeks and Herceptin every three weeks, did you lose your eyelashes or eyebrows? Curious about what to expect in this final month of chemo. I also have horrible dry itchy red bumpy skin on the tops of both my hands. Has anyone else experienced this? I can't figure out how to make it go away.
Hope you all are having a great weekend!
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MACTAZ - I get only Herceptin. I think adjuvant Perjeta was shown to be more beneficial for ER-/Her2+. It was either not very or not at all beneficial for triple positives. I was told that my MO will only add in Perjeta after surgery if you have residual disease and wouldn't be doing it for me because I was triple positive. If you have residual disease, ask about Kadcycla. Studies show it to be extremely beneficial in people with residual disease after chemo as compared to Herceptin. It was presented in San Antonio this past week:
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Joules44:
I had taxotere, I started to lose my eyelashes and eyebrows towards the end but my eyebrows are so thin anyway I did not realize many were gone until they started to grow back. I lost my bottom eyelashes after chemo but still have most of the upper ones.
My nail problems started around my last infusion. They start to break a few millimeters below the top in the nail bed and I have made good use of Kiss nail glue.
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Thanks Hapa and WC3, I will look into this. Hugs
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Hi everyone- I hope you all had great weekends. This past weekend for me, I started to experience joint pain, particularly around my clavicle. At first I thought I was just sleeping or leaning in on wrong on my shoulders, but I'm not. In addition, I get stiffness in my knees and some hard time walking without pain when I first get up after sitting for an extended period of time. My ankles also now experience a lot of pain if I walk for an extended period of time. I've reached out to my oncologist to alert him of this all, but
Has anyone else experienced joint pain and/or stiffness? Is this common, or should I be concerned and jump straight into thinking bone mets? I've also developed a rash under my arm where I had node dissection, and this week I go in for my second H+P only infusion, so I'm wondering if these are reactions (although 3 weeks later) to H+P.
Thank you!
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Young,
Great call on contacting your Oncologist.
I do a lot work with a Physical Therapist. Stretching before leaving the bed in the morning and after sitting for awhile as well as a stretching regiment are now part of my daily life. I encourage you to find and work with a PT that understands cancer treatments.
I had a rash on my chest and face after my first 2 chemo treatments. My Oncologist prescribed a cream and it went away never to return.
Best wishes as you continue treatment.
Vicky
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My MO never brought up Perjeta--I think it has to do with tumor size?
I think most of us lose our lashes a few weeks after finishing chemo. At first you notice they're getting kind of sparse, but the weird thing is you'll already have baby ones growing in when you lose all of the old ones. My MO explained that they kind of push the old lashes out. Mine have still not completely grown back but are doing okay.
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MACTAZ: Congrats on being in site of the (a) finish line! I'm getting Herceptin and Perjeta. At one visit, MO mentioned possibly doing H only, but said as long as I didn't have any problems with diarhea from the P, she'd prefer to do both. I didn't really question it, as I'm in the "throw everything you've got at it" camp.
Youngandscared: I've also had problems with pain and stiffness. I chalked it up to age (54) and mostly the fact that throughout treatment I've been way less active than usual. As Vicky said, stretching helps a lot.
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thanks guys, I meet with my OC and I’m going to question why he wants to wait for pathology results before deciding to add perjeta. I did have issues with diarrhea and neuropathy so maybe that’s why he is holding off. He’s been really good about being concerned about overkill on treatment since I’ve had some possible long term SE.
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Kat22, It seems these days (since last Wednesday) many people are talking about "Kadcyla" (https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/12/05/1662398/0/en/Roche-s-Kadcyla-cut-the-risk-of-disease-recurring-by-half-compared-to-Herceptin-in-people-with-HER2-positive-early-breast-cancer-with-residual-disease-after-neoadjuvant-treatment.html), not sure if you are aware of. We met the MO last Thursday(the first time after the surgery), she seemed aware of that already and said she is going to keep an eye on that. In the meantime, she wanted to keep both H and P.
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LilyCH: I've noticed that also. Plan to ask about it next visit on Jan. 2. Hows' the wife?
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Thanks for the responses! My oncologist came back and said nothing I should be on or have been on should be causing my joint pain and I should buy pain meds that are specific for joint pain...feels a bit dismissive and it definitely didn't do much to ease any nerves I'm having from any pain I feel in my body. Needless to say, I think it's time for me to choose an oncologist that can focus well on the monitoring part and not forget much about my care after chemo...
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Young& ... I think it is critical to find an Oncologist that meets all of your needs ... not just chemo and follow on treatment. SpecialK suggested that I see her Oncologist. It was clear to my husband and me what I was missing after that appointment. I changed Oncologist. I look at it this way ... I plan on a long term(as in years & years) relationship with my Oncologist so it better be someone treating my "whole."
Best wishes.
Vicky
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Hi all, I met with my OC today and he has changed my adjunct to H and P versus just H. He said that since I won't have surgery until 6 weeks after my last infusion, he wouldn't know how well I responded to Chemo until after the path results. He said HP does provide better protection for those with residual disease, multi-focal (I have this) and large tumors. Once he gets path results he will reassess.
He was aware of Kadcyla and said that it has been approved for treatment of patients with HER2-positive, metastatic breast cancer, currently I wouldn't fall into this category.
Take care all - I'm excited that I will be finished with the Chemo part of my journey on Thursday. Step one of this grand journey complete.
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MACTAZ so happy you are finishing chemo, I’m also on TCHP, finished 3 and I’m on day 4 today, having a hard time, did it get worse with each infusion? I also will be on H and P next.
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