HERCEPTIN and/or PERJETA Threads
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Great news Judo - happy to hear it. SUE
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Congrats on the great news Judo! It can be scary to leave the Taxotere behind, but being able to taste food and grow hair is so nice!
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Thanks for the kind words girls!! Hair is coming back nicely and loving my food again!! Onwards and Up. xx
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New article outlining treatment options for metastatic HER2+: Not a lot of new information, but kind of interesting: http://www.cancernetwork.com/oncology-journal/management-metastatic-her2-positive-breast-cancer-where-are-we-and-where-do-we-go-here
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For all of those with taste issues. I have finally found a water i can drink. It's called Suja. I got the raspberry flavor but they have several others including a lemon ginger that may be helpful for nausea. They were on sale 2 for $4 at my local Target.
I go for treatment 3 of 6 tomorrow. We've decided to eliminate the Perjeta this time around due to all the side effects. I have also asked that the Herceptin be given over 90 mins. I did 90 mins the 1st time and 60 the 2nd. Hoping these changes will result in fewer SE.
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FYI - My onc ordered another CA 15.3 test last week (I had one three weeks before). My markers continue to go down - one month ago was 22, last week was 21. Not a big difference, but I'll take it!
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Scrunch: such great news on tumor markers. Mine were 45 on taxotere, herceptin, Perjeta and dropped to 20 (and holding) after finishing taxotere and adding tamoxifen. This stuff works!
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Thanks, BlueFrog! I see you are in Philly - my former stomping grounds. Are you going to the Living Beyond Breast Cancer conference in April?
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Hi Judo, so glad for the good results. I'm going to join you guys now. Can't keep up with the bone mets thread. It's so fast. Scrunch yes, it's the right direction! Yay!
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Hi Girls,
Scrunchthecat and Bluefrog76, good news is Great News no matter how big or how small. I love hearing positive feedback as it lifts the spirit no end. Txmom.... agree with you on the bone mets thread!! mltdd hope your side effects will be minimal this time round.
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So pleased to see good news from you Scrunch and Judo! I find out tumor markers this week again. Hoping for another big drop as I head into week 10 of the weekly Taxol with the Herceptin/Perjta combo. So far, the drops have been pretty big, but hoping to get near the normal range soon. At 6 weeks into treatment it had dropped about 75% but was still at 218. Your posts give me lots of hope!
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DGHoff, no doubt that tumor markers will keep dropping!! x
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DGHoff - Great news on your dropping tumour markers. Hoping you will be in the normal range very soon.
I missed one treatment to accommodate our vacation. My marker went up 25% upon return from vacation so I was glad to get the loading doses of Herceptin and Perjeta soon after we returned home. I am hoping the marker will be down when I'm tested in a couple of weeks.
Thinking of you all,
Karen
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Got my tumor marker results and wanted to share some good news! After 9 weeks of weekly Taxol and the Herceptin/Perjeta every 3 weeks, my markers have dropped from 857 down to 141 with the CA25 and dropped from 40 to 7.5 with the CEA markers. Neither are in normal range yet, but getting closer! I just finished week 10 today and have 2 more weeks on this regimen and then we scan. Gulp! I was hoping to get a little closer to normal by now, but did anyone else still see big drops in their last few weeks on Taxol? My doctor says if I'm clear at 12 weeks, I won't have to do weekly Taxol anymore and can just do the Her/Per combo and a hormone therapy. I'm trying to get my expectations in line with reality. Is it possible I can still have big drops in these last few weeks? I mean, I know it's possible to go down a lot as in just two weeks I dropped from 857 down to 408 at the start, but it seems like it is slowing down now as I get farther along with my treatment. I suppose that is normal, but I don't really know.
Oh and some good news on bone mets too. Had a Dexascan which shows normal bone density, so the Xgiva must be helping! It sure is easier to go to treatment when you can know that it is doing some good. Honestly, even without the numbers, I can tell it is working. When I started treatment, I was having a lot of trouble with coughing, shortness of breath, getting tired easily, etc. The cough is gone, I can breathe so much better, and I'm feeling strong despite the Taxol fatigue (But I'd still really like to be done with the Taxol.)
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DGHoff, delighted for you, great news!!. Not sure about the Taxol as I was on Taxotere every three weeks for nine sessions. The bottom line is that treatment is working!! I fully know where your coming from re knowing that it is working for when I was first diagnosed my cough and shortness of breath was bad and after only 3 sessions of chemo I felt great (despite the expected chemo side effects).
No doubt that your upcoming scans will reflect your good news. x
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DGhuff--from 10/2012-2/2013 I had 18 weekly Taxols with every 3 weeks h and p and xgeva. We don't do tumor markets so I have no clue what those numbers mean, sorry. But I will tell you that my scans at the end of the 18 weeks shoes a complete response in my breast, 75% reduction in liver tumors and spinal mets. The great news is that since I have continued h and p, xgeva, and added tamoxifen--I have continued to see results! My liver mets are now minuscule as well as spinal mets. They actually could just be scar tissue? I think this combo is amazing. I hope you continue to see positive results!
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Great news DGHoff! I'm sure those markers will continue their trajectory towards the "normal" range.
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Well I try not to be a complainer, but the neuropathy in my legs is becoming unbearable. Not pain, but numbness - feels like my legs are made of wood from the knees down. It's also in my hands, although not as bad. It is really most uncomfortable, and makes me clumsy and clunky. We know it is probably the result of the perjeta (I have been in H&P for a couple of years now, and at my last scans in June I was determined to be mostly "inactive"). I have spoken to my oncologist about it and meds for this are limited and have real side effects themselves. I was hoping to hold out until next scans in June (I am down to once every 12 months - YEA!) and maybe talking about a little break from the P, although I know that the doc is not enthused as I am not ER+ and can't supplement with hormonals. I already do acupuncture once a week, which helps with a multitude of other drug effect issues and helps my emotional side too. So to my BCO brain trust: any good ideas? Thanks and love to all, SUE
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After three rounds of chemo and chemo related thrush, I've developed an aversion to all things that I relate to chemo mouth care. Can anyone recommend any other products. I've used Act dry mouth toothpaste, Biotene, Medactive fluoride mouthwash, Thera breath mouthwash, Magic Mouthwash, Nystatin. I chewed ice during the 2nd and 3rd treatments but still ended up with the infection. The ice did help eliminate the sores i received the 1st time. Thanks in advance.
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Sueopp and mltdd, So sorry you are dealing with these side effects. I don't have any suggestions for neuropathy, I'm afraid, but I do have a suggestion for the mouth care. Have you tried oil pulling? I use coconut oil and swish it around in my mouth for several minutes once a day and then spit it out. Seems to have kept mouth sores at bay. Coconut oil does have some anti microbial properties so it may help with the thrush. You can also add a drop of peppermint essential oil to it.
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Hi ladies! I am so far behind on the board here. Will spend some time catching up.
My Mom has her 1st PET Scan tomorrow. She has been discharged from rehab and seems to be doing well. Her Onc says her breast tumer is feeling smaller. She continues on Herceptin and Perjeta, Faslodex and Arimidex.
I hope as I read the boards you all have gotten good reports. Many hugs.
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That is wonderful news Nik. I'm very happy for you and your mom. I've read of women who have been stable on this regimen for a very long time. Best wishes to you both.
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Nik: great news! Have been thinking of you and your mom.
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Ladies - I wanted to share a bit of good news. The ovarian ultrasound results showed that the cyst/neoplasm shrunk by more than half and is therefore probably just a cyst and not BC Mets. I'm reconsidering removing my ovaries now.
I feel silly bringing this up, but it really has me upset. My husband took our cats to the vet yesterday for a routine check up and they found mammary gland tumors on my 7 year old calico Annabelle. She's my little girl, the one who snuggles with me every night. He wanted to do surgery right away so we took her in this morning and he removed all the glands on one side. She has a huge scar and about 20 staples. The pathology report will be back in 5-7 days, but from what I've been reading, mammary gland cancers in cats are highly malignant and usually go straight to the lungs. I'm heartbroken and so is my husband. We adopted her from the Humane Society in Dec 2011 and she has been the sweetest kitty.
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Oh Shutterbug! I'm glad for the good news on the cysts! Hooray! But so sorry about your cat! The rollercoaster ride just doesn't stop sometimes, does it. Hoping the pathology report comes back benign. She looks like a sweetheart.
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Shutterbug - Great ultrasound result!. So sad to read about Annabelle. She is beautiful. Pets are family. Hoping that her pathology comes back benign.
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shutter--on no! I'm so sorry for your sweet little girl! She is beautiful too! Praying everything will be benign! Hugs
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Hoping for good news about your cat!!
PET results...mildly metabolic bone mets, near complete resolution of breast mass without metabolic activity.
Her onc seems very pleased. No changes, continuing herception and perjeta. Still not adding Taxotere.
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Shutterbug - So glad to hear about the scans! So sad to hear about the kitty. She is lucky to have a human like you, who will weigh the benefits of treatment to her health and quality of life before making any decisions. I'm sure you have given her a fantastic kitty life. My kitty Elmo, whom I adopted through a rescue, lived with me for about six years when he was diagnosed with multiple brain tumors (he even got a kitty MRI!). We were able to give him drugs (prednisolone) to maintain his QoL for quite a while. There will be options for your kitty. :-)
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Niki - yay for more good news for your mom!
Thanks everyone for the kind words about Annabelle. She is recovering from surgery nicely, although she will only eat her brother's food when fed to her by hand one piece at a time. Such a princess!
Scrunch - our 17 year old male cat is on Pred for a brain tumor too! He started having seizures several years ago, but does well in the Pred. Now he is diabetic and on insulin too.
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