HER2 and Preventative Chemotherapy

Hi Scamper

Every person’s situation is assessed based on their own circumstances - how big the tumour, HER2 or hormone positive, age, pre- or post menopause etc. However suggesting you wait until you see your oncologist probably isn’t going to help you feel any less anxious right now!

I had a small HER2+ tumour and a larger area of DCIS - I had a lumpectomy on 11th Nov. Sentinel nodes were clear so stage 1, but grade 3.

I’m 8 weeks done of 12 weekly Paclitaxel, I’ll have Trastuzumab every 3 weeks for a year and Zoledronic Acid once every six months for 3 years (every 6 weeks to start with)

At the end of the Paclitaxel I’ll have a week of daily radiotherapy

The good news is I am nowhere near as unwell as I expected to be. I dont have a lot of stamina, but I don’t feel sick or very ill. I have probably lost 85% of my hair but it was very thick to begin with and the rest may well still fall out  

I found the prep I needed for the chemo programme quite heavy going - just before Christmas: blood tests, ECHOcardiogram, Covid and flu jabs, check up by the dentist (for the ZA) and finally the installation of the port.

This last bit was possibly the most hard-going. I’m pretty squeamish and it was done just with local anaesthetic. Having said that, I would certainly recommend it if it’s needed/offered - it makes it so much easier to administer the drugs/take blood etc once it’s in.

Everyone I have met on my cancer adventure has been absolutely lovely. Take as much care as you can of yourself - eat healthy, drinks lots of water, get out for a walk every day if only for a few mins.  It’s not always easy but I’m really aware of how much breast cancer treatment has advanced. 

 Good luck

Hi

It does depend on so many different factors what chemo regime you have. All I can tell you is my experience. I was ER/PR8, and HER2 positive. No lymph node involvement. Had lumpectomy and therapeutic mammoplasty and reduction on other side at the same time. I had 6 chemo treatments. The first 3 were EC, and the second 3 Docetaxel. I tolerated EC far better. I was given anti sickness meds which I took and which worked. Whilst I felt a little nauseous I didn’t vomit. The first few days felt like a bad hangover. I started losing my hair around 15 days after my first chemo, so I had the rest shaved off. The chemo was every 3 weeks. After the first week I started to feel normal and was quite well until the next treatment. Some tummy upset but nothing that I could not cope with. Docetaxel did cause me more problems however. I did have a reduced dose for treatments 5 and 6 because of the side effects that I had. I finished on 10 December and have since had radiotherapy, which was a breeze compared to chemo.Because I was HER2 positive I am having Herceptin injections every 3 weeks until October. I am also on letrozole for 5 years. Both of these treatments have not caused me any problems.