HER2+

I had my 8th round of Herceptin on Wednesday. I did not have any side effects last time and so far none this time around either. It's so wonderful to get a drug that doesn't effect you much. It was an easy day on Wednesday, I was in and out of there within 1 1/2 hours. I like those kind of visits, with no labs to draw and no doctor's visit, it makes a difference. Nothing to hold you up and wait for.

I have another MUGA scan on the 11th of February. I have to do these every 3 months to make sure that my heart is staying strong because the Herceptin can cause cardiac dysfunction. Many ask me what does the Herceptin actually do and according to my Nursing drug book that my thoughtful mom purchased for me, it states that it is a recombinant DNA-derived monoclonal antibody that selectively binds to the HER2 proteins, inhibiting proliferation of tumor cells that overexpress HER2. You may ask what is HER2, well all normal breast cells contain copies of the HER2 (Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2) gene, which helps normal cells grow. The HER2 gene is found in the DNA of a cell and this gene contains the information for making the HER2 protein. In HER2+ breast cancer, the cancer cells have an abnormally high number of HER2 genes per cell. When this happens too much HER2 appears on the surface of these cancer cells and are overexpressed. Too much HER2 protein is thought to cause cancer cells to grow and divide more quickly, so that is why HER2+ breast cancer is considered aggressive. About 25% of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer are HER2+. So there is your lesson of Herceptin and HER2+ in a nutshell hope that it made sense.

When you think of breast cancer you would think that it is just breast cancer, but breast cancer is so complexed that it's just not categorized as breast cancer when diagnosed. You have hormone receptors that you get tested for and get check to see what your HER2 status is plus with the grade of the tumor and the stage of the cancer, are you lost yet? Anyways not only am I HER2+, but I also am Estrogen and Progesterone positive, which means that couple of weeks ago I started taking the wonderful drug Tamoxifen. It's funny because the other day I was on the YSC discussion board and there was topic posted there "I took my first Tamoxifen" and everyone who responded had the same worries and concerns as I did with it and they all procrastinated a little when they started taking it. Some waited days, like me, some waited months, but we all have the same concerns with the side effects, the major one being HOT FLASHES, welcome to Menopause, oh my. Tamoxifen will now be my friend for 5 years. Luckily I am also taking Effexor, which helps with hot flashes, so that's a plus. And to answer your question Aunt Sandy that you asked me tonight there are different doses of it depending on your treatment that you've had, but it looks like 20mg is the common dose and that's what I'm on.

I was suppose to have my genetic test follow up on the 11th also, but due to my scan I had to cancel. Unfortunately I can not get another appointment until April, so I have my appointment then and I'm also on a cancellation list. I did ask if I could get my result before then, but the receptionist had to give the message to the doctor and I have not heard back yet so have to wait and see.

Posting a couple of pictures of me with the boys. Griffin is getting so big and I'm proud to say that he is now the only one in the house with the least amount of hair, but we are neck and neck. My hair is growing back nicely so far it's my normal color, not blonde. As for the texture I can't really tell yet, but I'm excited to get my hair back and my eyebrows and eyelashes, but of course where I could care less that I have hair or not on my body is coming back as well. As my friend Amy put it too bad it wasn't swimsuit season. LOL.