Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Chemo Tuesday - Happy Hour...
Hello all... Sitting at MD Anderson, 5th Floor, Room 20, first chair to the left, getting Chemo treatment #10 of 12! I am pretty sure that this is correct!!! Yippee! Then off to round 3!!! I missed my Doctors Appointment today! Had so much going on! Sarah, had to get her shots today for school - long story short-was told one month ago that she was up to date on her shots so no appointment was made however when I called the school about something else I was made aware that she needed more!!! ARGH wake up people!!! That should be a topic in my blog I will not do that now on this one... Anyway I missed my appointment today with Dr. Shah and will need to reschedule - I have many other questions for her. HER2 nue is/was positive "what exactly does this mean?", just questions (I will be bringing in Emily and/or Mike when I do or record it - LOL!), also I need to go to see the Genetics people. Anyway, today I had a MUGA scan for my heart, something that is required every 2 months for me while on Herceptin then off to Chemo I went and here I sit...
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These weeks are truly flying by! Soon this will all be a thing of the past. I am so proud of how far you have come and how strong you have maintained. I love you!
HER2-positive is a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2), which promotes the growth of cancer cells. In about one of every three breast cancers, the cancer cells make an excess of HER2 due to a gene mutation. This gene mutation can occur in many types of cancer — not only breast cancer.
HER2-positive breast cancers tend to be more aggressive than other types of breast cancer. They're also less responsive to hormone treatment.
FROM GENETECH:
The HER2 gene is responsible for making HER2 protein. When two copies of the gene are present in normal amounts, the protein plays an important role in normal cell growth and development. The HER2 protein transmits signals directing cell growth from the outside of the cell to the nucleus inside the cell. Growth factors — chemicals that carry growth-regulating orders — attach to the HER2 protein and signal normal cell growth.
Role of HER2 in Tumor Growth
In approximately 25 percent of women with breast cancer, there is a genetic alteration in the HER2 gene that produces an increased amount of the growth factor receptor protein on the tumor cell surface.
This overexpression can cause cells to divide, multiply, and grow more rapidly than normal. Research has shown that women with HER2-positive breast cancer have a more aggressive disease, greater likelihood of recurrence, poorer prognosis, and decreased survival compared to women with HER2-negative breast cancer. (FROM BARBIE: I'VE BEEN BATTLING THIS FOR 4 YEARS NOW AND MY TUMOR MARKER IS IN NORMAL RANGE FINALLY -HER2 PATIENTS JUST HAVE TO BE TESTED MORE OFTEN THAN OTHER BREAST CANCER PATIENTS AND RECIEVE TREATMENTS TO KEEP IT AT BAY UNLIKE WOMAN WHO CAN GO 5 TO 20 YEARS CANCER FREE - WE HAVE TO LEARN TO LIVE WITH THE CANCER AND KEEP IT REGULATED SO IT DOESN'T GROW OUT OF CONTROL BY US IGNORNING THE FACT THAT IT IS THERE LYING IN WAIT LIKE A RABID DOG)
It is important to understand that the HER2 gene abnormality is only present in the breast cancer cells, not in the rest of the cells in the body, and cannot be passed onto other family members.
(FROM BARBIE: GENETECISTS TEST FOR THE BRCA1 & BRCA2 GENE TO SEE IF YOUR BREAST CANCER IS HEREDITARY - MINE TESTED NEGATIVE AND 1 YEAR LATER MY MOM GOT DIAGNOSED - SO THEY SAID IT WAS PROBABLY GENETIC BUT ANOTHER GENE THAT THEY DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT - P.S. SHE WAS HER2 NEGATIVE)
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