hi all
i was wondering if anyone knew the answer to my question. when do you start to count down the first 2 years. is it after diagnosis or finishing herceptin. i keep reading different answers to this.
also, if your cancer is grade 2 this is classed as a less aggressive cancer than 3, right. but if your her2 + this is supposed to be more aggressive, how come?
thanks in anticipation
Hi There,
Sorry, can’t say for sure when you would start to count the first two years. I would have said diagnosis as there are a couple of different ways to administer Herceptin, and lengths of time of treatment.
The grade of a cancer is relevent to the rate at which a tumor grows, sometimes this can reflect your motabalism, younger women tend to have a faster motabalism and tumors tend to be grade 3. I am only 38 but have borderline underactive Thyroid and mine is a grade 2. You can get a lot of grade 1 tumors in older post menopausal women whose motabalism is slower…
Her2+ means that you produce too much of the Her2 protein on the surface of the cell, so if that cell turns cancerous, too much Her2 causes the cell to multiply and divide much quicker than a normal cell. Technicaly causing the cells to become a tumor faster…
Hope this helps
Fiona x
hi fiona
many thanks for that…you did an amazing job of explaining in laymans terms.
anyone else confirm the first 2 years start from diagnosis
Hi Babybelle,
I think it depends on what you are asking. In terms of ‘survivorship’ I understand that is counted from surgery (tho if you’ve had chemo first I don’t know if that applies) but there is a thread where someone asked a question about the two year period when the cancer is most likely to return, and if you have had herceptin then this two years starts after you have finished herceptin (I think it was ChristineMH who gave the answer - she always seems well informed). I assume this is because the herceptin may only be keeping the cancer at bay, and so once you stop taking it, it may return.
So I was dx Feb 07, surgery Mar 07 - I am now over two years on. But I finished herceptin Dec 08 so my two year ‘danger zone’ won’t end till Dec 2010. I may start relaxing then!
I was diagnosed in October 2006 and had surgery followed by chemo/rads/chemo then Herceptin. I finished chemo 2 years ago and Herceptin last April. I asked the oncologists about remission shortly after finishing chemo and I was told it started from the date you had surgery to remove the cancer.
As I understand it, the 2 year mark to do with Her2+ cancers related to this type of cancer recurring within 2 years in around 50% of cases of women who were not treated with Herceptin. I have a relative who retired as an oncology professor recently and he told me that when they first starting using it you could only get it if you had 10 lymph nodes or more involved or the cancer was metastatic.
Both my oncologist and the nurses who administered my Herceptin told me that it continues working in your body until 6 months or more after you have had you last dose; same with radiotherapy.