I start my chemo on 16th sept after my holibobs, and herceptin the day before on the 15th. I will be having my Herceptin at the hospital with my chemo, but once thats finished I will be having something which is called Herceptin at home, which I believe is quite a new thing. Has anyone else had this, if so what happens etc. I don’t really know much about how its given. How long it takes.
Thanks.
Hi, I have been told will have it at home after 1st 2 in chemo unit. Specialist nurse will come, site the cannula, give herceptin over 20 min, take cannula out and all done! Sounds easy I hope
Wow, is it really that quick, I had visions of being attached to something for ages. I am sure I have heard people moaning about being at the hospital all day, but maybe there waiting for it. I have no idea at all about it, so thanks for that.
When you have herceptin at the hospital, the first time is what they call a loading dose and is given more slowly and they like you to remain there for several hours afterwards to make sure you don’t have a reaction. That is probably, if I understand you right, why you are having the first dose at hospital. After that it is straightforward and these days they give it over a much shorter period than they used to. Some areas have been giving it at home for a while now but I am not sure how widespread the practice is. I have been on herceptin now since 2004 but never been offered it at home. Probably because I have zometa as well every 3 weeks. I also have a port and I don’t think many District Nurses have training in accessing them.l Hope it all goes well for you.
Dawn
xx
Hi,
I’ve had 4 herceptin so far. I had the first 2 at the same time as I had my tax chemo. Supposedly herceptin works very well when given alongside chemo. The first herceptin I had infused over 90 mins and then stayed in the hospital for 4 hours for observation, the next time it was infused over an hour and 2 hours of observations, the third time it was given over 30 minutes with 30 minutes obs and the 4th time it was given over 30 minutes with no obs. The 4th really was an in and out visit to the hospital. I think there is a risk of an allergic reaction which is why you have stay for obs but it could just be the way that my hospital does things.
I will also be having herceptin at home and should be having it infused over 30 minutes. it’s a pilot at my hospital and I have been told if I’m not happy, I can revert to having it at the hospital. Supposedly you can even have it at work but I don’t fancy that.
Lisa
Hi
Your first herceptin is a stronger dose to challenge your system. They give it slowly and and observe you in case of rare allergic reactions. I then had all the others at home. Am up to 12 now. It takes about an hour and a half in total. The nurse cannulates ( but might have a line in) puts a flush through, then it’s theherceptin and then another flush. We just sit and chat. I was worried about having medical stuff in my house, but it is fine.
Dx
I’ve had all my chemo and 3 Herceptins at home including the 1st one. It’s done over 30 mins once the initial one is out of the way and is fine. No waiting around and one to one care, much nicer than being in a hospital.
Hi
I have just finished my year of Herceptin and apart from the first 3 which were given in Hospital with Docetaxol I had the remaining 15 cycles of Herceptin at home.
The nurse will ring the day before to arrange a time and it used to take 2 hours.The only problem I encountered was that I had a port and if it was an inexperienced nurse they couldn’t always manage to access it although they are all trained to.
It was so nice not having to travel to hospital every 3 weeks and pay for parking and all the waiting around.
Hope you have a fantastic holiday.
Tracy
x
I’ve had 7 of 18 Herceptin so far, with all but the first 2 at home. The nurse rings the day before to let me know what time she’ll be there. I’m on the drip for about 1 1/2 hours. I’m so much more relaxed getting Herceptin at home and appreciate not having to travel to hospital and have it while seeing others having their chemo - I experience sympathetic nausea! My only gripe is that apart from once it’s been a different nurse every time. But they’re all very good at their job and friendly and chatty as well.
I had my herceptin at home (apart from the first two doses) It was done through a company called ‘Healthcare at home’ and I really can’t fault them. As others have said the nurses usually ring the day before to arrange times and then come the following day with all their stuff to administer the dose. They take detailed notes and regular obs and on a couple of occassions also took bloods - the results being fed back to my hospital. The nurses are all very experienced and i felt quite relaxed with them. On one occassion I was very sick the evening after the heceptin and ended up ringing the nurse - she got straight back to me even though it was 3 am - peitty good service.
Hope it goes Ok for you
Caroline
Hi All,
I know this isn’t regarding receiving Herceptin at home but as you are all on Herceptin I wondered if any of you had any side effects. I have Herceptin at my hospital every 3 weeks and have just had my 4th treatment last Monday, however I had a bad reaction to it and ended up in hospital the Tuesday morning. I had severe pains in both legs and feet, tingling in my fingers. The leg pain was very bad and I was unable to walk. I also had this reaction when I was on Chemo last year ( Dosataxyl ), however that time I was in hospital for almost 3 weeks and they had to stop the chemo. I am also experiencing a niggly cough, weight gain ( 10lbs in a week ) and tiredness, is it just me or are these reactions normal. My Oncologist says there are no side effects to Herceptin, I find this hard to believe as I have looked up side effects to Herceptin on the internet and pain in legs and feet is one of them. I would like to hear from anyone who has experienced any of these symptoms,
Thanks, Sharon
I don’t need herceptin, but I had all my chemo at home (lucky enough to have BUPA through work). Soooo much easier and less time consuming than going to hosp. Healthcare at home did mine. Had several diff nurses for bloods and neulasta jabs, but the same lovely chemo nurse for each of my poisonings.
Dx
I had all but the first two at home and that was in 2007 - 2008. Mine was done over 90 minutes but it looks like they have reduced this to 30 minutes for most people now.
All the best
Anne
I have just had my 10th Herceptin in the chemo unit. No option of home treatment here. The guidance here is that the infusion is over 90 mins, however I expect this can be different across NHS Boards. I have some side effects which I am unsure of whether they are from the Herceptin or the Letrozole I am also on. I am getting incresingly tired, although this could be attributed to being back at work full time! I also have a runny nose and a sore throat intermittently with some sinus problems which are more apparent about 5-7 days after my treatment. on the plus side my heart is doing well and I am hopeful that I can complete the 18 treatments without incident. It is a great treatment, only made available for Primary BC’s over the last 6 years. Good luck everyone. J.
i, I had my 12th Herceptin at home yesterday with Healthcare at Home, have had some of the nurses 2 or 3 times so you get to know them, they are all lovely and very good at their job. mine usaualy takes a couple of hours, all in, but time passes quickly when you’re chatting! I get waves of tiredness an some aches & pains and sniffels but that’s all
Carol
This is going to sound really miserable but I hated having herceptin at home! I actually quite like the hustle and bustle of the hospital, with people are popping in and out, chatting to the nurses (who I have build a bit of a relationship with) and other patients if you feel like it. Or if you don’t feel like it, just people watching or sitting quietly with a magazine.
I felt horribly self-conscious having someone come into my home, I felt like I had to tidy up, I’m sure they wouldn’t care but I would have been embarrassed if my house was a state. Also, at times it was excruciating having to make small talk for an hour and a half with a total stranger (I had a different nurse every single time) when it’s just you and the nurse sat there.
That is just me though, and no offense meant to any of the healthcare at home nurses who were all perfectly nice. I just would rather have gone to the hospital. I am lucky that my hospital is an easy 10 min walk from my house so I never had to worry about driving there, parking etc. I am sure it makes a big difference if you do have these things to consider. I just wish I could have been given the choice but I was told it was cheaper to have it at home and therefore I had to. Good luck and sorry if I sound like a moany old cow!! xx
Hi ladies,
Might be a bit late to add to this thread but my chemo nurses have just mentioned that I would qualify to get my herceptin administered at home, I was given the impression that this was a totally new thing!!
Obviously not. I have agreed that I would prefer it at home as I live in a rural location and dont drive so have to rely on others to take me to the hospital. So far I have had 8 herceptins 6 of which were with chemo I have noticed some side effects mainly a nagging cough although this could be a viral infection (my freinds have same cough) the main one is the migranne headache which usually lasts for 1 or 2 days and makes me physically sick, although I did suffer with hormonal migrannes with my periods before BC. As I have spread I will be on herceptin forever. Also it takes 30 minutes to infuse.