Chemo and Herceptin
Dear All
I am a blog virgin who has just had surgery to remove a small but aggressive tumour that was HER2 positive and now is looking at having Chemo and Herceptin. I would very much like to hear...
Forum Discussion
Hi Jude,
Like Lyn says a lot will depend on what sort of chemo you are having. Everyone reacts differently to treatment. Have you received a "My Journey kit" from BCNA? There is a section in there about Herceptin that i found very helpful.
Do you have an appointment scheduled with a medical oncologist?When you see them you will get more information about the chemotherapy regimen that they recommend. You will hopefully also get an extensive education session from a chemotherapy nurse about the treatment and its possible side effects.
I am having Herceptin with my chemotherapy but the side effects I'm experiencing are more to do with the chemo rather than the herceptin. I had to have some baseline tests of my heart function before i started treatment - i had a cardiac echo and ECG (both non-invasive tests) but some doctors order different investigations depending on your medical history. My herceptin is being given every three weeks for a year, yours might be a different schedule. I will have an echocardiogram three monthly while i am having herceptin to check that it hasn't affected my heart function.
Asking the medical oncologist and/or chemo educator/ nurses about venous access is good advice. I have been able to get through my chemo so far using a cannula inserted into a vein in my hand or forearm with each cycle but my medical oncologist says there are other options available if my veins don't hold up for the rest of my chemo.
Good luck with it all.
Doll