June 4, 2006

My relationship with Herceptin is one of love and of hate.  The longer I stay on it, the more intense my side effects seem to become.  I have battled a two-day headache this weekend, and I'm sure it didn't help that I traveled this week, right after my triple dose.  The traveling definitely was a good thing though.  In addition to attending a really helpful series of meetings for work, I was able to "crash" the ASCO convention, which is an oncology convention attended by thousands of oncologists and other professionals from around the world.  The people from the Her2support site were there, and they were kind enough to get me a badge.  There was a tremendous amount of information presented, the best news being that the Her2 drug that Glaxo Smith Kline has been working on (the one I have been watching for the last 6 or 8 months) is really close to being available.  There are several articles that I am hoping to get my hands on after reading the abstracts that relate to my situation.  Walt Carney, my friend from Oncogene Science was presenting his work on the Bayer serum testing, but he wasn't there the days I was there, so I didn't get to meet him in person.

It was such a huge coincidence that the ASCO thing was going on when I happened to be in Atlanta.  This week I will be in San Diego--I wonder what will be going on there?!?!  After my meetings in San Diego on Friday I am taking the train to LA and staying with my friend Joan for the weekend.  That will be so cool!

The new Glaxo drug, trade named now "Tykerb," has shown to decrease the odds of brain mets, which is something for which I am at high risk.  They have approved compassionate use of this drug, but I am not sure yet if I will qualify on that basis (that would get me use of the drug earlier than FDA approval).  The drug will hopefully be approved by the FDA late this year.  I am still on triple doses of Herceptin every three weeks, and in September I will decrease the frequency to every three months.  But hopefully soon after that I can switch to Tykerb.

I still am debating my reconstruction timing and whether or not to go ahead and lop off the other one too.  I still have greater odds of getting cancer elsewhere in my body than I do in the other breast, but sometimes I think that anything I can do to decrease my chances of ANY recurrence is the smart thing to do.

March 12, 2006

As I was traveling through my breast cancer treatment journey, I came to realize that I eventually wanted a career back in health care.  I decided that I wanted to be able to make a difference in health care.  Since I can't be a surgeon, I am doing the next best thing...

I have accepted a position with Network Health Plan (#16 in the country as listed by US News), part of Affinity Health System (www.affinityhealth.org).  I couldn't be happier...I formerly worked with many of my new colleagues and I am re-joining a wonderful organization.

At the end of March I will begin my duties as Director of Product Development :-)

February 17, 2006

I made the decision this week to postpone my reconstruction surgery.  It's just too busy right now in my life, but I also will be getting Herceptin until September, so I'd rather wait until that's over to do the surgery.  An added benefit will be that my skin will have additional time to recover from radiation. 

November 27, 2005

Second triple dose of Herceptin went fine again this week.  I have the ladies on the Her2 support website to thank for the advice about switching to every three weeks.  I am still tired the weekend after the treatment, but it is very manageable.

I still have not heard anything about the vaccine trials that I want to join, especially the one in Seattle.  I had blood work done to check my menopausal status, and I am definitely not in menopause.  So I have to wait for the pre-menopausal trial to open up.  However, now that I am on Herceptin, I am not as worried about finding a trial.  There is a oral drug that Glaxo-Smith Kline is introducing late next year or early 2007 that's specifically for Her2 cancers.  So that one should be just in time for me, if it turns out that I need it.

November 23, 2005

Yesterday it was exactly one year ago that I had that fateful mammogram.  In some ways the time has flown by--sometimes it only seems like yesterday that I was forced to kick my health care management into high gear.  Other times it seems like it's been forever--much longer than a year.  I think the worse is behind me :-)

November 13, 2005

They were right.  Triple doses don't seem to have different side effects than single doses.  I had my first triple dose on November 3, and the doses will be timed perfectly for me to avoid getting Herceptin before anything important the next couple months (like skiing over winter break :-).  Which will be interesting since I didn't ski once last year!)

Hopefully I will connect this week with Walt Carney at Oncogene Science in Cambridge.  I want to talk to him about monitoring approaches for potential recurrences.   When I interviewed him for the story in the Scene, he was kind enough to offer to talk to me anytime about my own situation.  We traded emails last week regarding finding a time to have a phone conversation.

On November 22nd it will be one year since my diagnosis.  It seems like forever ago.

November 3, 2005

I asked my oncologist if I could get triple doses of Herceptin every three weeks instead of a single dose each week.  Many of the women on the Her2 website I talk to get their maintenance Herceptin that way.  I asked those women if the side effects were much different and they had nothing remarkable to report.  My doc said triple doses are fine, so today that's what I got.  It will be so much better going in every three weeks.  The cardiac toxicity risks are a bit higher, so I need to go in for regular echocardiograms to be monitor my heart function.  It will certainly make things easier for at least two out of every three weekends :-)

A woman from the UK with breast cancer who was a frequent visitor to one of the UK breast cancer sites lost her battle with breast cancer last Friday.  Her daughter posted this news to the site so everyone would know what happened.  The woman chose an amazing passage for her family and friends to read in her memory.  I am sure they found it very comforting.  I (of course) cried when I read it, but it is so inspirational that I wanted to record it on this site.  Here it is:

All is Well. Death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away into the next room. I am I, and you are you. Whatever we were to each other, that we still are. Call me by my old familiar name, speak to me in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference in your tone, wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together. Pray, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was, let it be spoken without effect without the trace of a shadow on it. Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was; there is unbroken continuity. Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just round the corner. All is well.

Henry Scott Holland
1847-1918
Canon of St. Paul's Cathedral