New Normal

[Kcap430]

Good morning beautiful ladies 😀

This week I started my Taxol and Herceptin cocktail. Being my cancer mutated from HER2 low to HER2 positive with progression to liver this seems like the most head on approach.

This is certainly a drastic change from what I was experiencing on Ibrance and Letrozole but we all know this is a roller coaster ride.

Any ladies have experience with this treatment? The fatigue is knocking me for a loop and definitely playing with my mind. Did you have a good outcome with it?

I wish you all a joyous holiday season. I hope your hearts are filled with everything that makes it sing. ❤️🎄❤️

[Laskia]

I haven't had experience of it but my oncologist said that if my cancer mutated to gain HER2 receptors it would be good for me as I would have more options. I have heard of metastatic disease going into long term remission with some of the HER2 drugs.

It was working well on my elderly mother who unfortunately died of something unrelated to the cancer.

[urthmothr]

As you said, each person's experience is unique. I started Taxol with Herceptin and Perjeta when my breast cancer metastasized to a lymph node, and possibly my spine. My only treatment before then was a mastectomy, 2 years before, for DCIS. i guess it wasn't "in situ," after all! The Taxol wiped me out! It didn't help that I was overweight, over 70 and the COVID pandemic combined with the lowered immunity kept me indoors. I went from very active to lethargic. Exercise? it was all i could do to manage my own self-care, and light housework. Thank Goodness my husband is a good helper! After 12 weeks of Taxol, I continued H & P every 3 weeks. My scans have been stable for over 3 years, now! My long-time effects are peripheral neuropathy, which started just before the end of my chemo, and fatigue. Also back pain from compressed vertebrae, which may have been caused by the cancer, but has been stable for as long as I've been receiving the immunotherapy. I have chronic diarrhea which may or may not be associated with the chemo/immunotherapy. I'm going in for FODMAP breath testing, to see whether I can pin down any trigger foods.

I think of it as being like a chronic illness, that I have good days and bad days, I'm grateful that I am fully retired, and don't need to work for income, but I miss being as active as I used to be.

[Fun2garden in reply to urthmothr]

hi! I wanted to thank you for writing. As the saying goes, misery loves company😉 My journey is mirroring yours almost exactly. My cancer has metastasized to my liver. As I have exhausted all pill forms of treatment, I too am on Taxol with Herceptin and Perjeta. I am half way through the planned 12 sessions. I tell my husband, I would need to invent another word to explain how tired I am. I have always been someone who struggles to keep still but now can barely get the energy to leave a comfy chair. I too am lucky my husband is so good to me. I have peripheral neuropathy in my feet. I use the Dr. Ho's foot massager 2 - 3 times per week and find that helps me. I'm having difficulty with constipation which seems to be a side effect of chemo.

I too think of my issues as a chronic illness, and have good days and bad. I have learned to give myself a break when I need to. I also make it a practice to do something everyday that is either enjoyable or productive. I seriously don't want to waste any of the time I have been given.

Thank you for sharing! Hope and encouragement are essential in this journey. Best wishes for the New Year!

[Gingerann1]

hi! I have had both Taxol and Herceptin infusions with my orig cancer diagnosis in 2013 but not together. Haven’t heard of as a combo. I had Herceptin every 3 weeks for a year and had absolutely no side effects. Definitely the easiest of anything I’ve gone through in the last 10 years. Taxol by itself seems to be different for everyone. I had 16 weeks of them and was nauseous and tired. I hope you have great results with this combo. Both are “heavy hitters” with HER2+ BC.