Breast Cancer stage 2

Good Day, may all be well and happy always.
I had my mascetetomy done and the reports showed that it is PR and ER nehative. I was told to have a FISH test and to use Herceptin if necessary.
What is FISH TEST and when is it necessary to use herceptin? I heard it is an expensive drug and what is the difference between other normal drugsto treat breast cancer? What is the successful rate by using herceptin ?
Please advice, thanks.

[PaulMD]

Hi there.

Herceptin is indeed an expensive drug and it is given to patients whose tumors will be positive for the Her2 receptor.  Herceptin has dramatically improved survival rates and has been deemed as one of the cornerstones of modern, molecular, cancer treatment.  These molecular targeted drugs carries a better side effect profile and tolerability than the standard chemotherapy drugs.

The FISH test is short for Fluorescence In-Situ Hybridization and is a test to determine the Her2 status of the tumor.  Your tumor samples are submitted to this test and results would take about a few days to come out.

Regards.