TAXOL & HERCEPTIN

[nagoob]

Well, first of all hello to everyone, I'm from Chile so sorry about my english, but I have a lot of questions about this treatment because my mother suffers from Breast Cancer with methastasis on her Liver. The Chemotherapy didn't work on her body, so the doctors told her that she had to take the drug called Herceptin. Everything was doing fine, she had her 6 month's session with Herceptin, but her breast started to hurt her and it was hot, as if the nodule was inflamed or something, so the only treatment that the doctors decided for her at this moment is the mixture of this two drugs every 3 weeks. I wanted to know how effective this treatment is for a woman of 55 years old, because I don't see her defeated or something, I just see her with a lot of strength, but the secondary effects keep her in bed. That's my question, I hope that you can explain me more about its effectiveness on Breast Cancer. Thank you, and I'll keep in touch for further questions.

[nagoob]

And what about those Stage 4 cases? What's the difference between Stage 4 and the other cases? Thanks for the previous answer. Hugs!

[japdip]

The drugs you mention are often quite effective in treating breast cancer. This of course depends upon how the tumor reacts to them. The fact that your Mother's cancer has metastisized to the liver does complicate things somewhat as she would be considered Stage 4 which is harder to treat since you are treating more than one area of the body. It is true that most Chemotherapy drugs do have side effects and sometimes can be quite severe. Only time will tell how effective the drugs are against her cancer and I'm sure she will be followed very closely by her Oncologist during the treatment. Being otherwise healthy and of strong will and positive thought is certainly a plus in any case. When the drugs are stopped the side effects will lessen although it may take some time. I wish your Mother a successful treatment and you I'm sure will continue to support and encourage her thru these bad times.    Kindest regards .....