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Profile Detail
- Kathy K.
- HER Story Patient Ambassador
- Location: Leewood, KS
- Treatment
- Treatment: Adjuvant
- Diagnosis: 2007
Biography
Waking up in the hospital after a planned breast reduction surgery, Kathy learned she had breast cancer. Kathy never felt a lump, and never worried that something might be wrong. Three days after her diagnosis, Kathy was back in the operating room for a double mastectomy. The cancer had spread to surrounding lymph nodes, and after several additional surgeries, Kathy’s oncologist suggested she begin chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
Her cancer was HER2-positive, so her doctor recommended a treatment plan that included Herceptin® (trastuzumab), a targeted therapy approved for treating HER2- positive breast cancers. To lessen risks of side effects to her heart function, Kathy’s TCH* treatment plan did not include anthracyclines and her heart function was monitored regularly during treatment. Kathy was happy to learn she was a good candidate for this treatment. Today, Kathy continues to work in the real estate business, relishes the intimate time she spends with her husband, and makes sure to enjoy her family every day. As a HER Story Ambassador, Kathy hopes sharing her personal experience will build further awareness and understanding on living well with HER2-positive breast cancer.
*T=Taxotere (docetaxel), C=Carboplatin, H=Herceptin. Taxotere is a registered trademark of sanofi-aventis.
Who is Herceptin for?
Herceptin is approved for the adjuvant treatment of HER2-overexpressing, node-positive or node-negative (ER/PR-negative or with one high-risk feature)† breast cancer. Herceptin can be used several different ways:
- As part of a treatment regimen including doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and either paclitaxel or docetaxel
- With docetaxel and carboplatin
- As a single agent following multi-modality anthracycline-based therapy
Herceptin in combination with paclitaxel is approved for the first-line treatment of HER2-overexpressing metastatic breast cancer. Herceptin as a single agent is approved for treatment of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer in patients who have received one or more chemotherapy regimens for metastatic disease.
† High-risk is defined as ER/PR positive with one of the following features: tumor size >2 cm, age <35 years, or tumor grade 2 or 3.
What important safety information should I know about Herceptin?
Herceptin treatment can result in heart problems, including those without symptoms (reduced heart function) and those with symptoms (congestive heart failure). The risk and seriousness of these heart problems were highest in people who received both Herceptin and a certain type of chemotherapy (anthracycline). Your doctor will stop or strongly consider stopping Herceptin if you have a significant drop in your heart function.
You should be monitored for decreased heart function before your first dose of Herceptin, and frequently during the time you are receiving Herceptin and after your last dose of Herceptin. If you must permanently or temporarily stop Herceptin due to heart problems, you should be monitored more frequently. In one study with Herceptin and certain types of chemotherapy, an inadequate blood supply to the heart occurred.
Some patients have had serious infusion reactions and lung problems; fatal infusion reactions have been reported. In most cases, these reactions occurred during or within 24 hours of receiving Herceptin. Your Herceptin infusion should be temporarily stopped if you have shortness of breath or very low blood pressure. Your doctor will monitor you until these symptoms go away. If you have a severe allergic reaction, swelling, lung problems, inflammation of the lung, or severe shortness of breath, your doctor may need to completely stop your Herceptin treatment.
Worsening of low white blood cell counts associated with chemotherapy has also occurred.
Herceptin can cause low amniotic fluid levels and harm to the fetus when taken by a pregnant woman.
The most common side effects associated with Herceptin were fever, nausea, vomiting, infusion reactions, diarrhea, infections, increased cough, headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, rash, low white and red blood cells, and muscle pain.
Because everyone is different, it is not possible to predict what side effects any one person will have. If you have questions or concerns about side effects, talk to your doctor.
Please see the Herceptin full prescribing information including Boxed WARNINGS and additional important safety information.
Herceptin® (trastuzumab)
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- What do Adjuvant and Metastatic mean? Learn more.
Adjuvant Care Is defined as additional treatment given after the main treatment plan to decrease the chance of recurrence. Adjuvant therapy for breast cancer can include chemotherapy, hormone therapy, radiation therapy, or biological therapy
Metastatic Breast Cancer Breast cancer that has spread to other sites in the body; also referred to as invasive or infiltrating
