Herceptin, Harry Connick, and Dr. Slamon

One evening a year ago this month, I settled into my evening routine......dinner, clean the kitchen, tuck my son into bed.....and this particular evening I popped some corn and had some chocolate....ready to watch a new lifetime movie. It was a movie starring Harry Connick Jr., which was the only reason I actually sat down to watch it. I knew it had something to do with breast cancer, as they had advertised for it repeatedly all during pink ribbon month! I wasn't so much interested in the breast cancer part, just Harry Connick. Anyway, I invited my husband to watch it with me....after all, I made popcorn and had chocolate......the only way to watch a movie of course! He joined me until he realized it was a lifetime movie, and then quickly disappeared to our basement. Not a problem, I would enjoy this lovely movie and my chocolate all to myself! And I did, for about 5 minutes before I quickly changed channels to some crime drama. All I needed to see was a young mother being diagnosed with an aggressive breast cancer......and then fast forward a few frames later she was wearing a turban around her head because she had lost all of her hair from chemo....holy cow! Not what I call a popcorn/chocolate worthy movie.....I can handle many types of shows/movies.....but ones about mothers dying from cancer are like horror films to me.....and this was before I was diagnosed, before I had even scheduled my mammogram. I avoid this genre of books and films at all cost....I've never enjoyed that form of entertainment.

I was diagnosed with my own breast cancer just 2 weeks after seeing those brief 5 minutes in this film. The film continued to air several times, but I still had no interest in seeing it, even after my diagnosis.....until, I realized that the movie was based on the true story about Dr. Dennis Slamon, who developed a cure for an aggressive form of breast cancer....HER2 POSITIVE breast cancers. Yes, the very cancer I was diagnosed with. Only 20-25% of all breast cancers are her2 positive. Before Dr. Slamon developed the antibody HERCEPTIN in 1998, 40,000 women each year would die from this type of breast cancer.

Over the course of my treatment this year, I have often been asked why, if I was just a stage 1, did I have had to do so much chemo and herceptin for an entire year. Her2positive breast cancers grow and spread very quickly in women. And they tend to recur more frequently, and sooner than other breast cancers. On a grade scale of 1-3, my cancer grade was a 3.....meaning it was spreading and growing at a more rapid rate. I was also ER/PR negative, which meant my cancer was not being fed by estrogen or progesterone....so I didn't qualify for any other targeted therapies. All of this information, is what created my specific treatment plan, along with research and clinical studies that have shown that women with early stage her2 breast cancer survived much longer when they combined chemotherapy with herceptin, and were treated with herceptin after chemotherapy for a total of one year. So when this is ALL said and done I will have had 6 rounds of chemo and 17 rounds of herceptin and a double mastectomy ala carte. What a year! :)

So, yes I eventually watched that Harry Connick movie about herceptin and Dr. Slamon. I watched it with complete honor and respect for the women who were in the clinical phases for herceptin.....not all of them survived as they were not all allowed to remain on the drug....the nature of a clinical trial. So yes, many women lost their lives, so that women like me could survive. I have been so humbled by their courage throughout my treatment. On my most difficult days of chemo I would watch this you tube clip below....it is a clip of Dr. Slamon describing herceptin, and a testimony from Louise Cooper...a 10 year her2 survivor....it reminded me WHY I was doing all this crazy cancer treatment...and that I would have a happy ending!

As for an update......you haven't heard from me in 2 months because I encountered a huge bout of fatigue! The herceptin has started to affect my heart function a bit, which has caused me some shortness of breath and fatigue. I need a lot more sleep than I normally do to feel good. The good news is that my heart will return to normal once I'm finished with treatment.....only 3 infusions left! My next heart scan is tomorrow....hoping for my scores to go up.....the last one revealed that my heart function dropped from a 70% to a 58%....if it drops to 50%, I will need to stop the herceptin. I felt so horrible last month, I was ready to QUIT! If all goes as planned, I will be finished on December 12, 2009. Merry Christmas to me! :) Last year I got a double mastectomy for Christmas, this year I'll be celebrating the end of this journey! Praise God!

And of course the most important question of all.....the number 2 question I get asked, next to how am I feeling, is how is my hair? Well, I will post a couple of photos this week....really I will! For any of you who knew me in junior high, I look like I did in 7th grade.....except my hair is curly now. Not sure how that happened.....interesting!

I hope all of you are enjoying the Fall! Love this time of year....don't you! As always, thank you for your love, support, and prayers this year. Nov. 5th will mark 1 year since this journey began for us, and we are still humbled and thankful for all the support you have shown us! God bless!