Herception Stoppage

Susan956
Susan956 Member Posts: 510
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Has anyone who has been on herceptin had to stop taking it due to low heart ejection ratio. I have been off the drug for about 6 weeks and so far the heart ejection ratio is geting no better. They will check it om the next several weeks and if it continues to get no better then I will probably have to discontinue taking herceptin, I finished the first 20 or the planned 52 treatments. Is there anyone else who have had to stop using the drug?

Comments

  • Jeanne7
    Jeanne7 Member Posts: 3 Member
    #2
    My doctor stopped my Herceptin just short of the planned 12 months. Ejection fraction has dropped from 72.9 to 47 but this must not be as low as yours because he didn't mention rechecking it and scheduled my next visit in 6 months.
  • Susan956
    Susan956 Member Posts: 510
    #3
    Jeanne7 said:

    My doctor stopped my Herceptin just short of the planned 12 months. Ejection fraction has dropped from 72.9 to 47 but this must not be as low as yours because he didn't mention rechecking it and scheduled my next visit in 6 months.

    Actually my ejection ratio with 20 weeks worth of treatments went from 65 to 47. It was stopped then. And will only be reconsidered for completion if it goes back up. Apparently, this reaction is not very common to occur after only 20 weeks worth of treatments.

    The only reason they are rechecking my heart ejection ratio is to determine if we can restart Herceptin. I don't notice any ill effects. They just want let me continue the Herceptin.
  • Jeanne7
    Jeanne7 Member Posts: 3 Member
    #4
    Susan956 said:

    Actually my ejection ratio with 20 weeks worth of treatments went from 65 to 47. It was stopped then. And will only be reconsidered for completion if it goes back up. Apparently, this reaction is not very common to occur after only 20 weeks worth of treatments.

    The only reason they are rechecking my heart ejection ratio is to determine if we can restart Herceptin. I don't notice any ill effects. They just want let me continue the Herceptin.

    I am sorry it took so long to get back to you. My computer has been down. From all the recent articles I have been reading, new studies are recommending only a 9-week course of Herceptin to be effective so I am hoping you have had enough for it to do what it was supposed to do. By the time I was half way through my treatment my dr said he could no longer feel any lump at all. Let me know if your ejection fraction starts to come back up and how you are doing. I am completely done with my treatments and getting my port out this coming week. My oncologist feels my cancer is completely gone but I am having trouble thinking of myself as a "survivor"; at least at night. I guess everyone goes through that same feeling.

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