I finished adjuvant chemotherapy 8 months ago for early-stage breast cancer and was just told by my doctor about Herceptin® (trastuzumab). Should I take it?
When the results of the trastuzumab trials were announced, the patients who had been randomized on those trials to not receive trastuzumab were given the option to receive it if they had finished their chemotherapy up to 6 months ago. At some institutions, physicians went back up to 12 months and gave women that option. Since you are within that 6 to 12 month window, it is reasonable for you to consider it after knowing the side effects and understanding the risks, cost, and inconvenience issues. You should keep in mind that the advantage rendered by trastuzumab in the adjuvant setting is significant. A large international clinical trial is ongoing to determine the benefit of adding Tykerb® (lapatanib) to patients with HER2-positive breast cancer who did not receive adjuvant trastuzamab.
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