I'm back.

Well for 5 months I thought I was finally in good remission.  I had a pet/ct done in Feb. and have been told that the cancer is now active again in 6 mediastinal lymph nodes.  I have to go back to herceptin  this Wed. to try for another remission outcome.  I have to have the herceptin once a week for 4 weeks, then once every three weeks like I had it last summer.  I have never had it once a week.  Has anyone else?  Are the side effects harsher if it is recieved/given that often.  The doctor said he wanted to load me up since the cancer has become active again.  I was in such high hopes that maybe the cancer might have decided to behave itself and stay gone for a while longer. 

I have stage lV br. cancer to the lungs and mediastinal area. I guess I should be glad that, that is the only area it has metastisized to, and can be treated with good outcome. 

I havent posted on here in a while, I have not had any troubles and thought my troubles were behind me for a while again.  I went from 01 to 07 before in remission. 

 Oh well, I  guess here I go again..and I guess, its a good thing I can still keep going again..right?  I was in hopes that I could forgo not having to live on the herceptin in order to keep the cancer from returning, but since it only took a few months to do so,  I guess that hope has gone by the way side. 

Take care all...I am glad you are all out there to converse with during these rough times.  It makes the insanity merry go round stop..even if its just for the moment..

 Blessings..

Jodie

Google EFA's (or essential fatty acids) for use with Herceptin.  It is a report put out by the National Cancer Institute.  EFA's were proven to improve the efficacy of Herceptin by 40%!  This is not information that you will find in the brochure about Herceptin, nor will your oncologist tell you about it, as mine didn't.   

I guess the drug companies cannot profit from over the counter drugs, so they do not let you know about this. 

Currently, I am on healing stones from nighthawkminerals.com, as I know  the Xeloda and Tykerb will not cure my cancer.  But since I have been taking the evening primrose oil and cod liver oil, my hemoglobin is up to almost normal after below extremely low, and needing blood transfusions, for two years. Check out YES supplements online.

 You really need to pray that God will lead you to an alternative cure that will heal you.  My friend, Dane, is using hemp oil, but then she is not on conventional medicine,as she doesn't believe in it.

I also take Vitalzym, barley green, and grapeseed extract.  You need to help your body heal from chemo and increase your immune system. 

Might want to be careful with the evening primrose oil.  It's one of the strongest phytoestrogens you can find.  Still quite a bit of controversy about using very strong natural estrogens with breast cancer.  Some researchers say that they act as estrogen hormone replacers, and thus can feed cancer, whereas some say that all phytoestrogens act as estrogen blockers, regardless of whether they are weak or stong.  Personally, I've found more convincing evidence that weak phytoestrogens will act as estrogen receptor blockers, and strong phytoestrogens will act as hormone replacers, so I stay away from soy, red clover, and any of the herbal/botanical preparations that are commonly used for relief of menopause symptoms, including evening primrose.

For a woman who is not estrogen or progesterone receptor positive - are just needing herceptin alone, this would not matter, but for women who have to watch out for the estrogens also, I think it's certainly worth thinking about.

Sincerely,

Tre

Well, everything I googled said nothing about what you wrote.  That isn't good.  I need to do more research, as I am currently wolfing down 3000 mg. of evening primrose oil and 2,000 of cod liver oil.

 Can you tell me where you heard about not taking evening primrose oil with estrogen driven breast cancer?  That is what I have.

I googled evening primrose oil for breast cancer and part of one blog says the following:

 "We still come back to the same question why introduce estrogen activity if you are trying to reduce estrogen activity? The argument goes something like this …

Weaker estrogens found in nature are perhaps safer in some cases than the estrogens manufactured by our own body.

Therefore, as part of your estrogen reduction program, you would ideally introduce a premium phytoestrogen formulation that has mild estrogen-like effects to inhibit your body’s own stronger estrogens (estradiol & estrone). "

Here is the other article regarding Herceptin and GLA's that I was talking about:

"Breast cancer patients with Her-2/neu-positive tumors have an aggressive form of the disease and a poor prognosis," said Ruth Lupu, director of Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Breast Cancer Translational Research Program, who led the study, published in the Nov. 2 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Lupu is professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a researcher at The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.

Lupu and co-investigator Javier Menendez showed that treating cancer cells that overexpressed Her-2/neu with GLA not only suppressed protein levels of the oncogene, but also caused a 30- to 40-fold increased response in breast cancer cells to the drug Herpetin (trastuzumab), a monoclonal antibody that is used for the treatment of many women with breast cancer.

Menendez is research assistant professor of medicine at Feinberg and a scientist at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Research Institute.

"In our tests, treating the cancer cell lines with both GLA and Herceptin led to a synergistic increase in apoptosis [cell death] and reduced cancer growth. Therefore, although further studies are necessary before GLA can enter clinical trials, these findings may reveal a previously unrecognized way of influencing the poor outcome of Her-2/neu-positive cancer patients," Lupu said. "GLA's inhibition of Her-2/neu works in a different manner from that of Herceptin," Menendez said.

"While Herceptin attempts to neutralize thousands of Her-2/neu molecules commonly found in the surface of overexpressing cancer cells, GLA would be more efficient to reduce Her-2/neu levels by preventing the transcription of few Her-2/neu gene copies," Menendez said. "Considering that activation and overexpression of the Her-2/neu oncogene are crucial events in the cause, progression and cell sensitivity to various treatments in breast cancer, results of the study showed reveal a valuable means by which an inexpensive herbal medicine might regulate might regulate breast cancer cell growth, metastasis formation and response to chemotherapies and endocrine therapies," Lupu said.

GLA exerts selective toxic effects on cancer cells without affecting normal cells. Menendez's earlier research showed that supplementation with GLA sensitizes breast cancer cells to some chemotherapeutic drugs, such as paclitaxel (Taxol), docetaxel (Taxotere) and vinorelbine (Navelbine). Lupu and Menendez recently demonstrated that GLA also enhances the efficacy of anti-estrogens, such as tamoxifen and Faslodex.

"Since overexpression of Her-2/neu generally confers resistance to chemo- and endocrine therapies, our current findings can explain why GLA increases the efficacy of breast cancer treatments," Menendez said.

GLA is one of two essential fatty acids - fats that are necessary for maintaining normal functioning and growth of cells, nerves, muscles and organs. Besides evening primrose oil, other sources of GLAs include borage oil and black current seed oil.

Besides Menendez, other authors on the study were Luciano Vellon, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Research Institute; and Ramon Colomer, head of the medical oncology division at the Institut Catala d'Oncologia, Girona, Spain.

Hi Silvieann,

That was an excellent reply you posted - thank you.

I am not as well versed on treatment of cancers that are Her2/neu positive as I am the estrogen/progesterone positive cancers, so there certainly is a lot I can and should learn!

It seems with alternative therapies options aren't always as clearly outlined in black and white as with conventional treatment. Mother nature is just so diverse, and offers us such a wonderful plenitude - it's sometimes very hard to choose. And sometimes it very definitely is a matter of listing out the good points vs the bad points, and choosing the thing that looks like it will do the most benefit for the least harm.

I still personally question that very strong plant estrogens such as evening primrose oil, red clover flowers, and black cohosh, that are strong enough to relieve symptoms of menopause/restore the hormone balance to a manageable level are weak enough to act as estrogen blockers instead of replacers, but I know that many herbalists subscribe to the theory you mentioned in your post.  And I know that there is ongoing research as to whether phytoestrogens that do act as hormone replacers provide the same estrogen nourishment to cancer cells. Who knows - maybe it's a matter of quantity. (e.g. very small amounts of ground flax seed are reported in lab results to act as estrogen blockers, but some researchers question the advisability of using larger amounts of flax seed oil. a friend of mine who was eating flax seed oil in yogurt everyday to ease hot flashes was actually getting enough estrogen thru the flax oil that she started cycling again.  When she stopped eating the flax oil, she stopped cycling again. )

But obviously you are considering much more here than just phytoestrogens, and that can make all the difference in the world.  When  GLA in the evening primrose oil directly inhibits the her2 oncogene, I would think that certainly makes  it worth risking the stronger phytoestrogens in the oil. I had read some time ago that GLA was being researched in the treatment of HER2 positive breast cancer - just as a neutraceutical supplement rather than in herbal preparation, and I had forgotten that evening primrose oil is so rich in that fatty acid.  And if it is able to work to such a high synergistic level with Herceptin, that is fantastic!  Sounds like whoever turned you onto the primrose oil knew what they were about in terms of prevailing against Her2 cancer.

There is an added advantage for those who would choose borage oil or black currant seed oil:  they are both very rich in vitamin b-17, which works in its own way to destroy cancer.  If a person taking them wouldn't mind also boosting with papain and bromelaine (digestive enzymes found in papaya and pineapple, readily available in supplement form,) it would really help the intrinsic factors in the borage and currant get transported into the cancer cells. 2 - 3 papaya tablets chewed before meals, and 500 mg of bromelaine twice a day with meals would be plenty to help utilize the b 17. (I have not been able to find any reports on the vitamin b-17 content of primrose oil.)

Based on some excellent research results in treatment of estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer, I used CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) in my natural regimen, in concert with grape seed extract and a daily small helping of red wine.  The two fatty acids are not the same, but they are both necessary for complete vitamin F, and I suspect that they play very similar roles in the fight against cancer.  And they certainly are nutrients that more and more people in our world are NOT getting through food, which maybe plays a part in increasing incidences of breast cancer?

If you want a delicious addition to your GLA supplementation, try roasted pumpkin and/or squash seeds.  Pumpkin seeds are one of the most complete sources of essential fatty acids you can find.  About 1/4 cup of seeds contains all the omega 3's. 6's. and 9's that an adult human needs per day, in the proportions we need them, plus fiber and 14gm vegetable protein.  They are easy to prepare and keep quite well if stored in a dry airtight and dark container.  (Foods that are rich in essential fatty acids should be protected from light, as exposure to light over time will greatly decrease the nutritional value of any fat soluble nutrient.)

Thanks so much for posting your info.  I wish you and Jodie well!

Sincerely,

Tre