Tumor Hormone Status

I found out the hormone status of the tumor today. It is estrogen receptor negative (ER-) (bad) progesterone receptor negative (PR-) (bad) and human epidermal growth factor receptor positive (HER2+) (waaaaaaaaayyyy bad). What does this mean? ER- and PR- means the tumor won't respond to hormonal therapy. HER2+ means that the tumor is especially aggressive. In about 25% of women with breast cancer there is an alteration to the HER2 gene that produces an increased amount of the growth factor receptor protein on the tumor cell surface. This causes the cells to divide, multiply and grow more radipdly than normal. It causes more aggressive disease, poorer prognosis, more liklihood of recurrence, and decreased survival compared to HER2 negative disease. The only positive thing is that the HER2+ disease can be treated with herceptin. It will be in addition to chemotherapy. I will need the herceptin for an entire year. It is usually infused every three weeks. It is a dangerous drug and can cause severe heart and lung issues.

On a brighter note, I went to the Jimmy Buffet concert at the beach, it was awesome. Thanks Bob! and Colleen for watching baby J.