There is important research that will directly affect one out of every four women diagnosed with breast cancer. Herceptin, a treatment used to boost the benefits of chemotherapy and surgery has been shown to be highly effective, and experts are saying it’s a must-use.

Now, two new studies say herceptin can reduce the risk of cancer recurrence and the overall risk of death.

Three years ago, when Wendy Funk she was only 35, she thought her life was over. Diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32, her cancer had later spread. “When I had the breast cancer metastasis, they had given me six months to live,” says Wendy.

There is important research that will directly affect one out of every four women diagnosed with breast cancer. Herceptin, a treatment used to boost the benefits of chemotherapy and surgery has been shown to be highly effective, and experts are saying it’s a must-use.

Now, two new studies say herceptin can reduce the risk of cancer recurrence and the overall risk of death.

Three years ago, when Wendy Funk she was only 35, she thought her life was over. Diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32, her cancer had later spread. “When I had the breast cancer metastasis, they had given me six months to live,” says Wendy.


But, she had an X-factor on her side. “I had the her-2 gene which made me eligible for a medication called herceptin,” recalls Wendy. Her her-2 gene meant she produced her-2 receptors--which stands for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. The receptor is a protein on breast cancer cells that make them be more aggressive--grow faster--spread quicker--and kill more easily. Overall, it carries with it a worse prognosis.

But, it also acts as a target for treatment when present. Herceptin, the drug Wendy got, has now been shown to be highly effective in the treatment of breast cancer in its early stages. Herceptin is targeted specifically against the her-2 receptor.

When given to patients either during or following chemotherapy after surgery to remove the tumor, herceptin was shown to be, as one author in this week’s new england journal of medicine put it, “simply stunning.”

It reduced the risk of the breast cancer coming back, especially distant recurrence, by around 50 percent. In other words, it stops the spread of cancer.

Dr. Giuseppe Condemi, an oncologist at Englewood Hospital, New York, says, “Most of the studies we look at in breast cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, we’re looking at differences that are 2-3-4-5 percent. Among the oncologic world that’s a huge number.”

It also decreased the risk of having a new breast cancer in the other breast, and even death. “This treatment, over a prolonged period of time, we’ve seen tremendous reductions in the recurrence of breast cancer that essentially dwarfs the response rates we’ve seen in almost every other breast cancer trial,” believes Dr. Condemi. “From being on that medication for just six months, my cancer was almost undetectable. It basically saved my life.” And Wendy is now completely cancer free.

Experts say that now, the standard of care will now be to give herceptin for patients with her-2 positive disease unless there is some major reason not to, and those would be not too common. This is now an important part of the regimen even for those with early stage breast cancer.

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