I haven't been around for a long time but all is well - in fact great - with me. I finished my final Herceptin treatment this Tues so now I'M DONE!!!! It was an emotional time in the clinic where I seem to have spent so much time since early 2008 - glad to say 'goodbye' but I hope my only visits any time in the future are as a volunteer!
It sure was a special summer with Kathleena and Chris getting married Jul 25th, our beautiful new Granddaughter Olivia Lily was born to delighted parents Andrea and Dylan and then Kathleen and Les amazed me by completing the entire 60km Weekend to End Breast Cancer walk - and raised more than $3,000.

When I saw the Dr. she advised me that I was eligible for the Neratinib trial! I've spent the last few days reviewing the Consent Form for the main study titled: 'A Randomized Double-blind Placebo-Controlled Trial of Neratinib (HK1-272) after Trastuzumab in Women with Early Stage HER-2/neu Overexpressed/Amplified Breast Cancer' (whew). The trial was just authorized to begin in Canada this week (authorized by Wyeth which was just bought out by Pfizer to get access to this drug!) and will involve 3850 subjects worldwide. The study is being done to:
1. Find out if neratinib helps to prevent your cancer from returning, or if it helps to delay the time until your cancer returns.
2. Find out how neratinib affects overall survival.
3. Learn about how neratinib affects the occurrence of brain metasteses.
4. Learn about the safety of neratinib.
It's a Phase III trial that will involve a 50/50 drug/placebo randomized study group. You'll take 1 pill per day (actually they're 240mg and will be split into 6x40mg pills) for 1 year. I'll have a diary to keep track of any side effects (diarrhea seems to be the most common one but can be controlled with Imodium) and fatigue (I'm used to that with the Herceptin & Arimadex!). The study will be one month for screening, 1 year for study drug and 4 years for follow up). Lots more if anyone wants any further information. The Study code is 3144A2-3004-WW if that helps anyone.The hospital where I've received all my treatment (Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ontario) has been chosen as Ontario's site which is great since it's only 1/2 hour from home. I know all the Drs and nurses in the clinic so that's great too. Part of my bittersweet feelings will ending treatment was that, after being under the microscope for the past 18 months, finishing was a bit scary since I knew someone wouldn't be monitoring me every 3 weeks any more. Kind of like being sent home with the baby and wondering how you'll manage on your own. I am absolutely committed to research as the only way to find out the next great thing and this study has no, obvious, negatives so why would I not want to participate?As k4katz says, you always run the risk of just getting the placebo, but the Research Director answered my question and advised that precedent had been set with another drug should Neratinib show better than expected results during the trial - in the previous study, it was 'unblinded' and all participants that received the placebo were given 5 years free access to the drug... good to know!
My plan is to review all the info, head to our place in South Carolina for a holiday in November, get through Christmas and start in January. It's especially important after finding out this weekend that one of our friends just passed away from brain/bone cancer and another lovely friend has just been rediagnosed and is starting chemo again. It's for people like her that the research must continue! I'm very grateful and feel blessed to be part of this trial. Bless you all for continuing to support me and others you know that are facing or have faced this horrible disease.