1. < Gynecologic Cancers

Ovarian cancer: Anyone here on Enhertu?

Posted by corday7578 @corday7578, Apr 27 9:06am

Anyone here on Enhertu? It’s been fairly successful for breast cancer & now approved for ovarian cancer. I’ve been on Doxil/Avastin & it’s no longer working. My gyn/onc is very much into research & is excited about this drug. Success? Side effects?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Gynecologic Cancers Support Group.

jo72 | @jo72 | May 18 9:43am
In reply to @corday7578 "Thank you so much for the info! I’m 71 & will start Enhertu May 16th, praying..." + (show)
@corday7578

Thank you so much for the info! I’m 71 & will start Enhertu May 16th, praying it works!
🙏🩵🙏

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I’m sending major positive messages your way as well. 🙏🏽
Lots of positive messages sent to our brains and our bodies are important as well. I hope you are finding those in all the stress. 👍🏽

REPLY
westonan | @westonan | May 13 4:02pm
In reply to @corday7578 "Thank you so much for the info! I’m 71 & will start Enhertu May 16th, praying..." + (show)
@corday7578

Thank you so much for the info! I’m 71 & will start Enhertu May 16th, praying it works!
🙏🩵🙏

Jump to this post

The very best to you! Sending hugs and good thoughts!

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corday7578 | @corday7578 | May 13 10:49am
In reply to @naturegirl5 "@corday7578 Praying for you that Enhertu works for you." + (show)
@naturegirl5

@corday7578 Praying for you that Enhertu works for you.

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Thank you, my anxiety is over the top!

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Mentor
Helen, Volunteer Mentor | @naturegirl5 | May 13 9:22am
In reply to @corday7578 "Thank you so much for the info! I’m 71 & will start Enhertu May 16th, praying..." + (show)
@corday7578

Thank you so much for the info! I’m 71 & will start Enhertu May 16th, praying it works!
🙏🩵🙏

Jump to this post

@corday7578 Praying for you that Enhertu works for you.

REPLY
1 reply
corday7578 | @corday7578 | May 13 8:45am
In reply to @westonan "Hello Teal Sister, I am 74, have ovarian cancer and have been on Enhertu, via a..." + (show)
@westonan

Hello Teal Sister, I am 74, have ovarian cancer and have been on Enhertu, via a grant from the drug companies, since October, 2023. I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer 1B or 1C, August 2019. Went through the usual stuff and thought I was free and clear until October of 2022 when I had a reoccurrence in my pelvic region. Had 6 rounds of Liposomal doxorubicin and carboplatin with excellent results. However, a couple of spots remained. I elected not to take Avastin with the chemo or as a single agent. I finished that regiment in April, 2023. Had a wonderful summer, our son got married, but I knew I had to begin a new treatment.. With Mayo’s help, (social services?) applied to Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca to receive Enhertu for free. My insurance would not cover it as it was not FDA approved, but covered everything else. The two tumors that I still have have gotten a bit smaller, certainly stable. They are both under one cm. The infusions are every three weeks and after the initial one, Enhertu takes about 30 minutes. I have found Enhertu a lot easier than chemo. I have pretty well worked out my schedule of when I will feel not so great and plan accordingly, but by day 8-10 I am back playing pickleball. Can walk all the other days and have worked to get the most out of my time. I could have stopped, at infusion 10, but I am now too scared to stop, and plan on going another 3 months. I did join a Facebook group for Enhertu and some people have a rough time while others are more like I am. I have not lost my hair, maybe some thinning. Have to watch constipation, nausea for a few days around day 4 or so, but not bad and controlled with Ondansetron. I take some naps but lucky me I am 74 and retired. My tumors are HER2 positive. Hope this helps.

Jump to this post

Thank you so much for the info! I’m 71 & will start Enhertu May 16th, praying it works!
🙏🩵🙏

REPLY
3 replies
jo72 | @jo72 | May 4 11:05pm
In reply to @naturegirl5 "@jo72 I looked back through your other posts and saw that you were considering a second..." + (show)
@naturegirl5

@jo72 I looked back through your other posts and saw that you were considering a second opinion. Did you do that yet? With your questions and the stage of ovarian cancer getting another opinion is what I do. I'd go to a comprehensive cancer center whether there is ton of experience, ongoing research, and physicians who collaborate with one another. You mentioned Stanford as an option. You might also consider UC San Francisco. Your primary care provider could make the referral for you.

Did you have a biopsy or surgery prior to starting on chemotherapy? Your question about HER2 positive could be found on your pathology report. Any tissue that was examined or removed would go to a pathologist who is a medical doctor. It's the pathologist that will make the diagnosis.

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I’ve requested a referral to the nearest major cancer center to me. Thanks. I wish it were Stanford but unfortunately that’s a longer trip.

I had what they called “cancer debulking” surgery to remove tumors throughout my abdominal area. No one ever mentioned testing the tumors other than to say that my cancer isn’t an aggressive type? I have a 6-month follow-up with that surgeon’s PA coming up so now that I’m at least a little more informed, I’ll ask more questions about any “tumor testing” at that appointment. Thanks again.

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westonan | @westonan | May 1 2:25pm

So wish the best for you. It could be just the drug you need! And hope is the best!

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corday7578 | @corday7578 | May 1 2:14pm
In reply to @westonan "Hello Teal Sister, I am 74, have ovarian cancer and have been on Enhertu, via a..." + (show)
@westonan

Hello Teal Sister, I am 74, have ovarian cancer and have been on Enhertu, via a grant from the drug companies, since October, 2023. I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer 1B or 1C, August 2019. Went through the usual stuff and thought I was free and clear until October of 2022 when I had a reoccurrence in my pelvic region. Had 6 rounds of Liposomal doxorubicin and carboplatin with excellent results. However, a couple of spots remained. I elected not to take Avastin with the chemo or as a single agent. I finished that regiment in April, 2023. Had a wonderful summer, our son got married, but I knew I had to begin a new treatment.. With Mayo’s help, (social services?) applied to Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca to receive Enhertu for free. My insurance would not cover it as it was not FDA approved, but covered everything else. The two tumors that I still have have gotten a bit smaller, certainly stable. They are both under one cm. The infusions are every three weeks and after the initial one, Enhertu takes about 30 minutes. I have found Enhertu a lot easier than chemo. I have pretty well worked out my schedule of when I will feel not so great and plan accordingly, but by day 8-10 I am back playing pickleball. Can walk all the other days and have worked to get the most out of my time. I could have stopped, at infusion 10, but I am now too scared to stop, and plan on going another 3 months. I did join a Facebook group for Enhertu and some people have a rough time while others are more like I am. I have not lost my hair, maybe some thinning. Have to watch constipation, nausea for a few days around day 4 or so, but not bad and controlled with Ondansetron. I take some naps but lucky me I am 74 and retired. My tumors are HER2 positive. Hope this helps.

Jump to this post

Thank you for all your info! I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer June ‘23. Finished frontline & was NED in Dec. Six weeks later my CA125 tripled, pet scan showed an area behind my intestine, started Doxil/Avastin. Pet/CT April 23rd showed progression & spread to a lymph node. Spots are very tiny. Chest CT is good & will have a pulmonary function test May 7th & will start Enhertu the 14th. I’m very nervous & my anxiety has taken over. I’m 71 & praying this works! You give me hope 🙏🩵🙏

REPLY
westonan | @westonan | May 1 12:24pm

Hello Teal Sister, I am 74, have ovarian cancer and have been on Enhertu, via a grant from the drug companies, since October, 2023. I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer 1B or 1C, August 2019. Went through the usual stuff and thought I was free and clear until October of 2022 when I had a reoccurrence in my pelvic region. Had 6 rounds of Liposomal doxorubicin and carboplatin with excellent results. However, a couple of spots remained. I elected not to take Avastin with the chemo or as a single agent. I finished that regiment in April, 2023. Had a wonderful summer, our son got married, but I knew I had to begin a new treatment.. With Mayo’s help, (social services?) applied to Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca to receive Enhertu for free. My insurance would not cover it as it was not FDA approved, but covered everything else. The two tumors that I still have have gotten a bit smaller, certainly stable. They are both under one cm. The infusions are every three weeks and after the initial one, Enhertu takes about 30 minutes. I have found Enhertu a lot easier than chemo. I have pretty well worked out my schedule of when I will feel not so great and plan accordingly, but by day 8-10 I am back playing pickleball. Can walk all the other days and have worked to get the most out of my time. I could have stopped, at infusion 10, but I am now too scared to stop, and plan on going another 3 months. I did join a Facebook group for Enhertu and some people have a rough time while others are more like I am. I have not lost my hair, maybe some thinning. Have to watch constipation, nausea for a few days around day 4 or so, but not bad and controlled with Ondansetron. I take some naps but lucky me I am 74 and retired. My tumors are HER2 positive. Hope this helps.

REPLY
2 replies
val64 | @val64 | Apr 30 2:29pm
In reply to @jo72 "I keep hearing terms like HER2- positive, etc. from other people. My oncologist has never even..." + (show)
@jo72

I keep hearing terms like HER2- positive, etc. from other people. My oncologist has never even mentioned things like this. Should I be asking for more information on my tumor/cancer type?

The first chemo left me with several tumors which were in areas that the cancer surgeon said they couldn’t be removed. He thought chemo would get rid of them but it didn’t.

I’ve been on Avastin for several months which has stopped their growth. I figure that fairly soon, I will be in the position of “What do I do next?”

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It's definitely a good idea to ask what the options are if/when the current treatment doesn't work so well anymore. Might be worth asking both your oncologist and a second opinion.

They probably didn't test for HER2 on your original pathology report, but they can go back and test for that, or any other protein that's a target of a specific drug, any time they want. Tests like that ("immunohistochemistry" or "IHC") are inexpensive and take a couple days. If the next plan is one of these targeted drugs, they can probably order those tests now to see which drug might work for you.

You could also ask if they can do a DNA sequencing test on your tumor, which might suggest clinical trial possibilities. Sequencing is expensive and takes longer, but should be covered by insurance in your situation. (I just had a biopsy on one of my metastatic tumors so that its DNA can be sequenced. Hope it works and there aren't any insurance snafus.)

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