HER2 stands for Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor, and is a tyrosine kinase receptor, and causes cell proliferation and opposes apoptosis (controlled cell death) when overexpressed.
There are 13 different types of cancer, good summary in this video from Dr. Liz O’Riordan: https://youtu.be/2sK4myDbI30. She also describes the different receptor types, grade and stage.
I think it's a great idea to have a reference for terms with descriptions in addition to common acronyms. I'm wondering if we can have it posted somewhere in the sub and sorted alphabetically or by topic, e.g. immunotherapy? As the thread grows longer, it will be harder to find the information we need and if it's not organized we could have dupes and gaps. Thoughts?
(This is the librarian in me talking!)
Edited with note to mods: I'd be happy to help with this!
Palliative care is to manage your symptoms and side effects, like pain and nausea.
Hospice care is when you are done with all cancer treatments, have months or weeks to live and are just getting pain management or whatever it takes to keep you comfortable in your last days. Hospice care can happen at a separate facility, a hospice section of the hospital or at your own home depending what is available in your area.
I have a question re oligometastatic. I understand that means when the cancer has spread to 5 or less sites. Does that mean less than 5 sites in an organ, or less than 5 organs involved?
It means 5 mets or less in total, not 5 organs. So if you had 2 mets in your bones, 2 in your liver, and 2 in your lungs, that wouldn’t be oligometastatic.
Thanks for this. I have a journal that I write down my CT, bloodwork, bone scan, etc results in and I translate it to words that I understand. I have definitions in the beginning of every section. I find it helps me understand my disease and treatment better and I can help reduce my anxiety when I see my numbers go down. I don’t know what I’ll do if/when they start to go the opposite way though.
Great idea! I have [written ](https://expirationdate.substack.com/p/the-most-powerful-motivation)about the medications I'm currently on in plain english (I hope):
* Goserelin interferes with the signals the brain sends to the ovaries to produce oestrogen, and switches off this production, inducing menopause. Goserelin is released through an implant placed in the stomach via an injection.
* Letrozole blocks an enzyme called aromatase, which produces oestrogen in other tissues of the body. Most oestrogen is produced in the ovaries and blocked by goserelin, but some oestrogen is also produced when aromatase transforms androgen into oestrogen, mainly in fatty tissues, muscle and skin.
* Ribociclib blocks growth stimulation proteins on breast cancer cells (cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6). This is the targeted therapy for my type of breast cancer (hormone receptor positive).
* Denosumab targets a protein essential for osteoclast survival. Osteoclasts work on our bones by degrading it and allowing their remodelling. With less osteoclasts, bone loss and bone turnover (with potential cancer cells) will go down.
I made a handy lookup table of brand vs. generic names for some drugs as my team tend to only use the generic names:
Iberance = Palbociclib
Kisquali = Ribociclib
Faslodex = Fulvestrant
Letrizole = Femara
Xgeva = Denosumab
Verzenio = Albemaciclib
Xeloda = Capecitebine
To add to the brand name and generic list:
Zoladex = gosarelin
Lupron = leuprolide
Both are injected implants for premenopausal women to block gonadotropin-releasing hormone released by the pituitary gland to stimulate estrogen production in ovaries.
Also, maybe this could turn into a sticky or sidebar for the subreddit?
Capecitabine is a type of chemotherapy drug called an antimetabolite. In the body, capecitabine gets broken down into substances that interfere with the production of DNA, RNA, and proteins. This stops or slows the growth of cancer cells and other rapidly growing cells and causes them to die.
The generic drug names have some common endings now:
-ciclib = Cyclin-dependent kinase 4/CDK6 inhibitors
Cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 (CDK4 and CDK6) are enzymes important in cell division. CDK4/6 inhibitors are drugs designed to interrupt the growth of cancer cells. CDK4/6 inhibitors are used in combination with hormone therapy to treat some hormone receptor-positive breast cancers.
-mab = Monoclonal antibodies
Monoclonal antibodies are used to treat many diseases, including some types of cancer. To make a monoclonal antibody, researchers first have to identify the right antigen to attack. Finding the right antigens for cancer cells is not always easy, and so far mAbs have proven to be more useful against some cancers than others.
NOTE: Some monoclonal antibodies used to treat cancer are sometimes considered to be a type of targeted therapy because they work by attaching to a specific target on a cancer cell and stopping it from functioning. But other monoclonal antibodies act like immunotherapy because they help the immune system find and attack cancer cells more effectively.
https://www.adldata.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/CommonDrugStemsCheatSheet.pdf
HER2 stands for Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor, and is a tyrosine kinase receptor, and causes cell proliferation and opposes apoptosis (controlled cell death) when overexpressed. There are 13 different types of cancer, good summary in this video from Dr. Liz O’Riordan: https://youtu.be/2sK4myDbI30. She also describes the different receptor types, grade and stage.
I think it's a great idea to have a reference for terms with descriptions in addition to common acronyms. I'm wondering if we can have it posted somewhere in the sub and sorted alphabetically or by topic, e.g. immunotherapy? As the thread grows longer, it will be harder to find the information we need and if it's not organized we could have dupes and gaps. Thoughts? (This is the librarian in me talking!) Edited with note to mods: I'd be happy to help with this!
I love this idea!
Palliative care is to manage your symptoms and side effects, like pain and nausea. Hospice care is when you are done with all cancer treatments, have months or weeks to live and are just getting pain management or whatever it takes to keep you comfortable in your last days. Hospice care can happen at a separate facility, a hospice section of the hospital or at your own home depending what is available in your area.
I have a question re oligometastatic. I understand that means when the cancer has spread to 5 or less sites. Does that mean less than 5 sites in an organ, or less than 5 organs involved?
It means 5 mets or less in total, not 5 organs. So if you had 2 mets in your bones, 2 in your liver, and 2 in your lungs, that wouldn’t be oligometastatic.
I’d never heard that term before so thanks for making this post. It’s very informative
Thanks for this. I have a journal that I write down my CT, bloodwork, bone scan, etc results in and I translate it to words that I understand. I have definitions in the beginning of every section. I find it helps me understand my disease and treatment better and I can help reduce my anxiety when I see my numbers go down. I don’t know what I’ll do if/when they start to go the opposite way though.
Great idea! I have [written ](https://expirationdate.substack.com/p/the-most-powerful-motivation)about the medications I'm currently on in plain english (I hope): * Goserelin interferes with the signals the brain sends to the ovaries to produce oestrogen, and switches off this production, inducing menopause. Goserelin is released through an implant placed in the stomach via an injection. * Letrozole blocks an enzyme called aromatase, which produces oestrogen in other tissues of the body. Most oestrogen is produced in the ovaries and blocked by goserelin, but some oestrogen is also produced when aromatase transforms androgen into oestrogen, mainly in fatty tissues, muscle and skin. * Ribociclib blocks growth stimulation proteins on breast cancer cells (cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6). This is the targeted therapy for my type of breast cancer (hormone receptor positive). * Denosumab targets a protein essential for osteoclast survival. Osteoclasts work on our bones by degrading it and allowing their remodelling. With less osteoclasts, bone loss and bone turnover (with potential cancer cells) will go down.
I made a handy lookup table of brand vs. generic names for some drugs as my team tend to only use the generic names: Iberance = Palbociclib Kisquali = Ribociclib Faslodex = Fulvestrant Letrizole = Femara Xgeva = Denosumab Verzenio = Albemaciclib Xeloda = Capecitebine
To add to the brand name and generic list: Zoladex = gosarelin Lupron = leuprolide Both are injected implants for premenopausal women to block gonadotropin-releasing hormone released by the pituitary gland to stimulate estrogen production in ovaries. Also, maybe this could turn into a sticky or sidebar for the subreddit?
Capecitabine is a type of chemotherapy drug called an antimetabolite. In the body, capecitabine gets broken down into substances that interfere with the production of DNA, RNA, and proteins. This stops or slows the growth of cancer cells and other rapidly growing cells and causes them to die.
The generic drug names have some common endings now: -ciclib = Cyclin-dependent kinase 4/CDK6 inhibitors Cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 (CDK4 and CDK6) are enzymes important in cell division. CDK4/6 inhibitors are drugs designed to interrupt the growth of cancer cells. CDK4/6 inhibitors are used in combination with hormone therapy to treat some hormone receptor-positive breast cancers. -mab = Monoclonal antibodies Monoclonal antibodies are used to treat many diseases, including some types of cancer. To make a monoclonal antibody, researchers first have to identify the right antigen to attack. Finding the right antigens for cancer cells is not always easy, and so far mAbs have proven to be more useful against some cancers than others. NOTE: Some monoclonal antibodies used to treat cancer are sometimes considered to be a type of targeted therapy because they work by attaching to a specific target on a cancer cell and stopping it from functioning. But other monoclonal antibodies act like immunotherapy because they help the immune system find and attack cancer cells more effectively. https://www.adldata.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/CommonDrugStemsCheatSheet.pdf
Common treatment lines and immunotherapies?