7 Common Misconceptions About HER2-Positive Breast Cancer

HER2-positive breast cancer is breast cancer that tests positive for a higher-than-normal level of a protein called HER2. Such levels of HER2 proteins make cancer cells grow quicker and spread faster than they normally do. But this type of breast cancer is also more responsive to certain treatments that target HER2. The following are some myths and misconceptions about this type of breast cancer.

While HER2-positive breast cancer cells tend to be faster-growing and more aggressive than HER2-negative cells, there are more targeted treatments for HER2-positive breast cancer available. Because researchers have figured out how to target the HER2 protein, treatments are very effective.

While “aggressive” forms of breast cancer like HER2-positive breast cancer are more common in younger women, you can get a HER2-positive diagnosis at any age. 

It’s possible for a HER2-positive tumor to change status to negative, and vice versa. About 30% of breast cancers can change HER2 status during tumor-shrinking treatment such as chemotherapy. 

HER2-positive breast cancer does spread fast, but only 1 in 4 of early-stage cases become metastatic, or spread to other parts of the body. 

About 10% to 15% of people on certain types of targeted treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer can have a lower ejection fraction (less blood pumped out per heartbeat) as a result of treatment. Once HER2-positive breast cancer treatment became targeted and more effective, people began to live with it longer, which prompted cardiologists’ focus on long-term effects of treatment on heart health. As you’re going through treatment, your doctor will monitor your heart with echocardiograms in case symptoms show up.

The HER2-positive recurrence rate, or how often cancer comes back, in people treated for early-stage HER2-positive cancer is only 5%-30%. This is lower if you have tumor-shrinking treatment before surgery. 

HER2-positive breast cancer is not hereditary, which means you don’t get it from a gene passed down from your parents, and you can’t pass it on to your children. Researchers are still learning more about HER2-positive breast cancer, but they have identified one cause as a mutation in the HER2 gene.

HER2-positive breast cancer can be aggressive, but it’s now highly treatable thanks to targeted therapies. Talk to your doctor to better understand your cancer so you know what’s fact and what’s fiction. Connecting with breast cancer communities through organizations can also help you through your journey and ease your fears.