after care

pkp
pkp Member Posts: 8
in Breast Cancer #1
Has anyone not taken the 5 year drugs they have to take after radiation & chemo?

Comments

  • skipper54
    skipper54 Member Posts: 936 Member
    #2
    guns blazing
    I'm taking Femara because the doc said it gave the best odds of not having a recurrance. Side effects have been minimal and manageable - increased hot flashes of the nuclear variety. I've started using evening primrose and it has lessened the problem so am sticking with it.
  • pkp
    pkp Member Posts: 8
    #3
    skipper54 said:

    guns blazing
    I'm taking Femara because the doc said it gave the best odds of not having a recurrance. Side effects have been minimal and manageable - increased hot flashes of the nuclear variety. I've started using evening primrose and it has lessened the problem so am sticking with it.

    thanks
    I wonder why my oncol didn't give me that instead knowing I react on almost anything they give me... I just spent 15 on a bottle that just sits there.. Its like a bomb waiting to go off? Lol. I am just wondering if I shouldn't take anything.. What are my chances without it??
  • robang13
    robang13 Member Posts: 333
    #4
    I am on tamoxifen for the
    I am on tamoxifen for the next 5 years. While at first I experienced exhaustion that has mostly gone away. I also had horrid hot flashes but was put on effexor and that as helped. While I didn't want to take them I thought about this coming back if I didn't and to be honest, I don't want to go through this again! If taking this pill just gives me a 1% chance of it not coming back I will take them. My aunt who is in her 70's is on her second round. The first round she was on for 5 years and w/i 2 years of being off she had a recurrence. She is now back on for another 5. I must admit that I looked at that bottle sitting there for days like it was poison before I resigned myself to the fact that it's something I must do for 5 years to increase my chance of staying healthy. I am too afraid to NOT take it~ I hope you make the right choice for yourself.

    Angela
  • disneyfan2008
    disneyfan2008 Member Posts: 6,583 Member
    #5
    I did not have chemo..but
    I did not have chemo..but did have surgery & radiation~ I have been on tamoxifen for just over 3 yrs...not many side effects until 3 yrs in to it! Post meno started bleeding & thickened utuerus. May I had complete hystertomy and all well now..

    Denise
  • Lynn Smith
    Lynn Smith Member Posts: 1,264 Member
    #6
    disneyfan2008 said:

    I did not have chemo..but
    I did not have chemo..but did have surgery & radiation~ I have been on tamoxifen for just over 3 yrs...not many side effects until 3 yrs in to it! Post meno started bleeding & thickened utuerus. May I had complete hystertomy and all well now..

    Denise

    I'm on tamox
    I'm on tamox and doing fine so far.I do have some thining hair.It has to be a protection for me.I didn't take chemo or radiation.My Doctor talked about my case at a medical convention. I'm not saying I was into taking it. It took me 6 weeks to start but the worries were not founded.I am OK.Been taking it for almost 2 years.

    I have allergies to alot of medicines.I tell the doctors and they all say "You have a long list of allergies". Why I hesitated.

    Lynn Smith
  • mollieb
    mollieb Member Posts: 148
    #7
    pkp said:

    thanks
    I wonder why my oncol didn't give me that instead knowing I react on almost anything they give me... I just spent 15 on a bottle that just sits there.. Its like a bomb waiting to go off? Lol. I am just wondering if I shouldn't take anything.. What are my chances without it??

    Ask Your Doctor
    How much Tamoxifen et al. will reduce your chance of recurrence depends on your particular tumor, and your doctor should be able to explain it. But don't let those pills just sit there. There are side effects, but most of them are mild or short-lived or both. The really severe ones are rare. For most people, these drugs are much less problematic than chemo and radiation, and you have already made it through that, right? I'm amazed that they are so controversial. It's my understanding that they reduce the chance of recurrence dramatically -- dramatically -- if you have a hormone-receptive tumor. If your tumor is ER positive, it feeds on estrogen, and dies without estrogen. The drugs work differently, but Tamoxifen tricks the cancer cell into thinking it's estrogen. The cell binds with Tamoxifen at the spot where it would otherwise bind with estrogen, and because it's busy with Tamoxifen, estrogen can't get in to feed it and the cancer cell dies. I took Tamoxifen for five years and I had manageable side effects but I didn't have a recurrence. I did have a new tumor and in a month or so I will start taking Arimidex. For me it's a no-brainer. I will put up with a lot of side effects if it means I will live to see my grandchildren.

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