Gynecological care while taking Tamoxifen

I posted something like this a few months ago, but there are lots of new people considering taking Tamoxifen, so I thought that I'd repeat, since I feel very strongly about this topic.

I would like to encourage everyone to have consistent gynecological care before, during and after taking Tamoxifen. It's important for the doctor to have baseline test results and be able to follow you regularly.

In 2000, as soon as my primary care physician learned that I was going to start taking Tamoxifen, he immediately referred me to a Gynecologist (for a few years my PCP had done my annual exam and pap smear). In addition to the normal exam, the gyn ordered a baseline sonogram, so he would know how thick my uterine lining was before I started on the drug.

After six months, I had to stop taking Tamoxifen because I developed blood clots (probably totally unrelated to the drug). Since then, I’ve had several minor problems with bleeding, and the Gynecologist has done many tests to assure that all is well. Most of them (with the exception of a D&C) have been easy and haven’t been painful, and they add assurances that there isn’t anything wrong.

A couple months age, when I had my annual exam, and complained that I was still occasionally having a period (at 57), my doctor felt much more urgency about testing since I had taken Tamoxifen for a period of time (even though it was only six months). Long story short, he found polyps which have since been removed and were benign, so hopefully that's the end of the bleeding.

I would never discourage someone from taking Tamoxifen or a similar drug, because there are definite advantages. I might not have had a recurrence this year, if I'd been able to continue the Tamoxifen. But, the most important thing is to have good care that helps to diagnose any problem early.

Joyce