Why for: Tamoxifen/Arimidex?

jendrey
jendrey Member Posts: 377
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Why did your doctor say Tamoxifen or Arimidex (or whatever) was being prescribed?

What effect has it had on you? What unintended side effects have you experienced?
What benefits have you obtained?

=)

Comments

  • Miss Murphy
    Miss Murphy Member Posts: 302
    #2
    Onc said...
    I should take the AI drug Femara as my bc was estrogen positive. I had a masectomy and as my Ocno Type test score was low, didn't do chemo. I also tried Arimidex. I had severe problems with both drugs - muscle, joint and bone pain, hot flashes, night sweats, etc. I'm now taking Tamoxifen which is more doable for me altho I do have some side effects with this drug as well.

    The benefit? Cancer free for over 2 1/2 years! So I keep telling myself to stay with the program for another 2 1/2 years!


    Hugs, Sally
  • jendrey
    jendrey Member Posts: 377
    #3
    Miss Murphy said:

    Onc said...
    I should take the AI drug Femara as my bc was estrogen positive. I had a masectomy and as my Ocno Type test score was low, didn't do chemo. I also tried Arimidex. I had severe problems with both drugs - muscle, joint and bone pain, hot flashes, night sweats, etc. I'm now taking Tamoxifen which is more doable for me altho I do have some side effects with this drug as well.

    The benefit? Cancer free for over 2 1/2 years! So I keep telling myself to stay with the program for another 2 1/2 years!


    Hugs, Sally

    thanks for your reply!
    So, the AI drugs ensure one to be cancer free? =)
  • Miss Murphy
    Miss Murphy Member Posts: 302
    #4
    jendrey said:

    thanks for your reply!
    So, the AI drugs ensure one to be cancer free? =)

    Unfortunately
    I don't think anything can ensure we are cancer free. We can only hope that whatever treatment we choose to do keeps us that way for as long as possible. But I guess that's life - no guarantees.

    Hugs, Sally
  • carkris
    carkris Member Posts: 4,553 Member
    #5
    Miss Murphy said:

    Unfortunately
    I don't think anything can ensure we are cancer free. We can only hope that whatever treatment we choose to do keeps us that way for as long as possible. But I guess that's life - no guarantees.

    Hugs, Sally

    Tamoxifen
    I am on tamoxifen as the cancer I had was estrogen positive and I was pre menopausal. If a patient is post menopausal they go on Arimedex . some people have side effects that dont get better or are intolerable so they have to change to something else including tamoxifen. Tamoxifen decreases the ability for cancer cells to have the estrogen available to feed them, so they die or at least do not grow. It is an important drug in the arsenal against the disease. I have tolerated tamoxifen fairly well, mostly a bit achy and hot flashes at night, interupting sleep. I have tried changing the time of day I take it but it makes no difference although some women say it does for them. I have only been on it five months so have yet to see if it affects my uterine lining. I am also going to talk to my doctor about taking an aspirin as it can cause blood clots.
  • crselby
    crselby Member Posts: 441 Member
    #6
    No AIs for me, postmenopausal ???
    Good question, Jendrey. I am going to contradict some of what carkris said. I am 12 years post menopausal and my oncologist put me on Tamoxifen. Go figure. The hot flashes were intolerable for me (I've had them for 12 years but Tamoxifen made them worse) so my gynecologist put me on Effexor and that has reduced them to 2 or 3 a day. I still have bad leg and foot cramps that come from out of the blue. Oh yeah, and my gynecologist found that I have grown uterine polyps that I am having removed tomorrow (that's costly$$$). All this for the promise of a 50% reduction in the chance of my breast cancer recurring. So, whereas my recurrance chances were 14%, the Tamoxifen will reduce that to 7% if I take it for at least 5 years. Ugh. (I'm bitter) Recurrance = bigger ugh.

    Taking an AI was never brought up.
    ~~Connie~~
  • phoenixrising
    phoenixrising Member Posts: 1,508
    #7
    crselby said:

    No AIs for me, postmenopausal ???
    Good question, Jendrey. I am going to contradict some of what carkris said. I am 12 years post menopausal and my oncologist put me on Tamoxifen. Go figure. The hot flashes were intolerable for me (I've had them for 12 years but Tamoxifen made them worse) so my gynecologist put me on Effexor and that has reduced them to 2 or 3 a day. I still have bad leg and foot cramps that come from out of the blue. Oh yeah, and my gynecologist found that I have grown uterine polyps that I am having removed tomorrow (that's costly$$$). All this for the promise of a 50% reduction in the chance of my breast cancer recurring. So, whereas my recurrance chances were 14%, the Tamoxifen will reduce that to 7% if I take it for at least 5 years. Ugh. (I'm bitter) Recurrance = bigger ugh.

    Taking an AI was never brought up.
    ~~Connie~~

    Hi Connie, after about 1
    Hi Connie, after about 1 1/2yrs on and off of Tamoxifen I had to go off. The regime here is 2 1/2 yrs on Tam and 2 1/2yrs on an AI. This has been proven to be better than 5 yrs of Tam for post menopausal ER pos BC. Arimidex was just as hard on me only in a different way so now I'm on Aromasin till 2012 and it is much more doable than Tamoxifen. I wonder if it is the pro bone and positive effect on cholesterol that your onc feels you should stay on it.
  • carkris
    carkris Member Posts: 4,553 Member
    #8
    phoenixrising said:

    Hi Connie, after about 1
    Hi Connie, after about 1 1/2yrs on and off of Tamoxifen I had to go off. The regime here is 2 1/2 yrs on Tam and 2 1/2yrs on an AI. This has been proven to be better than 5 yrs of Tam for post menopausal ER pos BC. Arimidex was just as hard on me only in a different way so now I'm on Aromasin till 2012 and it is much more doable than Tamoxifen. I wonder if it is the pro bone and positive effect on cholesterol that your onc feels you should stay on it.

    What I wrote was the 'rule
    What I wrote was the 'rule of thumb" but everyone is different. some people are post menopausal and dont tolerate the AI's so they go on tamoxifen. The reason I am on it is they cant say I am officially in menopause. (chemopause) because some women like me get their period. I could go into an official menopause by taking lupron or having my ovaries removed which I am considering, then taking AI's. I dont really want to change as I have heard so much about them and prefer the tamoxifen, but I will do what I have too. My rads onc said to wait until I was built up as I have started working again, then decide On that but that wasnt the original question just my mind wandering.......................... LOL
  • sal314
    sal314 Member Posts: 599 Member
    #9
    Could Only Take Tamoxifen
    For those of us that were younger and still having periods, Tamoxifen is the only drug that is given. The newer anti-estrogen drugs haven't been studied enough to know if they are ok for premenapausal women to take.

    Nothing is 100% guaranteed, but those that have estrogen positive cancer cells can "lesson" the chance of recurrence by (according to the "studies") 50%. Basically, the theory is the more arsenals you have in your bag to fight the cancer, the lower your chances of recurrence becomes. So someone that is agreeable to do all treatments that are availabe, let's say chemo, radiation, surgery and Tamoxifen, their statistically less likely to have a recurrence than someone who is only willing to have surgery or only doing chemo, etc.

    Side effects for everyone are different. Common ones for Tamoxifen are hot flashes, mood swings, ovarian cysts, low libedo, weight gain, blurred vision, et. Not so common, but can occur and are more serious are things like blood clots and increase in chance of uterine cancer. Some women that have side effects of Tamoxifen and are post-menapausal can switch to Arimidex or the other drugs and will not have the same problems. Women that are post-menapausal don't have the option of trying other drugs if the Tamoxifen doesn't work.

    It took me 4 years to finally give it a go. I'm now done with the 5-years and just glad its over with! And I feel better knowing I gave it my all and did EVERYTHING I could to lesson my chance of recurrence. I'm glad I won't have that "what or only if" banner hanging over my head if it ever does come back. :)

    Sally
  • DianeBC
    DianeBC Member Posts: 3,881 Member
    #10
    carkris said:

    Tamoxifen
    I am on tamoxifen as the cancer I had was estrogen positive and I was pre menopausal. If a patient is post menopausal they go on Arimedex . some people have side effects that dont get better or are intolerable so they have to change to something else including tamoxifen. Tamoxifen decreases the ability for cancer cells to have the estrogen available to feed them, so they die or at least do not grow. It is an important drug in the arsenal against the disease. I have tolerated tamoxifen fairly well, mostly a bit achy and hot flashes at night, interupting sleep. I have tried changing the time of day I take it but it makes no difference although some women say it does for them. I have only been on it five months so have yet to see if it affects my uterine lining. I am also going to talk to my doctor about taking an aspirin as it can cause blood clots.

    My oncologist recommended
    My oncologist recommended tamoxifen as my cancer was estrogen positive.

    Hugs, Diane
  • jnl
    jnl Member Posts: 3,869 Member
    #11
    phoenixrising said:

    Hi Connie, after about 1
    Hi Connie, after about 1 1/2yrs on and off of Tamoxifen I had to go off. The regime here is 2 1/2 yrs on Tam and 2 1/2yrs on an AI. This has been proven to be better than 5 yrs of Tam for post menopausal ER pos BC. Arimidex was just as hard on me only in a different way so now I'm on Aromasin till 2012 and it is much more doable than Tamoxifen. I wonder if it is the pro bone and positive effect on cholesterol that your onc feels you should stay on it.

    I think tamox is for pre
    I think tamox is for pre menopause and the A's are for post menopause. But, that could be wrong.

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