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tamoxifen

ksfc
ksfc CSN Member Posts: 251
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I had my last AC on Friday and will start radiation towards the end of June. For those of you that did both chemo and rads, did you start Tamoxifen during or after radiation. TIA!
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  • jeancmici
    jeancmici CSN Member Posts: 665 *
    #2
    The standard protocol is to start tamoxifen after the chemo and radiation.

    Some people have taken tamoxifen right along with chemo before radiation and then continued thru the radiation with both. The latest annual ASCO meeting ( American Society of Clinical Oncologists ) reported that tamoxifen was more effective AFTER chemo. Nothing was said about taking it with radiation.

    My oncologist said to start taking it with radiation - I looked all over the internet for guidelines and there were none. My doctor said that was because they didn't know whether it made a difference.

    Well, I ignored him and stayed with the standard protocol - which after the fact did not seem to bother or interest him at all.

    Later I read that some oncologists thought it was better not to combine the two because radiation needs active cells to kill - and tamoxifen puts them at rest. That is the same reason the latest report of ASCO in May '02 gave for keeping chemo and tamoxifen separate.

    I'll be interested in what your doctors tell you to do - keep in touch.

    Jean
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  • ksfc
    ksfc CSN Member Posts: 251
    #3
    jeancmici said:

    The standard protocol is to start tamoxifen after the chemo and radiation.

    Some people have taken tamoxifen right along with chemo before radiation and then continued thru the radiation with both. The latest annual ASCO meeting ( American Society of Clinical Oncologists ) reported that tamoxifen was more effective AFTER chemo. Nothing was said about taking it with radiation.

    My oncologist said to start taking it with radiation - I looked all over the internet for guidelines and there were none. My doctor said that was because they didn't know whether it made a difference.

    Well, I ignored him and stayed with the standard protocol - which after the fact did not seem to bother or interest him at all.

    Later I read that some oncologists thought it was better not to combine the two because radiation needs active cells to kill - and tamoxifen puts them at rest. That is the same reason the latest report of ASCO in May '02 gave for keeping chemo and tamoxifen separate.

    I'll be interested in what your doctors tell you to do - keep in touch.

    Jean

    Thanks so much for the info. I forgot to ask my doc on Friday - too many other questions, so I'll ask him later this week and let you know what he says.
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  • neenie
    neenie CSN Member Posts: 13
    #4
    I had 1 year of chemo and 6 weeks of radiation treatments for inflammatory breast cancer. I started taking Tamoxifen in Oct. 1997 after I finished radiation. I'm scheduled to stop taking the Tamoxifen in about 4 months. So far, I'm doing well. I wish you all the best.
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