New hormeone therapy dicoverment?

lizper
lizper Member Posts: 199
edited March 2014 in Ovarian Cancer #1
Has anyone heard of a hormone therapy called Femara? The Onc Dr. decided to give my mom this because of the symptoms she has had. But her marker out of 21 is at 8.96 . So he said it´s better to think there is disease and act right away. This medication has been recentley found in the USA to help OVCA even though is was made for Breast Cancer. It is a pill that will be taken daily for a period of time under supervision. Comments are appreciated. LIZ

Comments

  • floridajo
    floridajo Member Posts: 480
    Lizper,
    It's a good thing to see that your Mom's Dr. is right on top of this even though her test results are really good.
    I know nothing about Femora,except what you have already said. I know that hormones can help some depending on if their tumors were estrogen positive or not. I myself, don't think a test was ever done on my masses. I pray for a good outcome for your Mom...I hear it's an easy drug to take, and doesn't have alot of negative side effects. (((hugz)))..Joanne
  • curlee8661
    curlee8661 Member Posts: 56
    Hi,
    Unfortunately, I don't have any info on this drug either, but I'm glad that something is being done for your mom. I know you've been very worried, so now hopefully you'll both be able to relax a bit and enjoy the holidays.

    Whishing you a stress free holiday and continued good news for the coming year!
    Marianna
  • saundra
    saundra Member Posts: 1,370 Member
    I googled for information on Femara and had lots of info pop up. You might try that. Looks like it works by inhibiting estrogen.
    I don't know if my cells are estrogen active ot not. Keep us posted. Saundra
  • ginahmk
    ginahmk Member Posts: 5
    Dear Liz- Yes I was put on Femara by my gyn-onc at Hopkins. I have ovarian ca stage 3c, epithelial cell type, estrogen receptor positive, dx 3/07, 6 rounds IVtaxol/IP cisplat+IP taxol. My PET/CT scan 10/07 was negative and CA125 was 7, however, on second look surgery, one of the five biopsies was tumor positive by microscope. There is a report from Scotland published last year, that Femara, an aromatase inhibitor, prevents the production estrogen and is effective in about 50% of estrogen receptor positive ov ca women with recurrence or rising CA125. Because of the positive biospy, I started this in Nov and CA125 has stayed 7. A second opinion review of my case at Memorial Sloan-Kettering concurred. Seems this is a new approach. I have noticed muscle and joint aches since starting but they are tolerable. Good luck.