Estrogen is produced by your adrenal gland and ovaries do even with a hysterectomy a form of estrogen blocker will be prescribed if you had a estrogen positive tumor. Tamoxifen is usually prescribed for women who have not gone through menopause. Femara and arimidex are usually prescribed for women who are menopausal
Thank you for your insight and knowledge. My first question is : Isn't tamoxifen extremely hard on your body ? 2:) Will I accomplish the same thing with hysterectomy /aromatase inhibitors? It seems everyone opts for the tamoxifen . Is it...
Thank you for your insight and knowledge. My first question is : Isn't tamoxifen extremely hard on your body ? 2:) Will I accomplish the same thing with hysterectomy /aromatase inhibitors? It seems everyone opts for the tamoxifen . Is it better because it's systemic. I really don't want anymore crap in my body after all this. (Chemo and rads) any help would be appreciated. Big hugs ---Sue
Susie,
Even with a hysterectomy, your body manufactures hormones. You will probably be recommended to take the drugs. Have you talked to your doctor about this? It's a pretty important subject. None of these drugs are good for you but it's...
Susie,
Even with a hysterectomy, your body manufactures hormones. You will probably be recommended to take the drugs. Have you talked to your doctor about this? It's a pretty important subject. None of these drugs are good for you but it's the drugs that seem to inhibit /block hormones from feeding cancer cells. I am just completing 5 years of aromatase inhibitors. The side effects I have experienced are joint and muscle pain, hot flashes, and it has made my osteoporosis worse. Like lots of things in life, it is a trade-off. The pain I experienced didn't limit my activities, the hot flashes were a real pain, and I already had osteoporosis. No cancer recurrance which is the main point. The difference in the drugs seem to have more to do with your age... pre or post menopausal. Whether or not you still have your girl-parts because one has a slight possibility of causing uterine cancer. It's like driving to the grocery store.... you might get in a crash but you need food so you take the chance of making the trip. I would read what you can find on breastcancer.org, this site, and try to talk to a pharmacist who is familiar with the drugs. Take care, Sharon
Susie I requested a total abdominal hysterectomy bilateral oophorectomyTAH/BSO thinking I wouldn't need tamoxifen or a aromatase inhibitor but when I research it and discovered that I'd still need the aromatase inhibitor since the adrenal glands...
Susie I requested a total abdominal hysterectomy bilateral oophorectomyTAH/BSO thinking I wouldn't need tamoxifen or a aromatase inhibitor but when I research it and discovered that I'd still need the aromatase inhibitor since the adrenal glands also produce estrogen kind of bummed me out I had it all planned. A selective TAH/BSO is not always covered by insurances unless you have a positive brca 1 or brca 2 gene I have a strong family history if breast cancer but my gene testing was negative. Wasn't sure if insurance would cover so bit the bullet and went the tamoxifen way . Side effects suck but durable. Hope that answers your question here is a link to my story http://home.roadrunner.com/~amj/
I started tamoxifen and it caused bad headaches and insomnia, so my oncologist took me off of it, so my choices were a hysterectomy or luprin shots. I just had my hysterectomy a week ago. Luprin has too many bad side effects, even though I am in a...
I started tamoxifen and it caused bad headaches and insomnia, so my oncologist took me off of it, so my choices were a hysterectomy or luprin shots. I just had my hysterectomy a week ago. Luprin has too many bad side effects, even though I am in a lot of pain right now and I still have a lot of healing, I am sure I made the right decision. I will be started on another medication in a couple of weeks. For me, the tamoxifen side effects were bad so I had to make a decision. I say try the tamoxifen if you are not completely sure, if you don't like it then talk with your doc about surgery.
If you have hormone positive cancer, you need something to block that. Tomoxifin is used for premenopausal women & arormatase is for post menopausal women. Even if you have a hysterectomy, your body produces hormones.
anonymous
Stage 2B Patient
Thank you for your insight and knowledge. My first question is : Isn't tamoxifen extremely hard on your body ? 2:) Will I accomplish the same thing with hysterectomy /aromatase inhibitors? It seems everyone opts for the tamoxifen . Is it...
Thank you for your insight and knowledge. My first question is : Isn't tamoxifen extremely hard on your body ? 2:) Will I accomplish the same thing with hysterectomy /aromatase inhibitors? It seems everyone opts for the tamoxifen . Is it better because it's systemic. I really don't want anymore crap in my body after all this. (Chemo and rads) any help would be appreciated. Big hugs ---Sue
anonymous
Survivor since 2007
Susie,
Even with a hysterectomy, your body manufactures hormones. You will probably be recommended to take the drugs. Have you talked to your doctor about this? It's a pretty important subject. None of these drugs are good for you but it's...
Susie,
Even with a hysterectomy, your body manufactures hormones. You will probably be recommended to take the drugs. Have you talked to your doctor about this? It's a pretty important subject. None of these drugs are good for you but it's the drugs that seem to inhibit /block hormones from feeding cancer cells. I am just completing 5 years of aromatase inhibitors. The side effects I have experienced are joint and muscle pain, hot flashes, and it has made my osteoporosis worse. Like lots of things in life, it is a trade-off. The pain I experienced didn't limit my activities, the hot flashes were a real pain, and I already had osteoporosis. No cancer recurrance which is the main point. The difference in the drugs seem to have more to do with your age... pre or post menopausal. Whether or not you still have your girl-parts because one has a slight possibility of causing uterine cancer. It's like driving to the grocery store.... you might get in a crash but you need food so you take the chance of making the trip. I would read what you can find on breastcancer.org, this site, and try to talk to a pharmacist who is familiar with the drugs. Take care, Sharon
anonymous
Survivor since 2003
Susie I requested a total abdominal hysterectomy bilateral oophorectomyTAH/BSO thinking I wouldn't need tamoxifen or a aromatase inhibitor but when I research it and discovered that I'd still need the aromatase inhibitor since the adrenal glands...
Susie I requested a total abdominal hysterectomy bilateral oophorectomyTAH/BSO thinking I wouldn't need tamoxifen or a aromatase inhibitor but when I research it and discovered that I'd still need the aromatase inhibitor since the adrenal glands also produce estrogen kind of bummed me out I had it all planned. A selective TAH/BSO is not always covered by insurances unless you have a positive brca 1 or brca 2 gene I have a strong family history if breast cancer but my gene testing was negative. Wasn't sure if insurance would cover so bit the bullet and went the tamoxifen way . Side effects suck but durable. Hope that answers your question here is a link to my story http://home.roadrunner.com/~amj/
anonymous
Stage 3A Patient
I started tamoxifen and it caused bad headaches and insomnia, so my oncologist took me off of it, so my choices were a hysterectomy or luprin shots. I just had my hysterectomy a week ago. Luprin has too many bad side effects, even though I am in a...
I started tamoxifen and it caused bad headaches and insomnia, so my oncologist took me off of it, so my choices were a hysterectomy or luprin shots. I just had my hysterectomy a week ago. Luprin has too many bad side effects, even though I am in a lot of pain right now and I still have a lot of healing, I am sure I made the right decision. I will be started on another medication in a couple of weeks. For me, the tamoxifen side effects were bad so I had to make a decision. I say try the tamoxifen if you are not completely sure, if you don't like it then talk with your doc about surgery.