tamoxifen
i have just started treatment on tamoxifen tablets 20mg has anybody alse been put on these if so any side effects
Forum Discussion
30 Replies
Thanks Jandy. I am like you probalby too scared not to take it but also scared of the side effects. I have read, and always question what I've read, that Tamoxifen will not only increase my risk of uterine and liver cancer significantly, but also increase my risk of blood clotting by 30%. My dad died from a blood clot so I am concerned.
The World Health Organisation has designated Tamoxifen as a human carcinogen and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council warned that no amount of tamoxifen is safe when it comes to carcinogenic effects. I am yet to confirm these statements tho.....just read them on a sight. http://all-natural.com/tamox.html
How do you know what to believe? I am just hoping I can find something natural and effective so that I dont have to take Tamoxifen but I'm doubtful that will happen and I'll end up on it. If so, I think I will ask for a hysterectomy because at 47 I wont be having any more children and menopause is not that far away. Chemo has bought it on anyway.
Sigh. this is a difficult journey to navigate. Am grateful for this sight and the wisdom of those who have travelled this journey ahead of me.
I've not heard of that but there is a substance called diindolylmethane (DIM) which is thought to have anti-estrogen affects in the body thereby lowering your risk of BC recurrance. It is derived from cruciferous vegies like broccoli and kale. But of course theDIM in the supplement is much more concentrated than the amount you could get from just eating vegetables. There is a study being done at the University of Arizona currently on whether taking DIM with tamoxifen is more effective than taking tamoxifen alone.
I am taking a DIM supplement myself as well as my tamoxifen. I don't like taking the tamoxifen but I'm too scared to not take it. (Just reading the storeis here of women with secondary BC is enought to make me take my pill everyday.) My supplement which is called Breast Balance also contains some other nutrients commonly found to be deficient in women with breast cancer - vitamin D, selenium and iodine.
From what I understand taxoxifen only inceases the risk of uterine cancer by about 1-2% and it can reduce your risk of BC recurring by significantly more than that. In my case my oncologist said it would reduce my risk by about 11%. That is substantial enough for me to take it. Hopefully the DIM is reducing my risk even further. But I must stress it is not a proven alternative. It may be better than nothing but you're probably better off taking your tamoxifen. Not everyone gets side effects. Good luck.
I've not heard of that but there is a substance called diindolylmethane (DIM) which is thought to have anti-estrogen affects in the body thereby lowering your risk of BC recurrance. It is derived from cruciferous vegies like broccoli and kale. But of course theDIM in the supplement is much more concentrated than the amount you could get from just eating vegetables. There is a study being done at the University of Arizona currently on whether taking DIM with tamoxifen is more effective than taking tamoxifen alone.
I am taking a DIM supplement myself as well as my tamoxifen. I don't like taking the tamoxifen but I'm too scared to not take it. (Just reading the storeis here of women with secondary BC is enought to make me take my pill everyday.) My supplement which is called Breast Balance also contains some other nutrients commonly found to be deficient in women with breast cancer - vitamin D, selenium and iodine.
From what I understand taxoxifen only inceases the risk of uterine cancer by about 1-2% and it can reduce your risk of BC recurring by significantly more than that. In my case my oncologist said it would reduce my risk by about 11%. That is substantial enough for me to take it. Hopefully the DIM is reducing my risk even further. But I must stress it is not a proven alternative. It may be better than nothing but you're probably better off taking your tamoxifen. Not everyone gets side effects. Good luck.
Has anyone heard of or is taking B17 as a natural alternative to Tamoxifen? I have heard about it and am looking into it as I do not want to take tamoxifen. The increased risk of uterine cancers scares me and I have heard such conflicting reports that the risk is only minor up to an increased risk of 30% of getting this other cancer. How do you know who to believe and who wants MORE drugs in your system anyway. Hoping someone out there has heard about B17 or is taking it.
- Willow, your story is similar to mine. I was diagnosed in 2010 with cancer in the the right breast, a very aggressive one. Had a wide local excision to start with, but surgeon wasn't happy with result -lymph nodes were affected. So then I had a right mastectomy and auxiliary clearance, followed by 3 months of chemo. The oncologist put me on tamoxifen. 12 months later, cancer was found in the left breast! It wasn't as big or aggressive as the right one, but I asked for mastectomy anyway. Didn't need chemo for that one. But I was really angry, having been told that tamoxifen is supposed to reduce further instances of cancer. When I asked the oncologist how it could have happened the answer was; "well, you're menopausal now, so we'll put you on Arimidex." I couldn't believe it. How ridiculous that my body state was a supposed cause for the tamoxifen not to work originally. Arimidex is pretty brutal-joint pain, insomnia, anxiety, depression (I've begun a group on here "Depression and anxiety"), but I have secondary metastasised cancer in my back too, so I have to keep taking it. Going ok now, most of the time. How are you now? Kathleen. :)
Willow that is so awful for you. All of us on tamoxifen hear about the uterine/endometrial cancer risk and I guess we dismiss it becasue the risk is considered very small but of course it does happen to some people like yourself.
I guess you could look at it this way - while the tamoxifen did cause another cancer, it is in an organ that can be removed. I'm sure it's horrible to have to undergo a hysterectomy but we can live without a uterus. Perhaps the tamxoifen prevented breast cancer cells from growing in other more essential organs in your body that could not be removed such as lungs or liver. I try not to dwell on it but do live with a constant little niggling fear of that happening to me. At least uterine cancer has a good survival rate if detected early.
I hope this doesn't sound like I am downplaying what has happened to you. Any cancer diagnosis is terrifying and traumatic. I just think we have to keep in mind the good that tamoxifen is doing too (much as hate taking a bloody pill every single day.) Hope you are doing okay. Janet
- I was diagnosed early breast cancer Dec 2008 i had lumpectomy , chemo then radiation . I took Femara for about a year but knee pain caused me to the take tamoxifen until October 2013. i had a few symptoms in november and december 2013 that i than had my GP get everything required tested and after about 4 to 5 weeks i was told Endometrial Cancer . I have had a full Hysterectomy on the 25 th of February and see my Specialist on the 7th . I was told the cause of this cancer was 99% by Tamoxifen but i will know for certain by the 7th March when i see the Dr for the pathology results . I took the drug so i did not get breast cancer again . I am upset this has happened but i did know and i was told the risks ...i just never thought it would happen to me . I cant tell anyone to not take it . I accept that i am now a Tamoxifen statistic .
- I was diagnosed early breast cancer Dec 2008 i had lumpectomy , chemo then radiation . I took Femara for about a year but knee pain caused me to the take tamoxifen until October 2013. i had a few symptoms in november and december 2013 that i than had my GP get everything required tested and after about 4 to 5 weeks i was told Endometrial Cancer . I have had a full Hysterectomy on the 25 th of February and see my Specialist on the 7th . I was told the cause of this cancer was 99% by Tamoxifen but i will know for certain by the 7th March when i see the Dr for the pathology results . I took the drug so i did not get breast cancer again . I am upset this has happened but i did know and i was told the risks ...i just never thought it would happen to me . I cant tell anyone to not take it . I accept that i am now a Tamoxifen statistic .
Thanks you Heidi for sharing your experience with tamoxifen. I am too afraid to refuse tamoxifen because I fear breast cancer more(since I am having it NOW) than the potential of womb cancer or menopause. True everywomen who currently premenopause will eventually be post menopause but personally I do not want to reach menopause faster.
Tamoxifen effect of quickening menopause is not a problem/issue for those who already had menopause. The other LONG RUN side effects of tamoxifen worry me. Tamoxifen is usually taken for 5 LONG YEARS.
Is there anyone out there who have complete their 5 years with tamoxifen? Please share with me/us your experience.
hi i was on tamoxifen at the begining of the year for a month with no side affects then was taken of them because i had to have chemo then rads but im back on them again and have been for almost 3 months i havent had any side affects from them but i know they will bring on early monopause but we have to go through it at some stage anyway hope it all goes well for you take care
