Forum Discussion
Is ovary removal a viable option instead of hormone therapy?
i have been told I need to stop oestrogen production and offered a drug to do this called letrozole in which the side effects turn me right off accepting. Has anyone had their ovarys removed instead ...
Sam, there is no easy way out of this.
I got rid of my ovaries as I was perimenopausal and my best chance of survival was hormone therapy which requires minimal hormone production on my part. Tamoxifen didn't contain my cancer (nothing is guaranteed) and I had a recurrence. The next stage of HT for me is Letrazol. I opted to cut my natural hormone production back as far as possible which meant I didn't have to use Zolodex. I also don't have to worry about ovarian cancer anymore.
I can understand you are stressed, but these are not simple equations. It is up to you to decide what you want to do and which risks you find acceptable. If you have a hormone receptive cancer and you don't want to take drugs to minimise your risk of your cancer progressing, I'd be very surprised if your team would advise against an oophorectomy. Ask them about it.
I got rid of my ovaries as I was perimenopausal and my best chance of survival was hormone therapy which requires minimal hormone production on my part. Tamoxifen didn't contain my cancer (nothing is guaranteed) and I had a recurrence. The next stage of HT for me is Letrazol. I opted to cut my natural hormone production back as far as possible which meant I didn't have to use Zolodex. I also don't have to worry about ovarian cancer anymore.
I can understand you are stressed, but these are not simple equations. It is up to you to decide what you want to do and which risks you find acceptable. If you have a hormone receptive cancer and you don't want to take drugs to minimise your risk of your cancer progressing, I'd be very surprised if your team would advise against an oophorectomy. Ask them about it.