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Hormones are substances that are produced normally in your body. While these hormones are essential to reproductive functions, they may also stimulate the growth of some types of breast cancer. With hormone therapy, your health care provider will give you drugs to stop your breast cancer cells from growing. Like chemotherapy, hormone therapy is a systemic treatment.
Hormone therapy is most effective for the kinds of breast cancer affected by hormones. Whether or not your cancer is affected by hormones is determined by laboratory tests.
Caption: Hormone therapy is often given in the form of a pill, twice a day.
Some cancers need the hormone estrogen to grow, and Tamoxifen is an "estrogen blocker." Tamoxifen stops cancer's growth by blocking the effects of the estrogen on the breast. Estrogen may otherwise stimulate some types of cancers to grow. Tamoxifen is taken as a pill, usually twice a day.
If this drug is prescribed for you, potential side effects will be monitored closely.
If you have gone through menopause you may be taking hormone replacement therapy like estrogen and progesterone. This is usually not advised for breast cancer patients, and it is essential that you discuss this with your doctor.
Long term studies of Tamoxifen are still continuing, and health care providers are studying the long term effects. Your doctor will determine the best possible dosage for you.
Your health care provider may suggest that you join a clinical research trial involving hormone therapy. You may want to ask about this option Ð remember it is your choice. Clinical trials are carefully designed research studies that test promising new cancer treatments. They study two or more treatments that are known to be effective, to see if one may be better than another.
Patients who take part in the research may be the first to benefit from improved treatment methods. You also can make an important contribution to medical care because the results of the studies may help many people. Patients participate in clinical trials only if they choose and may stop participating at any time. Their care will not be affected if they choose not to participate in a trial.
Most hormone therapy is taken in pill form, twice a day.
How long does the treatment last?
Your health care provider will recommend the length of this therapy. It is often recommended for a period of five years.
What is the difference between hormone therapy and chemotherapy?
Hormone therapy blocks the growth of breast cancer cells. Chemotherapy involves the use of drugs to destroy existing cancer cells. With either treatment, your risk of a recurrence of breast cancer is decreased.
I went to see an oncologist and he took a blood test to see what the hormone count was. And because it was a hormone type cancer, I was allowed to take Tamoxifen. This is a medication that you take two times a day, and it is supposed to help to kill the estrogen that's in your body. I had a full treatment of radiation. It was thirty days of radiation, and have been on Tamoxifen for five years. This puts you back into a menopause type situation and you have night sweats, you go through perspiration. I perspired almost all day long, those hot flashes, one right after another.
I did know that I would go into menopause. It is a difficult time, my oncologist told me that. But he also said statistically that my chances of survival were greater, so I opted to go on it. I'm on it twice a day for life. It's difficult getting used to the hot flashes, insomnia, not being able to sleep because you don't have hormones. Of course, that was after the hysterectomy. Those are difficult things. I asked him if I was going to grow facial hair and my voice was going to go lower. That was a concern. That has not happened. I do see myself aging a little faster, but that could be because I'm 47 years old and I have a hectic lifestyle and two teenagers. I read everything I can get my hands on as far as Tamoxifen is concerned. I get Science News every week, and almost every week there is an article on Tamoxifen in there.
Well, Tamoxifen, again, it's my arthritis doctor was so thrilled with it because it tends to dense up the bones, she thinks, and certainly it's not going to be negative in that. And I guess the risks with that are cancer elsewhere and I'm already kind of resigned to that. I mean, it will not shock me to have cancer again. It never would have, just basically. I figure, well the Tamoxifen, if they think it will help, I'll try it and see.
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Advantages of Hormonal Therapy
Disadvantages of Hormonal Therapy
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An important indicator of your long term health (also called your prognosis) are the results of your hormone receptor tests. Hormone receptors are chemicals present in tumor cells that help control cell growth. It is standard for most biopsied breast cancers to be tested for the hormone receptors. If they are "negative," then this shows your type of cancer will be better treated with chemotherapy than hormonal therapy. If they are "positive," then treatment with a drug like Tamoxifen may be recommended.up to Contents of this Page
Common side effects of Tamoxifen include hot flashes, changes in menstrual period, and vaginal dryness. Other less common side-effects include loss of appetite, vaginal itching, and vaginal discharge. Tamoxifen also slightly increases your risk of uterine cancer.up to Contents of this Page
Tamoxifen often causes changes associated with menopause, however you can still get pregnant while using it. Getting pregnant while taking Tamoxifen may be harmful to the fetus. If you are young and sexually active, it is best to use some type of "barrier" method of birth control (like a condom and/or a diaphragm) while you are taking Tamoxifen. Do not use an oral contraceptive (like the "Pill"), or an injection or an implant that involves hormones, since they may change the effects of your hormone therapy. Your health care provider can answer your specific questions about a contraceptive. Tell your health care provider right away if you think you have become pregnant while taking this medicine.up to Contents of this Page
Clinical trials are on-going research studies that test new methods of cancer treatment that might improve upon standard treatments.up to Contents of this Page
How will I receive Hormone Therapy?up to Contents of this Page
Dorothy's experience
Carole's experience
Nancy's experience
