|
Treatment
Options: Hormonal Therapy
Hormonal therapy
is used to prevent the growth, spread, or recurrence of breast
cancer. If lab tests show that your tumor depended on your
natural hormones to grow, it will be described as
estrogen-positive or progesterone-positive in the lab report.
This means that any remaining cancer cells may continue to
grow when these hormones are present in your body. Hormonal
therapy can block your body's natural hormones from reaching
any remaining cancer cells.
* You may be given a hormone drug. One of the most common
drugs used for hormonal therapy for breast cancer is tamoxifen.
* You may have surgery to remove both ovaries that produce
natural hormones.
Research has proven that hormonal therapy can extend the
lifespan of a breast cancer patient who has cancer cells that
depend on hormones to grow. Tamoxifen has been used for nearly
20 years to treat patients with advanced stage breast cancer.
Now it is being used also as additional treatment for early
stage disease after breast cancer is removed by surgery.
Clinical trials show that taking tamoxifen as part of the
treatment for breast cancer helps to reduce the chances of
recurrence in the treated breast and of new cancer developing
in the other breast.
Tamoxifen is taken daily by mouth as a pill. Your oncologist
will decide on the dose and length of treatment according to
current research findings. Like chemotherapy, hormonal therapy
affects cells throughout your body. Studies have shown that
there is some increased risk for cancer of the uterus. Blood
clots have been reported in the veins of a small percentage of
patients who take tamoxifen along with chemotherapy. These
risks, however, are much lower than the benefits received from
tamoxifen.
Of course, you will have frequent blood tests and physical
exams while you are on hormonal therapy. Be sure your
gynecologist and primary care doctor know you are taking this
drug. You should have yearly pelvic exams while taking
tamoxifen, and you should notify your doctor about any unusual
bleeding or pain.
POSSIBLE PROBLEMS: Side effects could include hot flashes,
nausea, vaginal spotting (small amounts of blood), or
increased fertility in younger women. Less common side effects
include depression; vaginal itching, bleeding, or discharge;
loss of appetite; eye problems; headache; and weight gain.
|
