hope someone can help with this one. i finished chemo on 3rd march. i am now about to starts rads and then herceptin but what is worrying me is the amount of time that is lapsing between me starting drug therapy because the onc has referred me now to see a gynaecologist to discuss having a hysterectomy or ovary removal. obviously, the referall, then the op will all take time as i’ll have to wait until after my rads - in a month time - then the removal op - so it will be ages before i start on arimidex. does anyone know how long is safe?? thanks, carrie
Hi Carrie - Have just see your posting. I am starting Rads in 4 weeks and was asking my oncologist yesterday about when I would be starting hormones. He said that it would be after I have finished the radiotherapy. He said that the chemo and radiotherapy work in one way (I finished chemo yesterday) whereas the hormones work on cancer cells slightly differently (sorry, can’t remember the details). He said there is a theoretical possibility that if you have the hormones at the same time as the radiotherapy it can make the radiotherapy less effective. I wonder if anyone else has been told this, or is a little less fuzzy on the facts than I am? Anyway, Carrie, it seems quite normal to wait a while! Very best of luck with the rest of your treatment. Sarah
I have just finished chemo and am in similar situation to you but other way round; I have started Tamoxifen straight away but my rads are being delayed till begining of June (which seems like ages). My rads are being delayed because our local hospital is very busy and can’t complete my course before we go away on holiday at end of May. I did say it was no big deal for us to cancel our holiday but my onc said the delay wouldn’t make any real difference, I guess it must be similar with starting drug therapy - if there was a timetable set in stone then your onc would stick to it. I think in a lot of cases the rads and drug therapy are a sort of belt and braces policy after the chemo so maybe timescales are not so important.
Try not to worry (I worry about everything!!) and hope your rads and rest of treatment go well.
I started Arimidex at the same time I started rads. I believe that it depends on the oncologist as I think some do think the hormonal treatment should be delayed until after rads. I think its one of those things they don’t really know yet!
I have Tamoxifen 5 weeks after my ops (I had chemo first) and whilts having rads. I have never been told that rads will be less effective if taken during rads. However the onc wants to start my Herceptin only after rads. sigh… more delay.
I was told at my initial onc visit (10 days post op) that I would be prescribed tamoxifen but there was a delay of about 2 weeks pending a decision on chemo as I was advised hormone therapy and chemo together was not a good mix. Once they had decided against chemo I was put straight on the tamoxifen and no-1 has mentioned anything about rads being less effective whilst taking it.
As others have said it may be one of these issues which is open to interpretation by the individual oncologist.