Hi all I am about to start my rad on tuesday (deep joy) but have not been told I will be taking tamoxifen, is there anyone here who is not on this. Not sure if I should be??
i think its one of those things that varies from onc to onc! I didn’t start to take tamoxifen until after my rads but i know some oncs prefer to start it at the same time. You will only be taking tamoxifen if you are hormone positive pre-menopausal.
hope this helps.
x
Hi Denny
The main thing that determines whether you take Tamoxifen is whether your cancer is Oestrogen and/or Progesterone positive. If it’s negative, then taking Tamoxifen won’t have any effect on your cancer cells, so there’s no point taking it. The big benefit of not needing Tamoxifen is that you get to avoid the Tam side-effects!
If it IS Er+ and you’re post-menopausal you might get an aromatase inhibitor instead, although some oncs prescribe Tamox for a little while, I think.
Best thing would be to call your BCN tomorrow and ask what your Er status is, as you might just not need it.
Hi dennykp
Welcome to the forums, I hope you will find them a great source of help and support.
If you would like to talk this through with a trained member of staff please give the BCC helpline a call on 0808 800 6000.
Here you can share your concerns with someone who will offer you a listening ear as well as support and information. The lines are open weekdays 9 to 5pm and Saturday 9 to 2pm.
I hope this is helpful.
Best wishes Sam, BCC Facilitator
Hi
This hasn’t even been mentioned for me either; but having read the tamoxifen leaflet on the Macmillan web-site possible only relevant if you have invasive bc.
I was very fortunate to have non-invasive DCIS so hope I just won’t need it. But who knows?
My rads start 1/3/11 for 3 weeks.
Good luck with yours on Tuesday.
Lynne
Hi Lynne,You could be right about not having tamoxifen for DCIS there are trias being/have been done into the benefits of taking tamoxifen after radiotherapy for DCIS. “Some trial results suggest that tamoxifen may not give much extra protection if you’ve already had radiotherapy”.
Best wishes Melxx