Hi, this is my first time posting. I was diagnosed in May (2 days after returning from honeymoon!) I’d had biopsies before the wedding and in hindsight they clearly knew at the time it was breast cancer but I kidded myself it was going to all be clear. I had a mastectomy in June plus slnb and reconstruction and have just completed 5 days of radiotherapy. I have struggled with all the terminology throughout, every time I receive a letter there seems to be some new terminology that I don’t understand! Anyway my last letter stated that my diagnosis was right breast pT3 pN0 stage IIIa breast cancer and Final histology said Grade 2 lobular multifocal carcinoma varying from 2mm to 96mm. It carries on but I’m already droning on enough! Anyway it doesn’t really matter now as I’ve finished my treatment so all good. When I saw the radiotherapy consultant she was surprised I hadn’t yet been put on hormone therapy treatment so immediately started me on anastrozole as she thought I was post menopausal - because I haven’t had a period in a long time but I did explain that’s because I had the coil for years (had it removed in June). She sent me for a blood test and told me to chase the results in a few days. It took me 3 weeks of chasing and being passed from pillar to post before I finally got the results saying I was pre menopausal! By this time I had been Anastrozole for a month! So I had to immediately stop it and I’m now on Tamoxifen. I still haven’t had a period and I’m worried whether I’m on the right drug or not?! I’m 50. Any reassurance would be gratefully received, thanks and sorry for long post.
Welcome to the forum @newm25 .You can be on Tamoxifen post menopause so even if there were some doubt about your menopausal status you will still get benefit from taking Tamoxifen. You could ask the breast cancer now nurses about this for some re-assurance Ask our Nurses your questions . Best wishes Jill
I was actually prescribed Tamoxifen at age 56 having not had a period for 18 months and only taken off it because my particular past medical history made me unsuitable for it . I know quite a few post- menopausal women who are on Tamoxifen as opposed to an Aromatase Inhibitor for one reason or another . I think when your ovaries are still active Tamoxifen can be better but there’s still benefit to be had from it after the menopause as it blocks oestrogen receptors in the cells so even if oestrogen is circulating in the blood stream it can’t enter the cells and feed any that might be thinking about going rogue.
When we become post- menopausal and there’s much less oestrogen being released from our ovaries our bodies use aromatase to release oestrogen from muscle and particularly from fat stores which is why Anastrozole etc. are classed as Aromatase inhibitors .
If you are concerned you could always discuss having the test repeated in a year or two and then discuss with your team if any change in treatment is indicated . As you have been prescribed hormone therapy you should have access to a BCN for the next 5 years even if your Surgeon and Oncologist have discharged you. Xx
The complexities of the in between years of perimenopause! Its a conundrum, must be hard to tell at times if gone through a natural menopause or not when using a hormonal coil. The best way to tell is a blood test. Age is also no guarantee- here I sit 54 just started my period and about to go camping at a music festival- thats what I call crap fate.
I was given tamoxifen to take from the first checkup after surgery. That could be why your radiotherapy consultant was surprised not already on it, though I have heard some people dont get started on it untill after radiotherapy. By the time I’d done radiotherapy, I’d been on it for 3 months - then I stopped, had my reasons, thats another story. Anyway, during tamoxifen use, my periods whent lighter and more irregular, that can happen. It can space out or stop periods when on the cusp of menopause.
Your blood test seems to indicate that you have higher hormone production still than post menopause, so tamoxifen will be the right drug for you. As people have said, its effective pre and post, so it wont make a difference. The anastrazole, however, would of been less effective if pre menopause. It may have depleted your hormone levels enough that it stopped a period, might explain your lack of period meantime. Dont worry, tamoxifen works either way.
Thanks so much for your replies, the info you’ve given me really helps and I’m so glad I posted now!