Tamoxifen for men

Ask our Nurses your questions
1

I am a 71 yr old male that is BRCA2 positive with a “distance reoccurrence” score of 24. My cancer was found 18 months ago at 1.4cm and I had a mastectomy. No chemo or radiation. My father died of Brest cancer at 86. My youngest daughter is BRAC2 and had double mastectomy at 35 as a prevention.

I was prescribed tamoxifen and have been on it for 18 months. I go every 4 months and all the oncologist checks is PSA, CEA and CA15.3 tumor markers in my blood.

I have greatly reduced energy and tire quickly. My sex drive is at zero. Have anyone else experienced these symptoms and, if of, did you stop the tamoxifen or change to another drug?

2

Hello rfp23

Thanks for posting.

It is not uncommon for men taking Tamoxifen for male breast cancer to experience difficult side effects such as reduced energy and zero sex drive which you describe. It is understandable you would want to consider what your options might be.

Sometimes something as simple as switching the brand of Tamoxifen you are taking can help. Some people find one brand suits them better than another. Taking a short treatment break from Tamoxifen can also help, although this is something you would need to talk to your breast care nurse or treating team about. They can discuss your individual risk of recurrence without Tamoxifen and may also be able to offer you some help in managing the side effects.

Prostate Cancer UK have some helpful information on the effects of hormone therapy on a man’s sex drive and relationships. Although the information is aimed at men with prostate cancer, many of the suggestions and recommendations are also relevant for men taking hormone therapy for breast cancer.

Macmillan cancer support have some information on how to manage the fatigue associated with cancer treatment.

We have some support services designed particularly for men with breast cancer which you may find helpful. These include our Someone Like Me service where we can match you with another man who’s been in a similar position. They’ll be a phone call or email away to answer your questions, offer support or simply listen. You can ring the Someone Like Me team on 0800 138 6551 or email them at someone.likeme@breastcancernow.org, so they can then match you to your volunteer.

Do call our helpline if you would like to talk this through or have any further questions. The helpline team have time to listen, talk things through and signpost you to more support and information if necessary. Your call will be confidential, and the number is free from UK landlines and all mobile networks. The number is 0808 800 6000. If you have hearing or speech difficulties prefix our number with 18001 and the call will go through Relay UK. Our helpline has access to telephone interpreters so if language translation is required you can also call 0808 800 6000

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Best wishes

Angela

Breast Care Nurse

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