I am currently going through monthly shots of Zoladex + daily Tamoxifen pills.
I was diagnosed with hormone positive stage 1, and have completed my lumpectomy and radiation therapy in December. I started on Hormone therapy around October of last year. My doctor said I would have to be in hormone therapy for at least 2 years.
My company just announced some of us will be laid off at the end of fiscal year (end of summer) due to budget cuts. My grandma in the Philippines also happen to have late stage Alzheimer’s and we have a feeling we will lose her soon. I am planning to go back to the Philippines to take care of her after I lose my job, which means I will potentially discontinue my hormone therapy. I have contacted my relatives there to figure out any access to the shots but I want to mentally prepare that this might not be the case. (we live in a pretty small island, far from the main city space where all the big hospitals are, though I am willing to travel once a month if I can get my shots)
I guess I want to know what will happen if I stop hormone therapy around summer, what symptoms I will feel, etc. Will it increase my chances of getting BC again? I am originally planning on staying in the Philippines from 6 months to a year and just be with family, especially since I wont have a job that will require me to return right away. Can I restart it later when I return to the US? will that be pointless once I stop taking it?
Also, I am new here and if this question has already been asked, please direct me to where I can find similar answers. thank you
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@frustratedhufflepuff I am sorry you are with so many of us here on this BC journey. And great that you have reached out.
It’s only my opinion, but I think the question you are asking is one that can only be answered by your medical team. The key is to start talking to them now and weighing up your options for what is possible and what is not giving yourself as much time to plan as possible.
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Please be really careful with this decision. You could request to have your ovaries removed/explain the issue to your team. Anecdotally, I have seen a lot of people relapse when they have stopped hormone therapy and the time of it is for a reason- whether 5 years or 10. Ask if they can maybe send you a few months worth at a time. good luck with getting this sorted. X
thanks, can you clarify what you mean by people “relapsing”? what was that like? Ive only been on it since october
It comes back in another area of their body and is then incurable. I am not saying this will definitely happen, it may well not. But the purpose of these drugs is to stop cells that have already travelled around your body (which they do early) from growing by blocking the hormones that drive them. There can be cells in your blood stream, organs and bone marrow. I really don’t want to frighten you but it’s not a decision tj make lightly or without a proper conversation with your oncologist
Hello I been diagnosed of Breast cancer and had a Mastectomy last 12 December. You can add me on Facebook Better Chantal. I am from the Philippines as well from Mindanao are and I’m going to have my First Zoladex Shot later on today as my Chemo will start this afternoon in Kent And Canterbury Hospital. I hope I hear from you soon. Thank you
God bless