I am strongly er+ and perimenopausal.
I am reading that Tamoxifen for premenopausal women can reduce bone mineral density (BMD) by 7%. For postmenapausal women it is the opposite - it increased BMD. I am asking if anyone else has read this - as my current care gives say this is not true and it increased BMD for both post and pre.
I am also asking if anyone has read anything about I3C or Dimm as a possible alternative to Tamoxifen.
kindest
Amanda
xx
hi Amanda,
Like you I was peri-memopausal at diagnosis & was advised by my onc when asking her about osteporosis risk that tamoxifen was protective of bones, which I found reassuring. I also understand it is protective of the cardiovascular system.
I really wouldn’t know about the alternatives you mention & would, personally, feel quite sceptical about it as an alternative, especially if money is involved & it if it hasn’t been through clinical trials.
I understand that tamox is one of the most researched drugs out there, so personally, I’m happy to be on it & am tolerating it well so far.
ann x
Hi Agarside
i have read that about premenopausal woman & tamoxifen, but don’t ask me where (chemo Brain). I guess it’s just a question of balancing the risks of taking it against the risks of not doing so. If you are interested in DIM/IC3 would recommend that you look on canceractive.com as Chris Woollams has done a lot of research into that. Meanwhile eat broccoli sprouts whilst u make up your mind. Good luck xx
Hi!!
Thank you! Very interesting reading on Cancer Active. Especially around IC3 and Dimm, very much supports what I have been reading. I am very interested in Integrative Oncology using complimentary therapy to support more medical (usual treatments).
My er status was 8/8 so very strong, and Tamoxifen the drug of choice. My Oncologist is planning a to test my oestrogen levels again before he wants me taking Tamoxifen, I am not keen as I have two very damaged verebrae with very low bone density. Taking Dimm atm, so far no side effects except now getting menopausal symptoms, which was already happening prior to first chemo cycles then stopped. If oestogen levels drop, then I *may* continue with Dimm rather than the Tamoxifen.
Take care
Amanda
xx
It’s such a dilemma isn’t it!? I started taking tamoxifen, but after 6 months my hair started falling out. After the trauma of hair loss & chemo, I just couldn’t face that again, so dropped down to 10mg. Onc said 20mg is the recommended dose, but there is research showing 5 or 10mg also has a good effect. I eats loads of cruciferous veg. If you sprout broccoli seeds they have 20x the active stuff in compared to broccoli itself, so I just sprinkle those in smoothies & on salads. My sister was diagnosed with osteopenia last week at the age of 50 & is really upset about it. I am hoping they give us a dexa scan before swapping to AIs. If mine is bad I think I’ll stay with tamoxifen.x