Dear leadies,
I finished my 5 year course of Tamoxifen on Feb 12, have a profilactyc salpingo oophorectomy on April and, I’d like to be put on Letrazole or whatever other drug is available. I have an appointment at the end of this week to see my onco, I am quite anxious as I belive, he won’t consider this as an option. He’s very conservative on his approache to cancer treatment and I am not. As the recient Leeds study showed, recurrent with BC is a real danger and I just don’t want to play with it. I would like to know how others feel about it and if any of you can give me any advice on this pls.
Thanks
Hi happynipple
I think any studies that show our worst fear are always a concern, however, as yet they do not know why some women’s (and men’s) BC reoccur. I think by having an oomphorectomy you have helped yourself enormously, assuming you are highly hormone positive. However I don’t know what the current thinking is about moving on to another hormonal after the initial 5 years, it does seem to be region dependent rather than a national standard. Unfortunately my BC did reoccur, about 4 and a half years after my primary, but I am sure that an oomphorectomy would have stopped this happening or maybe slowed the process down. I also had a conservative onc at this point who assured me I didn’t need to remove my ovaries but I wish I had pushed and had it done, I think it would have been the singularly most important preventative I could have taken, so at least you are already in that position.
Good luck with your discussion.
Nicky
I wanted to have my ovaries removed but they cannot find them on scans or MRI…!!! They refused anyway - however oestrogen is created from fat once your ovaries have stopped working or been removed, it converts androgen to oestrogen and often to the dangerous type of oestrogen where bc is concerned and this is where Letrozole or similar can help…you can also reduce oestrogen in your environment and diet - take a look at canceractive.com, there is a great book on there you can order that explains all about oestrogen and oestrogen dependent cancers…
THere are ntural alternatives you can take too like Indole 3 Carbinol or another one beginning with D that is in use in standard medicine in California so you can still help yourself even if your doctor does not co-operate!
i have only justed started tamoxifen in march this year and am also on zoladex. i am already thinking about this too! i have seen on adjuvant on line about added benefit of going onto letzorole for 5 years after 5 years of tamoxifen. and it gives you your percentage benefit depending on your own personal dx. so you could mention about this.
you could also ask to speak to one of the other oncs on the team. sometimes their opinions do vary.
please let us know how you got on what he said as i am vey interested to hear his opinion.
lots of hugs xxx
I only started on Tamoxifen in March this year, but my onc has already said that if I have gone through the menopause in 5 years time, I may go onto “something else”. I assume this will be an Aromatasa inhibitor of some sort.
I am not sure how ER+ I am, so not much help there. I have an appt on Friday with the onc, so I might ask him that and about oophorectomy. I assume it can be done via keyhole surgery.
Oopherectomy can be done by keyhole surgery.
It is not just simply removing ovaries, your oncologist will also need to consider the long term side effects of having no ovaries… Such as the risk of osteosperosis, and the weakening of your bones.
Hi Happy Nipple, good luck with the oncology appointment. Don’t know where you’re being treated but can you ask for a second opinion at a different hospital by a consultant who may have an approach more akin to yours? That’s certainly an option which I’ve known people take within the NHS in England.
I’ve had a prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy (to reduce risk of ovarian cancer of which I have a family history) and was on Letrozle in my mid 40s after treatment for ER+ breast cancer and am still on it.
Being an “oestrogen-free zone” does carry risks for bone health but that can be monitored by regular DEXA scans and treated if appropriate.
hi i had a bilateral salpingo oophorectomy and washings op and it was easy. i have been on tamoxifen for 17months with no side effects and now my consultant has put me on anastrozole and its making me lathargic and vomitting. i wonder when this will settle i havent taken it for last two days trying to get a reply from my breast nurse.
Hi glad I found these posts as I have just had bilateral salpingo opphorectomy on Wednesday. Mine was recommended following scans showing cyst that had changed to multiseptated (whatever that is) over few months. Think along with other symptoms I was having they decided to take all rather than just cyst. I’m 47 now so not huge loss I suppose, although i do feel that I am beginning to lose more body parts than I would like to.
Still on tamoxifen for another 3 years then will be moved to something else.
However, main reason for post is that now you ladies are a good few months post op have you had any problems. I thought i would experience menopausal symptoms straight away but actually feel so much better than I did before op! Is this normal what can I expect in coming months?
Thanks for any advice, currently I’m a bit bewildered by it all
My cancer is er+ and pr+ and I finished the menopause about 8 years ago, so definitely not hormones produced by ovaries. The leaflet that BCN gave me was for anastrozole, but I have to go through chemo and rads first. I was told I would be on hormones for 5 years which I queried this as I had heard trials were being done to see if 10 years would be better. BCN said this was being done in US and by the time my 5 years would be up, they will probably have changed it to 10 years. Blimey, I’ll be 72 then!! 
Hi, I am on Zoladex and Exemestane at the moment, was taken off Tamoxifen due to suspected side effects, I am pre menopausal and am due to have an Opherectomy in the next few months to release me from the awful Zoladex. My cancer was strongly ER. I’m getting a positive vibe about the op from this thread, can anyone expand on this, is it really that easy and how long did recovery take? Thanks.