radiotherapy or surgery to stop hormone production?

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Hi everyone,I hope some of you have some advice to give .
I had to stop taking tamoxifen after only one year because of side effects.My doctor now suggests ovarian oblation by radiotherapy as he says it is easier to recover from than surgery, few days to decide what I want to do .Is radiotherapy as good as surgery ?thanks in advance for your help

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Hi looking lovely

BCC have published a factsheet about ovarian ablation which you may find helpful to read, please also feel free to call our helpline for further support and information on 0808 800 6000, weekdays 9-5 and Sat 9-2:

breastcancercare.org.uk/upload/pdf/ovarian_ablation_june_2007_0.pdf

Best wishes
Lucy

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thanks for the information ,Lucy,I do appreciate it and will spend a few days thinking about it

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Hi LL,

I had my ovaries removed surgically a few months ago, although I was under the impression that I was to have keyhole surgery, it turned out to be major abdominal surgery as I had adhesions from a caesaerean section.
although the vast majority of keyhole ovary removal surgery goes according to plan,it might be an idea to think how you might cope if they had to go in via the tummy, I have quite a big vertical scar and it was a very long recovery.I was made to sign on the pre-op form that I understood they may have to go in through the abdomen.
If youve never had any other abdominal surgery or gynae problems, I’m sure it will be fine, but just something to bear in mind, would I do it again? Yes, in a heartbeat!
I was told that sometimes radiotherapy ablation is not a specific enough science to ensure that other nearby organs dont get a blast too, which can result in other problems, in fact my centre stopped doing it years ago.
whichever way you decide,remember its only a few weeks or months out of your life until you recover.

best of luck

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Hi

I am having my ovaries removed by keyhole next week.

As well as stopping the hormones, my onc advised that with surgery you are taking away the risk of ovarian cancer, but with rads to the ovaries you are still at risk of ovarian cancer.

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Hi had mine done by rads which was OK but be wanted you can have problems for a period of time afterwards which i was not told about. It affected my bowels to be blunt and had to go on various meds to sort it out. I lost over 1/2 stone in weight and was not in a good way. Had to see a dietician and slowly introduct foods. I am not sure if this is normal but they did say afterwards…yes i know, that this can happen. To be honest i wish that i had had surgery. It maybe worth asking more questions. Hope this helps.