Fareston for premenopausal?

faithfulc

Hi, everyone.  I have 2 rads left and my onc today prescribed Fareston, saying it's a newer drug and already in its active form (compared to Tamoxifen).  I did a little surfing and found that it's usually prescribed to those who are POST-menopausal and with metastic breast cancer.  I'm 41 and premenopausal up until chemo, and although I have 3 positive nodes, have not been shown to have cancer spread. 

Has anyone else been prescribed this and could you share with me your experience?  I fully expected Tamixofen so this is a bit unexpected to say the least.  It is a 60mg daily pill, and I'm supposed to be on it for 5 years. From this website, it appears that side effects are very similar to that of Tamoxifen.  I've read enough about medical information (I think), and would like some real life testimony.

Thank you all in advance.

edenh

Hi faithfulc,

I just went to my onc this morning for my 3 month checkup. Have been on Tamoxifen since June. I am a very poor metabolizer of the drug. We have been talking back and forth about my options, since it may be clear that T is not for me. She prescribed Fareston today, even though I too am premenopausal. I need to do a little more research on it . I was just on here to find out if anyone else was on it as well. Have you had any SE from it? How are you doing??

thanks 

every8thwoman

Hi Faithfulc

I too am a poor metabolizer of Tamoxifen and was prescribed Fareston.  Also am premenopausal.  I found the side effects to be better in general than the SE from Tamox.  I have been on it about a year and a half and don't have as much hair loss as I experienced on Tamoxifen.  Also, weight gain was less-- I think.  

Every8thwoman

Cyborg

I was perimenopausal when I started chemo and ceased periods in May 2011. Started the Fareston one week ago. A little stiffness bit today I noticed I didn't have any.

golfergrandma

I don't tolerate tamox well either and was prescribed fareston -- when I went to pick up the prescription the pharmacy told me it would be $385 for one month (that includes insurance payment).  It's really $800/month without insurance.  I am on Prescription D since I'm retired.  Does your insurance cover the cost of fareston?

peggy_j

I'm on tamox but would be curious to know if there are studies about the long-range impact of fareston. Though some patients have probs with tamox (as we know) there are studies that show taking it for 5 years reduces the risk of recurrence even in the 10-15 range. If you have your choice of drugs, I'd be curious to know if fareston has had similar results in the clinic trials.

comingtoterms

Hello, My onc. just presecribed feraston for me because I did not tolerate tamox well. I have a 6% recurrence rate without it and am considering not filling the script. Any opinions out there? Thank you!  Tammy

sweetbean

I know a woman who went off Tamox without telling her onc because of SE's.  Six months later it was in her chest wall. Cancer sucks! Try the fareston - it's supposed to have fewer SE's.

coraleliz

Comingto terms- what did you have that might be lessened by switching to Fareston? When I went to the Fareston website, I noticed all of my SEs seem to occur with greater frequency than on Tamox.

 Although I did see a post on another thread by someone who had fewer SEs. Fareston was mention to me at my last appt. Instead I was put on a lower dose of Tamox(10mg). I've been on the 10mg dose of Tamox for 1 month now & my SEs are back in full force. I'm thinking about calling the MO & asking to switch to Fareston. If I have worse SEs on Fareston, I'll switch back to Tamox.

My SEs that are the most problematic are dizziness & headaches. Would love hear about which SEs lessened for others.

comingtoterms

coraleliz, my side effects were all gynecological - excessively heavy periods, fibroids, cysts, cramps, infections, needed biopsies and hystosonograms, etc. Just couldn't deal with it anymore. Tammy

Tinyfrog

It's very reassuring to see that premenopausal women have been prescribed Fareston as far back as 2010! How has it been in the years since regarding experience, SE, and outcome?
Like a few on this thread, I am a slow metabolizer of Tamoxifen. And while that can be worked around by increasing the dose, and checking blood serums, I may decide not to bother with Tamoxifen because of the "serious" side effects (my mom had endometrial cancer, and I had been a smoker for 25 years so probably at risk for clots). That being said, in comparison to Fareston, it appears that Fareston on the whole provides better survival outcome, less risk of serious side effects, but a slightly higher risk of the quality of life side effects like hot flashes. I think I'm going to ask to start with Fareston . The second choice is Lupron. Anyone have any arguments for trying Lupron over Fareston first?

A comparison of survival outcomes and side effects of toremifene or tamoxifen therapy in premenopausal estrogen and progesterone receptor positive breast cancer patients: a retrospective cohort study

https://bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11...