DCIS and Arimedex

TrmTab

According to my MO, I am currently on Arimedex as "protection" for my R breast as I only had a L-MX...so when I think about what to do with my R - lift/reduce or P-MX...If I decide to have a Prophylactic MX, does that mean I can stop the Arimedex??? ...of course I will ask my MO, but was wondering what folks have done.

I "only" had DCIS, so is that my be part of his logic???

Not happy with the idea of either lift/reduce (the pictures of that surgery are brutal) or P-MX, but if I get the added bonus of no more Arimedex, that might push me to the MX.

Getting tired of all these soft tissue aches and pains, and trigger thumb.

Thoughts?

Annette47

I would think if you had a P-MX on the right side, and no other cancer was found you could safely stop the Arimidex. There would still be some residual breast tissue at risk, but the area would be so small that the benefits of protecting it would probably not outweigh the risks of SE’s from the Arimidex.

Generally, when you have “only” had DCIS, the anti-hormonal are given to protect any remaining breast tissue. If you had invasive cancer they not only do that but also protect against distant metastasis. With pure DCIS, the distant metastasis is by definition impossible, so the main benefit is the protection of remaining breast tissue. Remove that tissue and the benefits of the anti-hormonals decreases.