Looking For Medication Advice

TucsonBill

I am seeking advice again on behalf of my wife. Her English is good but not perfect. Back in November she was diagnosed with breast cancer but as it turns out she was somewhat fortunate. She had a partial mastectomy, (lumpectomy), and the margins of the cancer were very clean. Also the genetic testing came back negative, showing little chance of breast cancer. What she had was a carcinoma but of a type that was not very aggressive. The final report from pathology showed no cancer cells in any surrounding tissues and they checked a few lymph nodes that were also negative. It was suggested that if she had radiation therapy it would reduce the chances of any recurrence to less than 5%. She just finished her radiation last Wednesday and started on oral medication.

The medication she is taking is called "Tamoxifen" and the first time she took it she got very sick to her stomach and she is also concerned about side effects. Just wondering about feedback on this if anyone has had a similar reaction and perhaps wondering if there is a better medication.

Her breast seems like it has gotten worse since she finished the radiation, it has turned kind of a purple color and some of the skin is peeling. We've tried different ointments and yesterday she started using "bag balm" which seems to be doing better than some of the other creams she has tried. It's mostly petroleum and lanolin.

Any advice or suggestions welcome.

TucsonBill

Georgia1

Hi Bill and thanks for advocating for your wife. On Tamoxifen, it can cause upset stomach but most women find the side effects ease off after about a month. If your wife hasn't gone through menopause yet, Tamoxifen is the best drug for her. The alternate class of drugs is called "aromotase inhibitors" and to be effective in younger women the ovaries need to be shut down. So seems like she's on the right course there.

As for radiation, yep, it gets worse before it gets better. Most women here like a cream called Aquaphor for the peeling.

Best of luck to you both.

gb2115

Sounds like everything is on the right track. The tamoxifen is important to take. Maybe try taking it with a meal? With many drugs the digestive side effects do ease as your body gets used to the medication. But if it doesn't get better definitely touch base with her doctor. If the tamoxifen is making her vomit they would want to know.

ksusan

I always take Tamoxifen with food. Some can take it without--I can't.

TucsonBill

Than you for your replies. I have also read through some of the other posts on this forum and we found some relief in knowing that what she is experiencing is normal for what she has gone through. When I had my radiation treatments about 20 years ago my skin barely got pink, nothing like the burns she is dealing with so I was very concerned.

She is almost 44 years old and is pre-menopause. We feel better getting the confirmation from other women here that she is on the right medication. She does have very good, reputable doctors but it's always nice to have confirmation from other women here. In the country where she is from they just do complete mastectomies, like they did for two of her sisters living abroad, and neither had any follow up treatments or even any pathology report on the type of cancer they had.

It's odd that all of the genetic tests showed negative for her even though it runs in her family.

Thanks again,

TucsonBill