Tamoxifen

OK, let me give you "the speech."
You are young, and you have hormone-responsive cancer. Tamoxifen is probably the most important thing you will do, after surgery. It is more effective then chemo.  I know that it just seems like an annoying pill, but hormone treatment is the most powerful tool in your MO's arsenal.

Depending on how aggressive your onc might be, the recommendation might also be ovarian suppression (injections or take them out), followed by an AI, which are 1-2% stronger than tamoxifen.

Every time I see a stage III woman, especially a young woman, talk about skipping hormone therapy, it makes me sick to my stomach. Many of us do not have any side effects at all, or, if we do, it is managable. And I want you to get old!

Please, go in for your visit with an open mind.

dlm217 -  I agree with Ican - try the tamoxifen! You may find that you are ok with it. There are many of us that are taking it with few side effects. Most of them are manageable when you put it into perspective. I think that if it is keeping the cancer at bay (it is working well for me) then I will put up with a few unpleasant SEs.

Good luck!

I wasn't looking forward to tamoxifen either, but I have been on it for about 8 months, and the side effects have been minimal to non-existent for me. I haven't gained weight or had thinning hair or even had joint issues.  I suspect you are still feeling crummy thanks to the chemo, but once that 'toxic' feeling is gone, you will start to regain energy.  Everyone responds differently to the tamoxifen.

I am with ICanDoThis, do everything in your power to keep the BC beast at bay.  I am also on an ovarian suppressant injection (I'm 39 and pre-menopausal), in order to do everything in my power to keep that estrogen low.

I am considered an ER- , but I do have very slight 10%.  Do I need to do Tamoxifen?  My Onc seems to think that it is nto really necessary, especially given that I am plannign on ahving a second child after the treatment is finished (I'm 33)

elesha - it's more important that you get Herceptin than Tamoxifin or an AI.

posy -  side effects can take a few weeks to a few months to show up. Some, like arthritis-like pain in joints, will flare with the weather just like regular arthritis. That's really been the only AI-related SE I've encountered that has stayed with me. And who's to say I wouldn't ben having these pains anyway at my age (almost 61)? I was already well-into natural menopause, so the hot flashes were nothing new, either.

Twinmom77:  The major unpleasant side effect of the ovarian suppression is the hot flashes. I had them on chemo, but my period came back after chemo, so the onc started me on the zoladex...and back came the hot flashes.  I didn't have hot flashes on JUST tamoxifen.  I am considering the ooph, eventually, but I suspect both alternatives result in hot flashes.

I agree with NancyD, some SE's seem to show up after a while, and they can be hard to distinguish from just aging. I have always had bad knees, and they probably give me more problems now than before, but I can't say whether it's age, treatments, or SE's from the hormone therapy.

Funny dlm, as I had just posted a question a couple days ago to the group regarding if I should stay on it as I am now post menopausal (see previous post).  I have had few if any SE's from Tamoxifen, and you really shouldn't be afraid to at least give it a try before refusing it.  I've had a few hot flashes, but nothing super serious, and apparently it is considered the standard of care for hormone positive bc.  Just because someone else has had a bad expereince doesn't mean you will!

Take care,

Sharon 

I am 38 and am on Tamox. I  had some minor side effects for 6 weeks and then they went away.  I have been fine ever since.