Hysterectomy; on HRT; diagnosed w/ ER+ IDC-hormone question!!!!
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Hello~ I have just been diagnosed in one breast with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma ER+ an PR+ Her2 negative. The other breast has yet to be biopsied for micro calcifications (in a few weeks). In the meantime I met with the surgeon and am weighing lumpectomy w/radiation vs mastectomy …leaning very heavily toward the first choice. The breast center coordinator I speak to often regarding the steps I am taking toward further diagnoses and learning about options for treatment in different case scenarios…has mentioned that it is likely the medical oncologist will want to prescribe an estrogen inhibitor like Tamoxifen or one of the lovely others (I am being sarcastic because they all sound like hell to me). Well I had both ovaries & uterus removed 26 years ago for endometriosis. I have been on Premarin, then Cenestin and for the last 10 months Premarin (cenestin became unaffordable)..lowering the dosage, from 1.25mg as time went by, to the recent .625 mg/day. I was also using a progesterone cream…made by a compound pharmacy ..I was told it would help prevent breast cancer. Oh well…So.. as of yesterday, I stopped all HRT, cold turkey. I am cleaning up my act..quitting drinking and no more bingeing on candy (I am a sugarholic)….cutting out certain herbal supplements that may have some estrogenic effect..and making sure I lose a little weight. I am slim at the moment but where the hyster. scar is; I have a nice big jelly roll…not sure I can diet that away or not….but it seems to me…that those changes in themselves will eliminate most of the estrogen in my body. I quit the HRT 12 years ago for 6 weeks and felt HORRIBLE…tired, depressed for the first time in my life, vaginal infections, looked like crap…I am hoping that because I am now 59, that my body will settle in better to not having the supplemental estrogen…but I can not really imagine taking something like Tamoxifen…it just seems redundant to having had my ovaries removed. I have a serious family history of stroke on my dad's side….his mom and her 6 sisters all died from strokes and he himself had one..my mom had blood clots when she had hip surgery…yada yada yada…I just don't like medication and I don't like the risks. I cannot find ANY information..and I have searched an searched, on women like me..who had hysterectomies…many, many years on HRT…and then finally breast cancer….and then the decision of whether it is really necessary to use one of those hormonal regulators after surgery and radiation. I am tempted to say 'no' when the time comes. Am I being unwise? I wish there were some statistics about that! I feel quite alone because the hysterectomized woman is never addressed in articles about the drugs like Tamoxifen and hormone therapy for cancer. I would think that if the risk is so high as people fear, that one would get cancer after taking HRT for so long, then there would be some reference to it and the issue of whether or not to medicate would be of interest to those who have been diagnosed as having ER & PR positive cancers. I hope this sparks a discussion, maybe gives me some answers or links to go on and perhaps I can help others with my experience as well.
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Welcome
to Breastcancer.org. We're sorry you have to be here, but glad you found us!Besides sharing your experiences and learning from other members here at the boards, you may also want to take a look at the Breast Cancer 101section from the main site, which is designed to help you sort through all of the information on our site to find what is more relevant to you right now.
Also reliable information on IDC — Invasive Ductal Carcinoma where you'll learn about symptoms,
diagnosis, treatment, etc.Possibly of interest too is the April 2004: Hormonal Therapy Updates: Hysterectomy instead of ...
We hope
this helps!The
Mods -
Thank you. I will check those links out. ~d
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