Tamoxifen and Herceptin at same time?

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Luckydog42
Luckydog42 Member Posts: 51
edited April 2015 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After

I have 8 more months of Herceptin. I just saw my oncologist today and she wants me to start Tamoxifen now. I thought it usually started after the Herceptin treatment is complete. If you were on Herceptin, did you start Tamoxifen during or after your treatment?

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited April 2015

    Hormonal therapy starts just after chemo and/or rads are finished, but while you are still on Herceptin.  Herceptin is hopefully treating the Her2+ aspect of your cancer, the hormonal therapy would be treating the ER+ aspect.  If you don't start hormonal therapy after chemo/rads you are leaving that aspect uncontrolled for the eight months it will take you to finish Herceptin.  I finished chemo in June, started hormonal therapy in July, finished Herceptin the following January.

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  • Jumpship
    Jumpship Member Posts: 305
    edited April 2015

    were either of you still dealing with side effects from chemo or Herceptin when you started tamoxifan? I still can't walk up stairs and a while bunch of things. I worry about the extra side effect tamoxifan brings.

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited April 2015

    minivan - yes, some of the chemo SE were still in evidence, but they were fading by the time I started hormonal therapy.  Most MO do have you start 4-6 weeks after last chemo.  I could tell which things were attributable to what and the chemo SE continued to fade  My Herceptin SE were minimal, headache and runny nose, so not really connected to anything I experienced from hormonal therapy.  Hopefully you will be someone who has minimal SE from Tamoxifen.

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