Making my own hormonal therapy concoction before / after surgery

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peppopat
peppopat Member Posts: 90
edited August 2017 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After

I just hate the idea of taking Femara or Tamoxifen again, 5 years later! After doing some research, I found that a clinical trial was doing an experiment with HT applied directly to the diseased breast. The dosage of the topical is 1/4 the strength of the pill.

I crush my femara with a hammer, separate the wax coating , take a pinch organic body butter, dip it into 1/4 a pill's white powder and apply to breast. So far, so good. Surgery is on Aug 11.


I welcome comments!

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  • wrenn
    wrenn Member Posts: 2,707
    edited July 2017

    My only comment is that you are cruisin for a bruisin here. :-)

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  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 12,424
    edited July 2017

    Do you have a link to that clinical trial? The idea is fascinating but a DIY version of something still in trials would make me very nervous. Well, more than nervous, I doubt I'd rather consider it. Are you still taking it orally as well

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  • MelissaDallas
    MelissaDallas Member Posts: 7,268
    edited July 2017

    The trial is for topical tamoxifen. AIs like femara have a completely different mechanism of action.

    Tamoxifen prevents estrogen from binding to receptors in your breasts, so I can understand the topical application theory.

    AIs prevent the conversion of androgens to estrogen in your body. I don't think applying it to your breast is accomplishing the purpose

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  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 12,424
    edited July 2017

    Thanks for info on the trial, Melissa. Yes, Tamoxifen and Femara, or other AI's, do have very different mechanisms of action.

    Peppopat, it seems unlikely that you are doing anything therapeutic by topical application. Links to the trial, anyone ?


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  • MelissaDallas
    MelissaDallas Member Posts: 7,268
    edited July 2017

    https://www.medpagetoday.com/hematologyoncology/br...


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  • MelissaDallas
    MelissaDallas Member Posts: 7,268
    edited July 2017

    http://cancer.northwestern.edu/press_releases/2011...


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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited July 2017

    Current and recent trials were conducted for DCIS patients with topical tamoxifen - this has not been looked at for patients with invasive disease, to my knowledge. I think it is dangerous and short-sighted to try to extrapolate any trial data for an entirely different type of anti-hormonal drug, and do so with a homemade delivery system. While the OP has had a DCIS recurrence, this is under the heading "Hormonal Therapy" so is potentially confusing for those who have an invasive diagnosis, in addition to being a very questionable idea.

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  • MTwoman
    MTwoman Member Posts: 2,704
    edited July 2017

    cruisin for a bruisin indeed

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited July 2017

    peppopat, thank you for sharing what you have decided to pursue. We are not familiar with this clinical trial. Have you discussed this with your medical oncologist, or did your treating physician suggest this as an option for you? You may want to consider a second opinion from another medical oncologist.


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  • ChiSandy
    ChiSandy Member Posts: 12,133
    edited August 2017

    Anti-hormonal therapy is a systemic adjuvant therapy, which means its purpose is to attack any cancer cells that might have escaped the breast into the body without having been detected by biopsy. Topical application, OTOH, is local, and there are limits to how deeply a topical substance can be absorbed (e.g., if you suffer a deep muscle strain, a topical lidocaine, menthol or NSAID patch isn’t going to reach it). Without a “carrier” to facilitate absorption, you are basically smearing what has become some very expensive body butter on your skin, where it won’t do you any good.

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  • keepthefaith
    keepthefaith Member Posts: 2,156
    edited August 2017

    I had my follow up appt with my MO today and mentioned topical Tam to her. She has not prescribed it to any of her patients and was unsure of it's effectiveness against metastatic recurrence, as ChiSandy suggested...systemic vs local.

    I did quit my Tam at 2.5 yrs and she said she is fine with that. I was looking for an option, but I guess that may not be what I hoped it was.

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