Do you think I will need hormonal therapy?

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Balance101
Balance101 Member Posts: 29
edited April 2018 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After

I was diagnosed with stage 1 ILC on 3/27/18 for a 1.5 cm lesion on the right and had bilateral mastectomy with bilateral sentinel biopsy (0/6) and immediate reconstruction with TEs on 4/9/18. I have an appointment with a hematologist/oncologist on Thursday 4/26 and I'm wondering what I have to look forward to after all of this. I'm 54 years old and still get my period. Cancer was ER/PR positive and HER2 negative. I've heard medically induced menopause is horrible. If I were to be given that, what pill would I be given? Would I also be given something like tamoxifen? I realize there is no way to actually "know" what my treatment will be, I'm just wondering if any of you were in my same position and what treatment options you had. Thanks in advance!

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  • dtad
    dtad Member Posts: 2,323
    edited April 2018

    Hi there. I wasn't in your situation but someone will come along that is. Yes Tamoxifen would probably be the drug of choice. Good luck and keep us posted.

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  • Ingerp
    Ingerp Member Posts: 2,624
    edited April 2018

    Yes--for hormone receptor positive tumors an anti-estrogen drug is usually recommended. Tamoxifen for pre-menopausal women or an aromatase inhibitor for post-menopausal women. Lots of good information on both on BCO.

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  • pupmom
    pupmom Member Posts: 5,068
    edited April 2018

    I think hormonal therapy is pretty much standard of care for anybody with invasive ER+ breast cancer. But of course this is something that has to be decided by you and your doctor. I did not have medically induced menopause, but I haven't heard that it is horrible. Cancer and treatments to get rid of it all suck, but we do what we gotta do. Best wishes!

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited April 2018

    Generally, if you are premenopausal you will be offered Tamoxifen since it does not interfere with circulating estrogen. Tamoxifen works by blocking the estrogen receptor on the breast cell. If you were to have an oophorectomy, or hysterectomy/oophorectomy or used a medication induced ovarian suppression method like Lupron, you would be offered an aromatase inhibitor drug - either Arimidex (anastrazole), Femara (letrozole), or Aromasin (exemestane) as these drugs assume that you are postmenopausal and no longer producing ovarian estrogen, and work by interfering with the enzymatic action of aromatase which converts androgens into estrogen. Many women take Tamoxifen while they are nearing natural menopause then switch over to an aromatase inhibitor drug after they are confirmed to be menopausal - usually oncologists would like to see certain hormonal levels for at least a year prior to making the switch. Ask your oncologist what they recommend and why when you have your appointment - good luck! For the record, nine years before being diagnosed with breast cancer I had a total hyst/ooph at 45 while still having my period, due to numerous fibroid tumors in the uterus. I did not have a difficult time at all, I did have hot flashes and still do, but not any other significant issues.

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  • voraciousreader
    voraciousreader Member Posts: 7,496
    edited April 2018

    i suggest you register at the NCCN website and read the professional version of the breast cancer treatment. If Tamoxifen was mentioned, you are premenopausal. You will have many options ahead. I suggest you familiarize yourself with the SOFT and TEXT studies. Some premenopausal sisters are offered ovarian suppression and different endocrine therapy. Instead of tamoxifen, you might be offered an aromatase inhibitor and ovarian suppression.


    Please read up on these different treatment plans. You will have many options. I wish you well. And by all means, come back here. You will find much support

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  • Balance101
    Balance101 Member Posts: 29
    edited April 2018

    Wow, you ladies are amazing! Lots of great info here for me to go over. Thank you so much for your quick responses. I'm going to read up on Tamoxifen. I've heard the side effects are game-breaking for some, but like you said Pupmom, they all suck, but we gotta do what we gotta do!

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited April 2018

    Hi Balance,

    Just chiming in here to provide some info from the main Breastcancer.org site's page on Is Hormonal Therapy Right for You?, which echoes what others here are saying. The Hormonal Therapy section also explains the different types of hormonal therapy and what to expect with each drug.

    We hope this helps!

    --The Mods

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