oophorectomy

I had an oophorectomy but not in place of chemo.    I have not heard of this and it was not an option for me (how wonderful if it had been)  because I was stage 2 with 2 positive nodes.  This is a very interesting question.  I am sure you will receive some responses soon.

I have not had an oophorectomy, I did have the genetic test and an ultrasound to determine if I had any grounds for having one, rather than taking the tamoxifen. Both tests were negative. When I looked into it some more, it seemed that there could be serious problems with bone loss down the road since I am only 42, so, for now, I've decided on the tamoxifen which has other problems but is gentler on the bones.

having an ooph is secondary and optional to chemo.

i'm having a total hyst on feb 21st ........ after 8 months of chemo, bilateral masts and tamoxifen ............. IMHO, i don't think that an ooph is a satisfactory alternative to chemo ........... in my limited learnings, an ooph/hyst is a 'post treatment' neccesity.

i have had a harder time with the hyst issue than i did with the masts, but being 100% ER positive and not having my ovaries shut down by chemo has led me to this next step.

...........your post is kind of vague therefore i can't respond effectively, but do not think for a moment that an ooph will halt your cancer if chemo has been advised ........... an ooph 'instead of chemo' would be unheard of in my neck of the woods.  an ooph will not kill existing cancer cells floating around in your body ........ chemo might not either, but in my mind having an ooph 'instead' of chemo is simply 'ill informed'

I did chemo, rads, Hyst. and tamox.  I have had mild hot flashes but was already having them during chemo.  I have never heard of an ooph instead of chemo but for me I had to do everything-pos. nodes, er+.  Besides the hot flashes (about once or twice a day-about an hour after taking the Tamoxifen) I really have had no other side effects from it.  In fact, sometimes I wonder how it could be working if I am not suffering from side effects.  I was worried too about how I would react post hysterectomy-especially with my husband-but I see no difference at all.

I was diagnosed with a recurrence on November 22 and given a chemical ooph (zoladex) and AIs.



As a result, the tumour under my arm is shrinking. This would suggest to me that an ooph can do the same work as chemo. (It shrunk considerably even before I started the AIs)



In my case, they decided on the hormonal approach as chemo was clearly not a long-term solution. (I had been given FEC, and then when that didn't work, taxotere, which did work)



However, my cancer is 90% ER+, while yours is only 16. Have you asked your onc about the effectiveness of a hormonal treatment ie. ooph in your case? I think it would be relevant.



On the other hand, I note that you are much more PR+. I'm PR negative and have read that more PR negative women don't respond to tamoxifen, as in my situation. I don't know if this means that the corollary is true ie. that tamoxifen is a good medicine for PR+ women.



All this being said, I wish I did not have to be put into menopause (I'm 42) and that I could continue to take tamoxifen and be pre-menopausal as before. I did not have any side effects from the tamox, after the hot flashes stopped 4 months into it, and found it very tolerable.



One of the things that I find most distressing is that an early ooph can apparently increase your chance of dementia down the road.



A few more points - is "mod-diff" a reference to the grade of the tumour? Also, chemo will not necessarily shut down your ovaries. Mine came back after 13 months and I know this is not unusual.



Btw, the hot flashes from ooph and AIs have not been too bad so far.



Sorry if this is convoluted and hope it's of some use to you. It's not an easy decision you've got to make. In some ways it was easier for those of us who were told that chemo was absolutely necessary.



Darya

Hi Newter,



Yes, I was pretty depressed to read about it. Here's a link to the story from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, but if you google it you can read about it elsewhere too.



http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2007/08/30/dementia-estrogen.html



Hard to know what to do - I take salmon oil daily for the omega 3s, as they've been linked to alzheimers. It's tiresome taking all these supplements and thinking about all this stuff, but I'm motivated re. the salmon oil because it also makes my skin really nice!

I know what you mean, Newter.



However, I note that your diagnosis was similar to mine - small, aggressive tumour, already in the lymph nodes, highly ER+ (in addition to the BRCA1in your case). I imagine your risk of recurrence is high, and while you can never be sure, you might have done a very smart thing by having the ooph.



I think I had this tumour for a while - thinking it was just a bit of scar tissue - but it went crazy and started to grow rapidly after I got my period back in August.



I remember that day I got my period back. I was dancing and singing. And then the cramps and the heavy feeling started and I thought "Oh s--t, not this again!". So that is ONE positive thing about the ooph I think.



Just a thought,

Darya

Darya, your were dx'd on my birthday, 11-22