MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish
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just popping in to say hi
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lynniea, unil you get to your 50, you can always send personal messages to folsk and get some added support!
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I didn't want to do the Tamoxifen, but figured I should at least try it and if it was tolerable then I would hang in there for the five years or however long I could. I haven't completed menopause, but it is likely that I will before my Tamox. years are over. I know that I could switch to an AI then but, like Sandee, I say "Better the devil you know, than the devil you don't." I have had members of my family with osteoporosis, so the bone loss of the AIs really detracts for me; whereas the minor bone protection (it's like 4%) of the Tamox. seems like a tiny benefit that I could use. All I have to do is monitor my uterus like crazy and hope I don't get a fatal blood clot! Easy-peasy!
I think the studies are showing the least recurrence if a woman does some kind of Tamox./AI split. I don't think it is a hugely dramatic reduction over Tamox. or an AI alone. But this is the reason that women need information right up front, so they can make a personal decision about what they feel is right for them. A MO will want to give you the very best odds against the B/C, and the bone loss may be a minor trade off from a doctor point of view; but some women (like me) just want no part of the bone loss.
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BarbaraA - My follow up schedule is just about like yours. I, too woud be very happy if I never had to see my RO again. I see my MO every 4 months and mammo once a year on both boobs. That is fine with me - other tests and scans can always be added as needed.
annettek - Just go for it - start the Tamox and get it over with. I started with 10mg in the morning for the first week then did the split dose. Now, I have progressed and am taking the whole 20mg at breakfast. If we gotta do this, we gotta do this. Might as well stop beating around the bush. You never know what is going to happen until you give it a try. We are all here to support you in this. Feel free to PM me anytime you like.
I still stand on my decision though, to never switch to an AI. If the Tamox is working, doing its job and not giving me any problems, why switch?
elimar - When it comes right down to it, none of us wants to take Tamoxifen. But we all have to consider the alternative if we don't. It all comes down to a personal choice. To help myself get off the roller coaster, I decided to just do it and move on with life. It's only for 5 years - not a lifetime - although to some it may seem like it.
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During the span of five years with Tamoxifan and arimidex , life is not normal as one has to face many sequences of side effects but it is tolerable. I am on without any medication since Jan. I used to get confused oftenly because I dont know whether I am cured or not..my doctor asked me to report to him in July with Mamogram, blood test reports. This clearly means that even after completion of 5 yrs medication to free cancer, our life is uncertain.
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Yep, breast cancer is that gift that just keeps on giving....sigh.
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raj--breast cancer is not ever considered cured. It goes into remission, or there is no evidence of disease (NED) but we are never considered cured. The beast can pop up again years or decades later, so we are watched all our lives. Of course, as treatments get better (AI's, tamoxifen, herceptin etc) then fewer and fewer of us will have to face that, but for now, we keep dancing with NED for as long as we can.
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they don't want me on tamoxifin..that would be the last resort if the SEs are too great from AIs. I can't believe it...I was really in a quandry this morning so I sent an email to superstar onc who is in transition to his new post in Phoenix...he wrote back in moments and said Please, please, just try it, you were 98% estrogen...you won;t know if the SEs are intolerable unless you try..then he gave me three names of friends of his to go see if I needed a doc in the flesh and did not like the monitoring onc I was using...I was so impressed that he wrote back at all and on a Sunday morning at that-I am going to try them starting in morning...start with arimidex...
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annettek - Why don't they want you on Tamoxifen? What is the reasoning behind it? After having done 2 of the AIs, I like Tamox much better as far as SEs go.
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Elimar - I hear you....I may change my mind about the AI's three years down the road but that is a FAR FAR distant future as far as I can tell right now....at the moment, I am living my life one week or month at a time...seems easier not to get overwhelmed that way,
Annettek- glad your onc seems on the ball and responded to your concerns. Like Jo, I would ask why? so what if it was 98% estrogen...why does thta make the A!s better for you? Not everyone has side effects though on any of this stuff. My galpal who walked this road 8 years ago said she had none..and she was 37 when she jumped on this train. Good luck with whichever route you opt for.
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Sandee - I was 100% ER+/PR+. The percentage is just the prognosis for recovery. It should not be the deciding factor what pill a person is put on. I was started on the AIs because I am post menopausal and that was the only reason. Settled for the Tamox which will work just as well.
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The research gives the AIs a slightly lower rate of recurrence/mets than tamoxifen, and they aren't associated with uterine cancer the way tamoxifen is. Those little details make the AIs the drug of choice if the woman is postmenopausal.
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NM - I hear what you are saying and I agree. I just can't tolerate them. I was hoping to be able to do those in the beginning and was all for it. But for me, it was not meant to be.
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you got it Nativemainer...I am an old broad of 54:) and they will hold the tamox as last resort. If this is the way to go I am going to ask if I should stop my supplements-man, I had the worst hot flashes, dryness, mood swings the past week to two weeks (been on them about five weeks)- some of the mood attributable to my dilemma but some feels like the worst of PMS-which haunted me my entire adult life-got worse as i entered menopause then had eased off over the last few months with the help of me boosting my estrogen with creams, etc (brilliant in retrospect but who the hell knew-it made me feel better, was always too scared to take HRT)...then BAM BC diagnosis...weird how that goes...I know the supplements I am on do work to a degree and if I should keep on them along with AIs or if I should save them and keep them in abeyance if the AIs and tamox prove untolerable//// interesting that the female onc told me you can use those after you do five years of AIs to help keep your estrogen levels down...see what I mean? It gets confusing...use AIs now and then my supplements so I have protection the rest of my life....themost immediate relief I will get is to stop smoking...that will be a huge change in my life..HUGE...40 years...i became chubbby after my oldest sister died when I was 12 and at 14 went to weight watchers...I walked out of the meeting and into the drugstore and bought a pack of cigarettes...damn... was a really good kid and I remember telling my mom..I am going to smoke to help with the weight or I will eat..she begged me not to, threatened me, my dad yelled at me and I said nope, I will smoke and just did not want to lie to you. I won't disrespect you by smoking in front of you, but I will smoke. It helps me not eat. I don't do drugs, I get good grades, I don't want to live my life fat. Damn...I was stubborn then too. Bitch of it was that in my mind it did work, it did help. Now I have to get stubborn again and use it to quit. Correlate it with life this time. It is so odd, since in every other aspect I live a healthy life. I tick off trainers when they give me tests and they are sure I will tire out...what a dumb thing to be proud of...still 14 in some ways thinking I am so smart..anyway, thank you all for listening, I guess I needed to write all of this out.
Imagine my poor little head right now-not saying I am right, just what is floating around there...i am going to gain a million pounds and be a huge bitch from stopping smoking and then because of AIs I will lose my hair, my cholesterol will shoot up, my bones will become brittle, and I will be a mental patient....ahh, time to sit in the sun and have ponder this new journey and sort out the crap from reality:)
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E-isn't your back hurting from that questionable position you are in?
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And I have a cramp in my calves too. (I am changing back to my dorky plush avatar soon. It seemed like everyone was going all "question mark" earlier and I just wanted to follow the crowd and fit in.)
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Annette, good luck and {{{HUGS}}}.
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Sometimes it hurts to follow the crowd. Sometimes it's better to just to stick out and be yourself. Just saying........
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Annettek.....well, if you quit smoking and exchange cigaretttes for small carrots and a new diet...you will not gain weight....just do NOT have any sugary or salty nibblies (depending on your poison) in the house to tempt you.....changing your habits (ie. going to the gym) will help too...all about patterns I think....You can do it...join the exercize post and add your daily exercize. it also helps to motivate!
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annettek---------quitting smoking. i thought that was the hardest thing i ever did about seven years ago and now this cancer is right up there and far surpassing that. you can do it. it makes sense. cold turkey was the final way i quit. i am so anxious all the time i think about getting a pack, just one, but will not. good luck to you.
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Annette, just a few comments on your long post. We're pretty close in age - I'm 55 - so I started with Tamox 'cause I was still testing pre-men levels. There were a few side effects, but nothing that couldn't be managed somehow. I know that's not true for everyone, but I think for most, it's doable. Once my levels dropped and I was post-men, I was switched to Aromasin. I've had way fewer side effects with that than I did with tamox. You do not have to gain weight, you do not have to lose hair - I didn't lose any - my cholesterol is fine, I get a bone density test biannually and so far I'm good there too. Please don't let negative thoughts overcome you ... that's a sure way to fail right from the start. I'm not a pollyanna, but I am a firm believer, based on tons of valid research too, that our outlook shapes our results to a large degree. And the smoking - I quit after my bc surgery 5 yrs ago ... I still miss it sometimes, but the physical benefits were huge and almost instant (no coughing, not winded, no indigestion, no headaches ... I had no idea those normal events were due to my smoking). Soooo....a gentle hug to you for good things to come of your choices, and positive vibes to help you make those choices.0
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i am sitting here with my eyes filled with appreciateve tears and heart filled with friendship for all of your support...g'night my friends, sleep well and dream better:)
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Hi Marlegal, good to see you online again. I had posted a question - somewhere on one of these forums asking about Arimidex so you've helped me. I was switched to Arimidex a few months ago after being on Tamox for 2.5 years and am hoping the aching in my feet and ankles will go away. I feel like I am 90 years old. But, as they say, better than being dead...
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Annette, that's why we all come here, to find support, to give support and when we're lucky, to find friendship
Pin, my knees/ankles/feet were really bad on tamox, they're much better now. I also started taking one of those supplements - glucosamine/chondroitin thingys - and I really think that's helped with joint issues too.
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I hate to be the party-pooper, but watch your liver levels with that combo Marle!!! If you've compromised your liver with chemo, the glucosamine can up the bloodwork level as it's hard for your liver to process. I can't take it as my liver is compromised by Tylenol poisoning for all the years my idiot doc pretended nothing was wrong with me!!!!
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Ladies - hope you all had a great weekend!
Tomorrow I have two biopsies on my non-cancer breast. The doctor thinks it is fat necrosis as I had a breast reduction years ago, I think it is too but can't help but be a little worried.
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good luck...hoping for b9 results for you
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Dawney-fingers crossed, but it will be A-OK-don't ya know?
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I have just made my 50 post.. Yea When does it take affect. 0
