Tubular cancer - hormone blockers?
Hi, I am so happy to find this group. There don't seem to be many places for us to connect about tubular cancer! Like many of you, I am trying to figure out if tamoxifen is worth the risk. I am 55, peri-menopausal and had a single mastectomy (with DIEP) 2 months ago. My diagnosis was large volume DCIS (hence the mastectomy recommendation) and a 4mm invasive tubular tumor, grade 1, 95% estrogen positive. Because of the SMX, radiation was not needed. My oncologist said that the purpose of hormone blockers for me would be to protect the opposite breast from a new cancer, but my risks were fairly low (about 1% per year, or 15% lifetime risk for a new cancer in opposite breast). The chance of tubular cancer returning was very low, about 2-3% in my lifetime. But the other breast is the question. Tamoxifen would not reduce this much, just by a few percentage points. I tested negative on genetic testing and even though my mother passed from ovarian cancer they don't consider that a significantly higher risk for me since she was 70. My breasts are very dense. I'm so conflicted about taking a hormone blocker since I'm not sure the risks of tamoxifen are worth it. My oncologist said she would be fine with me taking a lower dose (5mg vs 20mg) for 3 years, so that is one idea. Another idea is wait for the new drug giredestrant that supposedly getting FDA approval this fall for early stage BC (more effective and fewer side effects based on large clinical studies, and used for both pre and post menopause). My lifestyle and diet are very healthy, especially since the initial abnormal mammogram 6 months ago. And while I understand that lifestyle and diet (I am now mostly vegan but eat fish and very low sugar, no ultra-processed foods) does not replace tamoxifen, I feel it may be enough when the risk is already so low. Wondering what others have come to, perhaps facing a similar quandry? Or if you opted out of hormone blockers, were you happy with that decision? Did you make other changes in your life to compensate for not taking the drug to reduce your risk?
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@talllula - Welcome to Breastcancer.org. We’re sorry you have to be here for this, but glad you found us, and we hope you’ll hear from others with tubular breast cancer who have faced similar decisions about hormone therapy.
Until then, you may find these articles helpful as you weigh your options:
Please keep us posted on what you decide and how things go.
The Mods
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