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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Breast Cancer / June 2006Arimidex
I had a check-up with an oncology intern yesterday. It's been four years since my diagnosis. so I asked her if I will be taking the Arimidex forever or will I stop at the end of five years. She said five years. I always think that little pill is protecting me, like an invisible shield, so I'm feeling a little nervous, in advance. On the happy side, only an oncologist would look at someone who has gained too many extra pounds this year and say, "Oh good, you haven't lost any weight." Marilyn > I had a check-up with an oncology intern yesterday. It's been four > years since my diagnosis. so I asked her if I will be taking the [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Marilyn The risk you are protecting against has fallen steadily, and the degree of protection has also fallen over time, so by the time you come off, you aren't really losing anything much. Tim >> I had a check-up with an oncology intern yesterday. It's been four >> years since my diagnosis. so I asked her if I will be taking the [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > >Tim Thanks Tim. I hadn't thought of it that way. Marilyn > I had a check-up with an oncology intern yesterday. It's been four > years since my diagnosis. so I asked her if I will be taking the [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Marilyn I can also see why you would want to keep the oncology intern forever too! How nice not to feel guilty when stepping on the scale. Chris Hi, I just found this group. I was diagnosed with stage four, evasive ductile carcinoma, in January and have been taking the Arimidex for all but two weeks since then. When I finished my chemo seven weeks ago, I asked my oncologist how long I would have to stay on it. She said for the rest of my life. My concern was that knew that there are long term side effects from the trimoxiphin. Those who take it can only stay on it for five years. From what my doctor said, the Arimidex fights the hormones. It keeps the cancer from growing. It does much of the same thing that the chemo does, only at a much slower pace. My doctor didn't seem too concerned about the long term effects on any other part of the body, like the trimoxiphin and it's relationship to uterine cancer. She told me that she has had other stage four patients who take it and have lived for years and years. I've read some web sites too and didn't see anything negative about that drug either. Chemo shrunk about 40% of the tumor. After seven weeks of just taking the arimidex, I can see it shrinking a bit more...I'm not having surgery. At leas not for now...My breast is starting to look more normal, as the weeks pass. The doctor said that we would have to keep an eye on what happens and I MUST keep taking the arimidex. That is the only way for it to be effective. Not sure if that has helped any but that is what I found out about it. Glor > Hi, I just found this group. Hi, Glor, Welcome to the group! > I was diagnosed with stage four, evasive ductile carcinoma, in January > and have been taking the Arimidex for all but two weeks since then. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > My concern was that knew that there are long term side effects from the > trimoxiphin. Those who take it can only stay on it for five years. Tamoxifen (is that what you mean?) has a very different mechanism of action than Arimidex. In non-technical terms: Tamoxifen locks onto the chemical "docking station" on tumor cells where estrogen would normally lock on. Estrogen helps the tumors grow, but Tamoxifen doesn't, so it just ends up blocking estrogen from feeding the tumor. Armidex prevents your body from manufacturing estrogen in fat cells & other non-ovarian locations. It does that by hindering the necessary estrogen-manufacturing chemical operations. As I understand it, the reason Tamoxifen is stopped after five years in NOT mainly because it is too dangerous to use longer, but rather because longer courses (such as 10 years) were tried, and there was no significant additional benefit from the extra time and possible extra side-effects risk. > From what my doctor said, the Arimidex fights the hormones. It keeps the > cancer from growing. It does much of the same thing that the chemo does, [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > who take it and have lived for years and years. I've read some web > sites too and didn't see anything negative about that drug either. It's true that Tamoxifen (and Arimidex) have side effects, including some bad ones in a SMALL percentage of users. But the positive benefits (loosely, number of people saved or time disease progression is delayed) are statistically much greater than the impact of the side effects. These are very beneficial drugs for those of us who have estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer. The worst side effects, that occur in only a very small percentage, tend to be detectable & treatable. Tamoxifen users are monitored closely for uterine cancer, for example, and it is quite treatable when caught early. I've been on Arimidex for around 3 years, after taking Tamoxifen for about 2.5. I haven't had significant side effects from either, other than moderate hot flashes that have decreased over time. Hope you have equally few problems with it! Ann T. Remove 'dontsendspam' from address to reply by email |
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