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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Breast Cancer / August 2007HIFU Treatment and anything more effective than Tamoxifin?
Hi, My mum has had breast cancer which has been treated by chemotherapy followed by a masectomy and now radiotherapy just to be on the safe side. When they did the masectomy they removed about 20 lymph nodes and one of those was found to be still cancerous inspite of the chemotherapy. My mother obviously wants to do as much as she can to stop the cancer from spreading or returning and was interested by HIFU which you can get privately in the UK. Does anyone know how effective HIFU is, I know there have not been many trials on it but was wondering if anyone had any experience of it??? Also, my mother is currently taking tamoxifin as her breast cancer was oestrogen positive and not HER (not sure of the complete name) positive and she was wondering if Tamoxifin is the best drug to take for oestrogen positive cancers. I know the doctors and surgeons are supposed to know best but in the UK on the NHS and the NICE guidelines, money is tight and they are liable to do things purely on a cost effective basis. Thanks for any information in advance. Kind Regards..........Denise > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > from spreading or returning and was interested by HIFU which you can > get privately in the UK. > Does anyone know how effective HIFU is, I know there have not been > many trials on it but was wondering if anyone had any experience of [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Kind Regards..........Denise As I understand the position with HIFU (tumour ablation by high intensity focussed ultrasound), the UK practitioners currently send patients to China for treatment. But it is only good for treating identified and localised tumours. It is not suitable as an adjuvant or preventative treatment. From what you say, it appears that your mum does not have any detectable cancer at this time, so it would not be appropriate. Tamoxifen is a pretty good treatment for pre-menopausal women. It has a long track record and its side effects and risks are well known. It roughly halves the risk of recurrence. For post-menopausal women the aromatase inhibitors (Arimidex, Femara etc.) give somewhat better protection against cancer recurrence, and this is where most of the recent development has been concentrated. Tim Jackson MY daughter is stage 4, has been a year since she had the masectomy. She had radiation first on her hip, as it was already spread to her bones. She was on tamoxflin, but I do not know why they took her off of it, she has said several dif chemo. She is only 42. Now she is on Doxil, shingles on top of and blister in her mouth. And guess what, someone here posted that MILITARY DRs, were the best. Ha makes me laugh, she just found out yesterday, that her dr is not even an Oncologist. She is going Monday to take a test to be certified. No wonder my daughter said, every thing she asks her, she goes to her PC. We can do that ourselves. It took me to diagnose the Shingles. The dr did not even ask to see her, just told her it was a rash. > MY daughter is stage 4, has been a year since she had the masectomy. She > had radiation first on her hip, as it was already spread to her bones. > She was on tamoxflin, but I do not know why they took her off of it, she > has said several dif chemo. It would be normal to continue Tamoxifen during stage IV, but there are several possible reasons for stopping it. One would be if she had become menopausal (naturally or chemically) and was transferred to an aromatase inhibitor. Another would be if it did not appear to be slowing the progression of disease, but was causing life-impairing side-effects. Tim It was not showing any benefits, and they Did give her some kind of shot to push her into menapause, so maybe doing the same job. She is coming home for a visit on Jul 25. I hope I can hold up, when I see her. She did tell me, she has been feeling great, but that might just be an act for me. > Denisewrote: > > Hi, [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Hi Tim, Thanks again for this information. How do you know so much about this? Denise > Hi Tim, > > Thanks again for this information. How do you know so much about > this? The background information is what I learnt nursing my wife until she died of it in 2000. It seemed a waste to have had to learn so much, having known so little at the start, I felt I ought to pass on the things the professionals don't think to or don't have time to mention. Then anything I don't know, I can always Google it. With a scientific background (albeit in physics, but at least that's good for understanding statistics), I can make reasonable sense of prescribing sheets and technical papers. Tim >> Hi Tim, >> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > known so little at the start, I felt I ought to pass on the things the > professionals don't think to or don't have time to mention. And you're very valued for it. > Then anything I don't know, I can always Google it. With a scientific > background (albeit in physics, but at least that's good for understanding > statistics), I can make reasonable sense of prescribing sheets and > technical papers. You're also valued for your take on statistics - the sensible stance. Mary > Tim |
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