Tamoxifen after hysterectomy?

Question

Having a full hysterectomy in a few weeks as i am a high cancer risk. I can't have HRT because of the cancer risk, my Dr has said that i have 2 options, Tamoxifin or another drug forgotten the name, sorry Premavin maybe? Anyone been through this?

I have had the gene testing done, and yes i have the BRAC2 gene. I'm 40 yrs old my mother, grandmother, aunts and some uncles have had and died of breast cancer, my mother had ovarian and cervical cancer at 33. The CA125 test has been done and i have had internal and external scans done. No real test for ovarian cancer so i have been told, it's the silent killer. So would rather take it out of the picture and have the surgery. I have mammograms and MRI's every 6 months, self exam all the time. Have tried Tamoxifen as a precaution to cancer, had the flashes and headaches. The hormones scare me as the cancer my mother and aunts had was fed by hormones. Guess it's catch 22, just know i can't go on living in fear of what may happen, want to take as much as i can out of the picture and move on with my life as i am a new bride, just re married. Again worried about that how will it affect our sex life??

Answer 1

Don't know your age, but I took Tomoxifin for 5 yrs after breast cancer. Mine was early stage and did not have to get chemo, but I did go through 6 weeks, everyday, except weekends, of Radiation. Did you have the DNA or whatever it is called telling you of the high risk, or just in the family? You can get a CA 125 blood test every year to determine if you are getting cancer or not in your overies. There are other cancer tests for the breast and mammograms. Tomoxifin I suppose can be taken as a precaution to cancer, but it is a estrogen blocker. My cancer was estrogen positive, but not everyone has that. It also had not gone through the lymph system, so I was lucky. Only had a lumpectomy. I would consult a cancer doctor and see what he says. If this is the option now, then they must think you need it, but what is next, removing your breasts? If you do not have it, and not sure if you would, why go cutting yourself all up. If you had the test to tell you if you are going to get it, then I can see why. Just do not take estrogen. Tomoxifin will put you through menapause, which you will have anyway after the hysterectomy, which I had (partial), and got breast cancer anyway, no one in the family ever had it and not even now, from a large family. Stress can bring it on, so if you are a A type of personality, better change it. Tomoxifin will give you hot flashes from hell, so be prepared, for 5 yrs. It is not an easy one to take as far as that goes. They only recommended 5 yrs at that time to be on it. After I took it for those 5 yrs, they took me off.
Tomoxifin also has some good things, it protects your heart and bones. I did have a heart blockage after I got off of it, so I guess it protected me for those years. I also now have some thinning of the bones in my back, but I am at the age to get that now. Good luck. Oh, yes, I was 50 when I got breast cancer, I am 68 now. I had the hysterectomy, removing the utereus, when I was 38.

Answer 2

Hi. I was once on Tamoxifen and was once concerned to loss of life approximately it inflicting ovarian melanoma so I had a hysterectomy in order that I could no longer ought to take it. Tamoxifen is for pre-menopausal females in order that they could take you off of it. After my hysterectomy they placed me on Arimidex that's like tamoxifen (so far as the way it is helping) but it surely does not have as many unhealthy part results. Your onc will most likely placed you on anything to make certain that you have no bone loss like Fosamax when you consider that the Arimidex (or different cure) shuts down closing estrogen creation and would pace bone loss. The cause your onc will most likely placed you on anything else after your hysterectomy is when you consider that even after the lack of your ovaries, you continue to produce a few estrogen via a gland on your frame. It money owed for approximately 20% of the estrogen produced via your frame. The remedy will paintings on that different 20%. Good Luck to you. By the best way, menopause prompted via the hysterectomy is much manner far more less complicated than the menopause prompted via Tamoxifen, I have discovered.