My medical oncologist wants me to take Tamoxifen but I am scared of the side effects. Any advice?
I was diagnosed with stage 0 DCIS (3 mm in size), had a lumpectomy and 30 radiation treatments. My medical oncologist wants me to take Tamoxifen but the side effects are frightening. I am 47 and pre-menopausal. I've read so much about this medication that I'm on overload.
Saint, I totally understand being on info. overload! Sometimes you do so much research it makes your head spin, huh? I took tamoxifen for 3 years before switching to Arimidex, and basically had no side effects other than weight gain (GRRRRR) - so the rather daunting list of POSSIBLE side effects didn't happen for me. (After 3 years my doc switched me to Arimidex. AND I lost the weight.) I also have a lot of friends who've taken tamoxifen; most have experienced weight gain.The only other serious side effect I've heard about is depression; I had one friend who simply had to stop taking it because of her depression.
That said, here's my advice: take it and see. You can always quit. Your diagnosis is REALLY positive (well, relatively speaking, for cancer!); so if you take tamoxifen and can deal with the side effects, fine; if they bother you and you stop taking it, that's less serious than if you had more advanced cancer.
If you want to read a bit more about it, take a look at our tamoxifen FAQS.
Good luck! -PJH
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