Aromatase Inhibitors Help Prevent Breast Cancer Recurrence
Thursday July 10, 2008
Aromatase inhibitors, such as Aromasin, Arimidex, and Femara, lower your levels of circulating estrogen by preventing estrogen production. If you are post-menopausal, and had treatment for estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer, these drugs can be taken to further lower your estrogen. Perhaps you've already taken Tamoxifen, a SERM, for 5 years - that helps lower your estrogen, too. But studies have shown that taking an aromatase inhibitor after a full course of a selective estrogen-receptor modulator can increase your survival rate. The side effects of SERMs and aromatase inhibitors are similar, but differ somewhat in how your hot flashes may feel (mine were gentler) and AIs don't cause endometrial thickening and cataracts.
Comments
Aromatase inhibitors (Arimidex, Aromasin, etc) were ’sold’ to me as the answer to preventing cancer returning – but what none of the medics told me was that in Britain, if you get side effects from these, you are on your own.
All my specialist at the Royal Marsden (supposedly our top cancer hospital) could offer was “do you want to come off the drug?”
No, I didn’t, so went off and found medically-approved ways of dealing with these in France, Germany etc. and have now developed http://www.after-cancer.com to tell others what I found useful.
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