I have had breast cancer. After the surgery, the chemotherapy and the radiotherapy, I have spent the last 5 years being treated by the drug letrozole to avoid recurrence of the disease. Last month, I had my annual check-up and mammogram and was found to be 5 years cancer free. Result! However, my tumour was HER2+ and therefore my oncologist has advised another 5 years of endocrine teatment with Tamoxifen.
I suffered from almost every side-effect of Letrozole, so it is important to me to be aware of the side effects I may have to endure while taking Tamoxifen. Everybody reacts differently to drugs and some people experience more severe side effects than others, some are really lucky and are not aware of any side effects.
The most common side effects that people have when taking Tamoxifen are much like 
the symptoms of the menopause. They include hot flushes, night sweats and sleep disturbance. Other common side effects are vaginal irritation, loss of sex drive and mood changes. Women who have regular periods are likely to find the flow may be lighter, irregular or stop altogether. However, vaginal discharge is common while taking Tamoxifen and so you should be aware of the possibility of infection,.
One of the positive side effects of Tamoxifen for women who are post-menopausal is that this drug is found to slow down the progress of osteoporosis which is thinning of the bones. Conversely, women sho are pre menopausal may be at risk of thinning bones while taking Tamoxifen.
There are other side effects of Tamoxifen that are less common. The drug increase the risk of getting blood clots including deep vein thrombosis (DVT). This can be very serious as people with DVT are at risk of developing a pulomary embolism. Therefore people taking Tamoxifen need to be aware of blood clots and ways of helping to reduce this. Lengthy periods of inactivity can increase the risk of developing bood clots. Those who take long flights, car journeys or train trips need to be aware of the this.
My oncologist also warned me about the fact that Tamoxifen can afftect the lining of the womb and cause it to thicken. In a few cases Tamoxifen can even cause polyps, ovarian cysts or womb cancer. As my family is complete, I have told the doctors that I would look to have a hysterectomy, should that occur.
A change in hair may also occur. A small number of women may find they notice an increase in downy facial hair and changes to their singing voice. Others find they suffer hair loss or thinning while taking tamoxifen. I suffered hair loss while taking Letrozole, so will be particularly alert for this side effect.
Sight may also change. Make sure to make your regular visits to your optician during treatment.
Tamoxifen can also cause changes to liver function. However, the changes to the liver are usually mild and you may not notice them. At the end f your Tamoxifen treatment your liver will probably return to normal.
Amongst the other side effects are joint pain, tiredness, difficulty concentrating, 
headaches and leg cramps at nght. Some women also suffer weight increase.
My oncologist has told me that Tamoxifen usually only results in mild side effects. However, I encountered many of the side effects with Letrozole and fear Tamoxifen may be the same. They cause me distress, pain and make me self conscious. However, if Tamoxifen keeps the dreaded breast cancer at bay, I will take the tablets and live.
Valerie Penny
diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. 5 years clear: wonderful. However, that does not mean I am treatment free. I have been taking Letrozole for these first five years. The side effects of that drug are many and various. I think I suffered all of them, except high blood pressure! Anyway, the oncologist says it is time to move on from Letrozole to Tamoxifen.
In some instances, Tamoxifen may be an option for some people who have a high risk of developing breast cancer because of family history of the disease. This is in order to reduce the risk of development of breast cancer.
I was diagnosed with breast cancer. After surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, I was prescribed Letrozole (Femara) and must take one 2.5mg tablet each day for a perios of 5 years. Letrozole is a hormonal therapy drug. It is used to treat breast cancer in women who have been through the menopause. Letrozole has been prescribed in order to reduce the liklihood of the cancer recurring, so I am taking it. However, Letrozole does have many unpleasant side-effects and I suffer with most if them. I was not told about these. I think I should have been.
messengers and help control the activity of cells and organs. Hormonal therapies interfere with the way hormones are made or how they work in the body. After the menopause, oestrogen is no longer made in the ovaries. Instead it’s made in the fatty tissues of the body. This happens when an enzyme called aromatase changes other hormones into oestrogen. Letrozole is a drug called an aromatase inhibitor. It blocks this process and reduces the amount of oestrogen in the body.
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breasts. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK. It affects men as well as women. So it is important to look after your breasts by being breast aware. This means getting to know how your breasts look and feel, so you know what is normal for you. You will then be more confident about noticing any unusual changes.
It will not surprise you to know that before I was told I had breast cancer, I did not know what changes to look for – many of us don’t. Make sure you know what your own breasts feel like. Everyone’s look and feel different, so when yo check your breasts, be aware of any changes that are different for you.
or dimpling like orange peel. I found a discharge from my right nipple, but I did not recognise this as a sign of breast cancer. Other changes might be swelling in the armpit or around your collarbone. Be aware if your nipple becomes inverted when it is not usually so or changes its position or shape in another way; you may also have constant pain in your breast or armpit.
I am being treated with letrozole for my breast cancer. My tumour was of the fast growing HER2 positive variety. The letrozole is one of the drugs that reduces the amount of oestrogen circulating in my body and this could result in osteoporosis. I have my bone density checked with a bone density scan and, so far, I do not show signs of osteoporosis. Generally speaking, people with a good bone density before getting treatment for breast cancer are less likely to develop osteoporosis while taking an aromatase inhibitor such as letrozole.
changes will not cure bone defects, it may stop them osteoporosis getting worse. Eating meals that incorporate a wide variety of foods including fruit and vegetables, carbohydrates, milk and dairy products and proteins help achieve this. As a general rule it is recommended that we eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. You would be amazed how many people, including vegetarians, do not manage this! I have also significantly reduced my alcohol intake and the amount of fizzy drinks I take.
We only need to be out in the sun for about quarter of an hour a day during the summer months to give most people enough vitamin D for the whole year. So a walk, some gardening or a round of golf should make sure we get enough vitamin D. In addition to that, margarine, egg yolks and oily fish also contain vitamin D.
hospital could mean a 3-4 four round trip. That was terribly tiring. Also, the treat ment is given in a large room that contains nothing but a chair to place my cloths on, a screen for the radiographers to stand behind as they deliver treatment and the machine, itself.
screen while the treatment was delivered.Once or twice the treament given was slightly different in that it was a boost to my scar area. However, the method of delivery and the lack of attention to personal sensitivities was the same as ever.
I was told that after surgery to remove the tumours, the oncologist told me that I would receive chemotherapy and then radiotherapy. The chemotherapy I received was called FEC. This is a combination of three chemotherapy drugs 5 fluorouracil, epirubican and cyclophosphamide. FEC takes its name from the initial of these three drugs.It is normally used to treat people with primary breast cancer that has not spread to other parts of the body. Chemotherapy destroys cancer cells by interfering with their ability to divide and grow.
When people think of hair loss, they, and women in particular think of the loss of hair on their head. Certainly that does go. The result is a cold head in winter! However, all of the hair on my body was lost. This included the hair on my limbs and inside my nose. The good news was that I did not need to shave my legs for a year, the bad news is that it meant there were no hairs to stop my nose from running. Always carry a handkerchief!
grow. Herceptin works by attaching itself to the HER2 receptors so that the cancer cells no longer grow. it also stimulates the body’s immune system to fight the cancer cells.
like I had a temperature so I swung between feeling hot and cold. I also had to have treatment with anit-sickness drugs for the servere nausea I suffered. I also got medecine from the hospital to counter the diarrhoea that I suffered.
part of the cancer cells before they divide and grow. This makes the cancer cells die off at an early stage.
treatment has finished. I was told that I might suffer from diarrhoea, however, my body reacted differently and I suffered more from constipation than diarrhoea.
Surviving Breast Cancer Now! 
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