There are times when Andy felt some lump on her breast. She decided to have a check-up in the local hospital because she thinks that it’s something else. Besides, the pain is preventing her from doing her tasks at work as well as living her everyday life.
Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and she is going to undergo therapy. Then she heard about tamoxifen and wanted to know all about it. You can read more about this drug in this site here: https://anabolicsteroiddrugs.com/tamoxifen/.
If you are like Andy, you might have heard about the most prescribed SERM, which is approved by the FDA. SERM is short for selective estrogen receptor modulators, and they can bind estrogen receptors. They work by blocking the effects of estrogen on the breast tissues and reducing the cancer cells in the process.
Possible Effects of Tamoxifen Drugs
Here are some things that you may want to know about tamoxifen. As any SERM marketed in many pharmacies, tamoxifen is a drug used to treat both men and women who have breast cancers. Its effects may include the following:
- Reduce any risk of breast cancer, especially if one has just undergone surgery. There are hormonal receptive cancer cells that can be prevented with the help of SERMs. This means that without the hormone estrogen, they can’t grow and metastasize in other parts of the body. You can read more about SERMs on this website.
- Shrink large cancer cells before undergoing any surgery
- Treat the people who were diagnosed with advanced cancer stage. This can include metastatic diagnoses and other complications.
- Reduce the risk of getting breast cancer, especially for women who are in their post-menopausal stage. This stage is often where the chance of getting this type of cancer is the highest.
Period of Treatment
Most physicians recommend taking the drug tamoxifen in the space of five to ten years. Some, even more, depending on the medical condition. There are therapies and other lifestyle changes that are needed so that healing can speed up. The treatment depends on a woman’s menopausal stage.
- Those women who are in their post-menopausal stage may be required to take the drug for an additional five years, or they can switch to any other drug that is called an aromatase inhibitor if their bodies don’t react well with tamoxifen.
- Pre-menopausal women may continue taking the medication for another five years if there are no other complications that develop through the course of treatment.
There are several options for people who were newly diagnosed with breast cancer. These are some of them:
- Take the tamoxifen medication for ten years or more.
- Take aromatase inhibitor drugs for five years. Note that as of this writing, the inhibitors don’t show enough pieces of evidence that they will be effective when taken for ten years.
- Take tamoxifen for five years then switch to aromatase inhibitors for the remaining five. This should be equal to ten years of hormone therapy.
Women prefer a decade’s worth of therapy if the chances of getting breast cancer are significantly reduced. Note that there are other methods of treating the tumor, and this can depend on a person’s body, lifestyle, medical conditions, and other factors. With the case of Andy, she should find a doctor that can help her finish the ten-year treatment if she were to take tamoxifen.
A Final Word
It is still essential to consult your doctor as they will be the ones to say whether the drug can benefit you or not. There are side effects that also need to be considered. Some people may not get the full benefit of tamoxifen if they have abnormal enzymes in their bodies or taking other medications that can interfere with the drugs’ potent effect. Check with a licensed doctor and see what your options are.
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