Table of Contents
Does tamoxifen age your skin?
One of the adverse effects of tamoxifen include hot flashes and vaginal dryness (reviewed in Neven and Vergotta 2001), but there have been no studies to determine effects on skin thickness, collagen content, elastic fibers or the formation of wrinkles.
Does vitamin C interfere with tamoxifen?
Vitamin C attenuates the cytotoxicity of tamoxifen (TAM) in MCF-7 cells.
Can tamoxifen cause eye problems?
Extensive retinal lesions and macular edema with visual impairment have been reported in a few patients receiving high-dose tamoxifen. Less extensive retinal changes may occur in patients receiving low doses for long periods, and isolated retinal crystals may be observed in patients without visual symptoms.
What are the long term effects of tamoxifen?
These very positive results show that the benefits of tamoxifen are long-lasting. Like most breast cancer treatments, tamoxifen can cause side effects, including hot flashes and night sweats. In some cases, tamoxifen may cause serious side effects, such as blood clots.
Can I drink green tea while taking tamoxifen?
We observed that green tea increased the inhibitory effect of tamoxifen on the proliferation of the ER (estrogen receptor)-positive MCF-7, ZR75, T47D human breast cancer cells in vitro . This combination regimen was also more potent than either agent alone at increasing cell apoptosis.
What is considered hormone therapy?
Hormone replacement therapy is medication that contains female hormones. You take the medication to replace the estrogen that your body stops making during menopause. Hormone therapy is most often used to treat common menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes and vaginal discomfort.
Can I lose weight on tamoxifen?
Studies have shown that weight gain is not increased in women taking tamoxifen or anastrozole, but it is harder to study the effects of these drugs on a woman’s ability to lose weight. Regardless of the reasons for weight gain, weight loss requires calorie reduction.
What are the worst side effects of tamoxifen?
Side effects of tamoxifen may include:
- Menopause-like symptoms, including hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness.
- Weight gain (more common) or fluid retention (edema).
- Irregular or loss of menstrual periods.
- Leg swelling.
- Nausea.
- Vaginal discharge.
- Skin rash.
- Erectile dysfunction .
Is it better to take tamoxifen at night?
Hot flashes (sudden sweating and feelings of warmth) may commonly occur when you first start taking tamoxifen. This usually improves as your body adjusts to tamoxifen. If hot flashes are troublesome: • Take your tamoxifen at bedtime.
Does tamoxifen make you tired?
When you start to take tamoxifen, you may feel tired, drowsy, or feel like you have no energy. Try to pace yourself until this improves. It is important to strike the correct balance between getting enough rest and staying physically active. Taking short walks regularly will help you feel less tired.
Is hormone therapy a form of chemotherapy?
Many patients think of hormone therapy as being “less potent” than chemotherapy, but it can be just as effective in certain breast and prostate cancers. Hormone therapy is considered a “systemic” therapy, meaning that it travels throughout the body.
Can I drink wine while taking letrozole?
There is no evidence that drinking alcohol causes any problems when taking letrozole. Some people taking letrozole may get hot flushes or redness when they drink alcohol. In this case, avoiding alcohol may help.
What is the success rate of tamoxifen?
The tamoxifen group had the longest follow-up period (9.87 years), shortest endocrine therapy duration (3.29 years), and best survival rate (86.1%).
Is anastrozole worth taking?
Based on a woman’s individual circumstances regarding her breast cancer, her overall health and other medical conditions, taking a medication such as anastrozole can decrease the chance of breast cancer recurring by about 7 to 10 percent. Some people have significant side effects when taking anastrozole.
Is it OK to drink alcohol while taking anastrozole?
The drinking of alcohol (in small amounts) does not appear to affect the safety or usefulness of anastrozole. Anastrozole has lactose in it. The amount is very small but may rarely cause some gastric upset in persons who are lactose intolerant.
Can you eat oranges with tamoxifen?
Tangerines and other citrus peels contain a chemical called tangeretin, which has been shown to reduce the effectiveness of tamoxifen 24. However, the actual flesh of the fruit contains a lot less tangeretin than the peel, so eating moderate amounts of tangerines and other such citrus fruits should be okay.
Is anastrozole considered chemotherapy?
Anastrozole (Arimidex®) is a Chemotherapy Regimen for Breast Cancer – early stage.
Is Immunotherapy the same as hormone therapy?
Breast Cancer Treatment Options Hormonal therapy, which can reduce levels of estrogen and progesterone, may also be used to prevent disease recurrence in women with hormone receptor-positive tumors. Immunotherapy is class of treatments that take advantage of a person’s own immune system to help kill cancer cells.
Will I gain weight on tamoxifen?
Many people gain weight when they are treated with chemotherapy and steroids. Your extra weight may hang around and increase after chemotherapy if you also take hormonal therapy (tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor). If your body shifts into menopause because of chemotherapy, there’s a tendency to gain weight.
Which estrogen blocker has the least side effects?
Benefits of aromatase inhibitors When treating early-stage, hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer, aromatase inhibitors have more benefits and fewer serious side effects than tamoxifen.
Can you take vitamin D with tamoxifen?
No interactions were found between tamoxifen and Vitamin D3.
Does tamoxifen cause facial hair?
Some women find they have some hair loss or hair thinning while taking tamoxifen. A small number of women notice an increase in downy facial hair.
Does tamoxifen affect sleep?
“Women who’ve had chemotherapy will develop menopausal symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats and that affects sleep,” she said. “And hormone medications like tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors also cause night sweats, which impact sleep.”
What does tamoxifen do to the body?
Tamoxifen attaches to the hormone receptors in the cancer cell, blocking estrogen from attaching to the receptors. This slows or stops the growth of the tumor by preventing the cancer cells from getting the hormones they need to grow.
Is taking tamoxifen worth it?
Wesolowski advises that benefits of taking the drug need to be carefully weighed against risks. “In general, tamoxifen for five years reduces the probability of breast cancer recurrence by almost 50 percent, while risks of serious side effects are at around 1 percent or less,” he explained.
How much weight do you gain on tamoxifen?
Managing weight gain According to an article published in the World Journal of Clinical Oncology , women tend to gain anywhere from 2.2 to 11 pounds after breast cancer treatment.
Is tamoxifen A chemo drug?
Tamoxifen – Chemotherapy Drugs – Chemocare.