The Next Long Step

When I got the results of the biopsy way back in May, I also was told that my tumor was estrogen positive and HER negative which was Greek to me. What I have found out since is that estrogen feeds some tumors and it is good if you are positive because then you can take a pill to block the estrogen from going to the cells which would prevent cancer from recurring, or at least improve the chances of it not recurring.

Hormonal therapy, sometimes also called anti-estrogen therapy, works by lowering the amount of estrogen in the body or blocking estrogen from attaching to the breast cancer cells.

You and your doctor (mine is Dr David Mintzer , a wonderful medical oncologist at Pennsylvania Hospital, work together to decide which form of hormonal therapy is best in your particular situation. Tamoxifen is the  most commonly used to treat breast cancer but it is used when you have a uterus or before menopause.

Aromatase inhibitors stop the production of estrogen in postmenopausal women. Aromatase inhibitors work by blocking the enzyme aromatase, which turns the hormone androgen into small amounts of estrogen in the body. This means that less estrogen is available to stimulate the growth of hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer cells. Aromatase inhibitors can’t stop the ovaries from making estrogen, so these medications only work in postmenopausal women. The main sources of the hormone for those women are the adrenal glands and fat tissue, not the ovaries. Aromatase inhibitors include Arimidex (chemical name: anastrozole), Aromasin (chemical name: exemestane), and Femara (chemical name: letrozole)

There are serious side effects. When I asked my dear friend Ruthie who took it about 8-9 years ago what the side effects are, she said, “The first side effect is that you live!! Focus on that and don’t worry about the rest.”

Good advice. Maybe I will be lucky and not get the others- severe joint pain, bone thinning, vomiting, hot flashes, weakness and fatigue to name a few. Yuck!! I am supposed to take anastrozole for 5 years!!! Barring any problems, that is the plan and I am sticking to it.