HOME CANCER GLOSSARY  CANCER PHOTOS  NEW CANCER BOOKS  LINKING  ADVERTISE

    
 

Free Financial Help for Cancer Patients
Gov't regulated program

Breast Cancer "Switch" Found

Cancer Pictures

Best Natl Cancer Ctrs

Cancer Centers
 by State


Cancer Societies

Newest Treatments
 by cancer type

MyCancerNews.com

Cancer Newsletters

Medical Journals

Cancer Calculator

Nat'l Cancer Inst.

MedLine Cancer

Chemotherapy

Other helpful links

Additional Help
for Cancer Patients

More Cancer Photos

About Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer
The following is a list of questions to ask your doctor About Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer  as well as tips for preparing for these conversations.

What is hormone receptor-positive breast cancer?

Certain types of breast cancer are fueled by the hormones estrogen and progesterone. On the surface of cells, there are receptors, which when turned on, tell the cells how to behave. Because some receptors have a particular affinity for estrogen and progesterone, the hormones may attach to these receptors and then tell the cells to grow and divide. These receptors are found in tissues all over the body in both healthy cells and certain cancer cells. In women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, hormones can spur the growth of breast tumors. About two-thirds of breast cancers are hormone receptor-positive. A tumor’s hormone-receptor status is determined when a pathologist analyzes a sample of tissue from the tumor following a biopsy, or surgery to remove the tumor.

How you can prepare for this discussion

  • Keep a record of all treatments received for your breast cancer
  • Learn your receptor status

What are the treatment options for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer?

After surgery for breast cancer, treatment plans often continue with adjuvant therapy—chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal treatment—used alone or in combination. The goal of adjuvant therapy is to prevent cancer recurrence in the breast or elsewhere in the body (metastasis). In women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancers, hormonal treatments, sometimes called anti-estrogens, can be given to prevent estrogen from reaching the receptors. Hormonal treatment options will depend on your menopausal status and tumor stage. In premenopausal women, the primary source of estrogen production is the ovaries and they are sometimes surgically removed or suppressed with medication. After menopause, estrogen is produced by fat cells and the adrenal glands. The standard of care for pre- and postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer is typically tamoxifen, a drug known as a selective estrogen-receptor modulator, or SERM. In postmenopausal women, a class of drugs called aromatase inhibitors may be used as adjuvant treatment, instead of tamoxifen, or when tamoxifen is not producing a desirable effect.

The following are types of hormonal therapy:

  • Selective estrogen-receptor modulators (SERMs)—Block estrogen from attaching to the cell's hormone receptor
  • Aromatase inhibitors—Reduce the amount of estrogen circulating in the blood by preventing another hormone, androgen, from being converted to estrogen.
  • Estrogen receptor down-regulators—Block and reduce the number of available receptors

How you can prepare for this discussion

  • Speak to other women with breast cancer about their experiences during therapy
  • Talk to friends and family about dealing with treatment needs and appointment schedules
  • Make a list of all treatments you have had for your breast cancer <
  • Know your menopausal status

What are the side effects of hormonal treatments?

Side effects from hormonal therapy are not the same as those with chemotherapy. Because hormonal therapies decrease estrogen levels, women receiving these treatments have symptoms similar to those experienced during menopause, including hot flashes, fatigue, vaginal dryness and changes in appetite. In some cases, these symptoms will diminish over time. People taking tamoxifen may experience vaginal bleeding and discharge, fluid retention, mood changes and visual disturbances. There is also a slight risk for blood clots, ovarian cysts and uterine cancer. Women who take aromatase inhibitors also experience menopausal symptoms but to a much lesser degree. They may however develop osteoporosis, a bone-thinning condition. Medications may be needed to offset this side effect. Other less common side effects may also be experienced.

How you can prepare for this discussion

  • Learn if you have a family history of osteoporosis or if you have low bone mineral density
  • Note your history of any diseases of the uterus or ovaries
  • List all vitamins, herbals, dietary supplements, and other prescription and over-the-counter medications, especially blood thinners and aspirin
  • Record all current and past medications and their side effects
  • Determine your support system at home and at work and what aspects might be affected by treatment side effects

How long will I need to take hormonal treatments?

Hormonal treatments can be given following surgery to help prevent breast cancer recurrence. Tamoxifen can be taken for varying lengths of time, depending on how well the cancer is responding to this treatment. Although the ideal length of treatment with tamoxifen is not known, tamoxifen is generally prescribed for five years. Tamoxifen is the most common treatment but other hormonal treatments may be equally effective. The optimal duration for adjuvant aromatase inhibitor therapy is not known.

How you can prepare for this discussion

  • Note any side effects you experienced from any of your treatments for breast cancer

What can I do after treatment with tamoxifen?

Treatment with tamoxifen is very successful in staving off breast cancer recurrence, but it can only be given for a period of five years. New studies show that aromatase inhibitors may be a treatment option when the five-year period is up. More studies are needed to see how long aromatase inhibitors can be given.

How you can prepare for this discussion

  • Keep a record of all your breast cancer treatments and how long you have been taking them
  • Keep records of all your breast cancer follow-up tests, including mammogram results and biopsy reports
 

Alternative Therapies

Melanoma Skin Cancer

Complementary and Alternative Cancer
Care Guidelines

Cancer Treatment Research Library

Dangerous Doctors
...is yours safe?

Cancer Archives

 
 

MEMBERSHIPS:     

About us
 Privacy policy
 Conditions of use

 


Nat'l Cervical
Cancer Coalition

logo nbtf
National Brain
Tumor
Foundation


Nat'l Ovarian
Cancer Coalition


Breast Cancer
Research

MCN
 My
Cancer News
 

Special
Thanks
  TECH SUPPORT

 Codebrain
Codebelly


NOTICE:  No information on this CANCER research site is provided, intended or implied to substitute for trained, professional medical advice, CANCER diagnosis or CANCER treatment.  As a condition of use of this cancer website, all visitors agree to seek trained medical advice before using any cancer treatment or cancer information found on this website and agree discuss these with their physicians prior to use and to hold RobertsReview and all entities affiliated with, contributing to, and/or operating this cancer research website harmless in regard to all information provided herein and/or from any decisions that may flow from use of this information.  RobertsReview in no way recommends, endorses or verifies the accuracy or claims of any of the cancer information provided herein by "third parties" regardless of their affiliation.

©1997-2006 RobertsReview, Wickford, RI USA. No information contained on this website may be reproduced in any form in any media.  Single copies may be reprinted for non-commercial use.