Posts tagged with 'aromatase inhibitor'

Could baby aspirin be a cure-all for breast cancer survivors?

  • Posted on February 22, 2010 at 9:01 pm

You may have seen the latest results of a long-term Nurses’ Health Study showing that low doses of aspirin may prevent a breast cancer recurrence. Specifically, the study found that women who took aspirin two to five days a week had a 60 percent reduced risk of their cancer spreading and a 71 percent lower risk of breast cancer death. Taking aspirin less frequently than two days or more frequently than five days was not as beneficial in reducing risk of cancer spread or death.  Most of these women were taking low-dose aspirin to prevent heart attacks and stroke. While the dosage wasn’t tracked, most likely it was 81mg, the typical low maintenance dose for maintaining heart health, equal to one baby aspirin.

This is an exciting development worth exploring!

If you are a breast cancer survivor, you should consult your oncologist before beginning baby aspirin therapy. One commentator, PJ Hamel, suggests the following (http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/78/104011/recurrence?ic=6006):

•If you’re in active treatment (surgery, chemo, radiation), don’t self-medicate with aspirin; it can interfere with your other treatments.
•If you’re on long-term hormone therapy or past all cancer treatment, ask your doctor about the risks and benefits of aspirin in general.
•If your doctor feels you’re at minimal risk for adverse side effects from aspirin and you understand those risks yourself, and accept them – then you might consider a low dose.

I believe this is sound advice. At my primary doctor’s urging I have been taking baby aspirin seven days a week for the past two years to maintain a healthy heart. Perhaps I shall cut down to weekday doses, since the study suggests that 2-5 days of treatment is optimal. This reassuring news is timely to me, because I go off my aromatase inhibitor (Arimidex) in a week.

A report on this study can be found at:  http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61F56Q20100216.

Blessings to you all!

Jan

Pomegranate panacea?

  • Posted on January 10, 2010 at 9:42 pm

An article appearing early in 2010 reports a study researching whether pomegranates or pomegranate juice may help to prevent and slow the growth of breast cancer.

Specifically, the scientists found that a group of phytochemicals called ellagitannins in pomegranates inhibited the growth of estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer cells in laboratory tests. Researchers say these phytochemicals work by inhibiting aromatase, a key enzyme used by the body to make estrogen. Clinical trials are needed to determine if these results at a cellular level will translate into efficacy in humans.

“More research on the individual components and the combination of chemicals is needed to understand the potential risks and benefits of using pomegranate juice or isolated compounds for a health benefit or for cancer prevention,” says Powel Brown, MD, PhD, chairman of the clinical cancer prevention department at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Until then, researchers advise that people consider eating more pomegranates to protect against breast cancer. Maybe I’ll begin partaking of this interesting fruit, if I can find out how to eat it without making a mess. Otherwise, I’ll stick to drinking the juice.

The article can be found at  http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/news/20100105/pomegranates-may-stall-breast-cancer?ecd=wnl_brc_010510

Bon appetit,

Jan

A blessed Thanksgiving

  • Posted on November 25, 2009 at 3:49 pm

Thanksgiving is a time of year to reflect on our lives and count our blessings, one by one, as the hymn goes. I have just been advised to stop taking Arimidex, an anti-estrogen daily pill I have taken for over six years. My former oncologist counseled me to stay on this pill for life, but my new doctor believes there is no further benefit, and there are even risks, in taking it longer than needed. So I will be stopping it starting in the New Year.

Since I had a recurrence two years after I got off tamoxifen in 2001, I am a bit apprehensive about discontinuing my daily Arimidex. It’s like a security blanket, but with prickly side effects. My doctor said I could take Evista (raloxifene) for a further five years to ward off my anxiety. But the possibility of experiencing deep vein thrombosis, stroke or other nasties from this tamoxifen-like drug do not seem worth it. And like Arimidex, this drug has no generic equivalent. So it would further drain my bank account as well as my estrogen.

This Thanksgiving I’m resolved to throw my fears out the window, to be grateful to God that I no longer need any adjuvant drug. I believe I’ve done all I can do to reduce my risk of another recurrence by enduring a bilateral mastectomy, two aggressive courses of chemo and a year of Herceptin.

Perhaps being off Arimidex will be like pressing the “Pause” button on my post-menopausal symptoms. Maybe my hair will have a chance to thicken and my night sweats, hot flashes and joint pain will subside. Maybe I’ll even lose weight! What a wonderful blessing all that would be. But if I don’t recover any youthful traits, that’s okay, too. My heavenly Father knows best. And for that I am the most grateful as we wrap up 2009.

A joyous and blessed Thanksgiving to one and all!

Jan

Solution to thinning hair caused by Arimidex

  • Posted on June 19, 2009 at 8:47 pm

I had a problem with thinning hair after taking Arimidex for five years.  My dermatologist suggested Rogaine, but my hairdresser said when you stop using Rogaine, the new hair just falls out again.  So I went with her recommendation to try Nioxin thinning hair system, which I got from my local beauty supplies store.  It is a kit containing three containers: one with the treatment spray, one with shampoo, and one with conditioner.  After 3 months of that I noticed thickened hair, and so did my hairdresser.  I ran out of the treatment spray and am now just continuing on with the shampoo and conditioner, and the extra hair has not fallen out.  So if you have noticed hair thinning, you might want to try it.  I’m happy with the results.

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