Beating Breast Cancer | Symptoms And Breast Cancer Treatment

Hot Flashes in Breast Cancer Patients

Here's an article that Gordon recently wrote for another website. We've reproduced it here because it's one of the most common health questions that breast cancer sufferers ask about. Do you have hot flushes or hot flashes? Well, if you do, there may be some hope of relief. Read on .....

Hot Flushes in Breast Cancer Patients
By Gordon Cameron

Hot flushes or hot flashes in breast cancer patients are a common problem.

Many breast cancers are sensitive to circulating estrogen levels and for many women, suppressing the production or the effects of estrogen on the body is a major strategy in their treatment. A lack of estrogen will produce symptoms identical to the menopause and the most unpleasant of these are hot flushes, sweats or hot flashes.

A new research project has looked at the effect of a drug called Megace or megesterol acetate in treating hot flushes in women with breast cancer.

They studied nearly three hundred patients with breast cancer who had completed surgery and chemotherapy and at least four months of tamoxifen treatment for their condition.

Before they took part in the study the women had to have experienced at least ten hot flashes of any severity or at least five severe episodes each week.When the research data was looked at, eighty five percent of the women who took part were on tamoxifen, and forty percent had more than sixty hot flushes per week. Three quarters of them had experienced sweats and flashes for more than six months before they started in the study.

The women were divided into three groups. One group were given a placebo tablet, one group got 20mg of Megace and the other received 40mg of Megace each day. They all took their medicine for three months. A good outcome was defined as completion of treatment with a seventy five percent or greater reduction in hot flushes from that womens starting point.

If the treatment they were on worked well the women were given another three months of the same medication and dose. If they did not get benefit after three months then they were given 20mg a day of Megace on top of what they were already taking.

Reduction of flushings of seventy fiver percent or more was reported in

• only 14% of those women who were on placebo medication
• 65% of those women who were on the 20 mg dose
• 48% of the women who were on the 40 mg dose of drug

In addition, most successes at three months were maintained at six months in seventy seven percent of the women on 20 mg and in eighty one percent of the women on 40 mg per day - but there was no significant impact on other menopausal symptoms like vaginal dryness or joint pains.

For the women taking Megace the main side effects were fluid retention and weight gain, fatigue and sometimes mild depression.

The researchers concluded that Megace was very successful in alleviating sweats and flushes in breast cancer survivors with lasting results at 6 months. They recommended the twenty milligram dose for most women and said that this treatment should be considered for all women with menopause flushing symptoms after breast cancer treatment.

Gordon Cameron is a physician in Edinburgh Scotland. He has a special interest in the symptoms of breast cancer.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gordon_Cameron
http://EzineArticles.com/?Hot-Flushes-in-Breast-Cancer-Patients&id=1294228

Labels: breast-cancer, breast-cancer-symptoms, cancer-support, hot-flushes

posted by Marjory @ 8:25 PM 0 comments

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Symptoms of breast cancer

The Symptoms of Breast Cancer

I often get emails or have comments posted on this breast cancer blog site asking about the symptoms of breast cancer.

Here's a brief summary but please remember - if you have any doubts at all then please go see your doctor for a check as soon as possible.

In most women, breast cancer is first noticed as a painless lump in the breast.

Other symptoms of breast cancer may include:

changes in the size or shape of a breast
dimpling of the skin of the breast
a thickening in the breast tissue
a nipple becoming inverted (turned in)
a lump or thickening behind the nipple
a rash (like eczema) affecting the nipple
a bloodstained discharge from the nipple (this is very rare)
a swelling or lump in the armpit.

Please remember that a pain in the breast is rarely a symptom of breast cancer. In fact, many healthy women find that their breasts feel lumpy and tender before a period.

But some types of benign breast lumps can be painful - so I'm going to say it again and this time in big writing:

Labels: a-lump-in-the-breast, breast-cancer, breast-cancer-symptoms, symptoms-of-breast-cancer

posted by Marjory @ 5:52 AM 0 comments

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Too tired.....

As I said after my last Herceptin....I'M KNACKERED! Thank you to all the other Herceptin recipients who e-mailed me to say that I'm not abnormal. I seem to spend most evenings dozing off and feel washed out during the day.

On a happier note, my eyelashes are starting to grow back in again but I am aware they may fall out again. Joy. God, I'm feeling a bit sorry for my self today. Can it be the thought of Herceptin tomorrow? Or just longing for a European vacation? Bit of both perhaps.

Sorry to be less than cheerful. :-(

just joking :-)

Labels: about-marjory, breast-cancer-symptoms, chemotherapy, living-with-cancer

posted by Marjory @ 9:22 AM 3 comments

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Herceptin side effects

The last time I spoke about Herceptin and it's side effects I proudly said I didn't seem to be experiencing anything other than a running nose. Spoke too soon!!

I had my tenth Herceptin last week and just after the nurse left I wondered why I felt so tired? That fatigued feeling got a whole lot worse and by evening it felt like chemo all over again. Thankfully it had mostly worn off the next day but it did give me a bit of a surprise. I had been told this could happen but was pretty sure I'd managed to avoid it after ten treatments. I have seven more treatments to go so it will be little me off to bed after the nurse leaves 'til well into the next day. Actually when put like that it sounds quite nice!

The other alarming thing that has happened is that my eyelashes have started to fall out again. The air was blue when i noticed. Now, what I want to know and nobody seems to have the answer, is this a side effect of herceptin or a side effect of chemo? My eyelashes did grow back in much longer and thicker than before and I thought aaah a nice reward for months of feeling crap. Again, spoke too soon!! Joking aside I am more than a little concerned that I'll wake up to find them all gone. I found it distressing the first time ( shallow I know when you're receiving life saving treatment) and if it happens again I don't suppose I'll be over the moon. I just love putting on mascara and seeing LASHES. If anyone out there has experienced this let me know. I also want exact timescale of regrowth. Only joking....

As a note at the bottom( Ha Ha) I also seem to have diarrhoea rather a lot and I know this can be a side effect with Herceptin. God, serves me right for being so confident!! Ah well it could be worse, I might have the aching joints or a frozen shoulder as well. Now that I think of it......


Marjory

Labels: a-lump-in-the-breast, breast-cancer-symptoms, cancer-support, chemotherapy, herceptin, living-with-cancer, mammogram, symptoms-of-breast-cancer, what-is-a-mammogram

posted by Marjory @ 3:23 PM 8 comments

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Herceptin - Herceptin in The UK

Herceptin - UK breast cancer patients win battle

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the UK have finally given the go ahead for all suitable women with early stage breast cancer to receive Herceptin Treatment.

This means that a woman with HER2 positive breast cancer with our without lymph nodes can be offered herceptin as part of her treatment plan. The final decision about giving herceptin will be taken by the oncologist in charge of the case.

This sees the end of a long battle for breast cancer pressure groups and breast cancer sufferers.

Herceptin in the UK was previously reserved for women with widespread breast cancer disease or with several positive lymph nodes.

This means that the NHS system will now fully fund herceptin treatment for those UK women who can benefit from it.

Read more in the press here

Read my previous postings about herceptin treatment, about herceptin UK, about Tykerb and about new drugs for breast cancer.

Gordon

When to use herceptin remains an issue for many patients with breast cancer - read more about it in our herceptin treatment archive page

Labels: breast-cancer-symptoms, cancer-support, chemotherapy, herceptin, living-with-cancer

posted by Marjory @ 8:52 AM 0 comments

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