oopherectomy ?

[lia]

Hi everyone , not posted for a while but as usual when i have a dilemma this is where i turn. I'm 42, in the uk, 2 and a half yrs post dx , her2 +, er+ , pr+ , grade 3 , node neg. Had caf, and taxotere then struggled to get herceptin for a year. currently on zoladex and arimidex and various supplements ( thanks Gina and RB et al ) and due to have an elective preventative oopherectomy next week, partly because of family history of breast cancer and ovarian , and partly to avoid zoladex and enable arimidex to continue . My oncologist was not happy originally about me being on arimidex but gave in but he now has read somewhere that arimidex and zoladex is more potentially dangerous to the bones than an ooph and arimidex . i dont know where he got it from and he's not someone who likes discussing things with his patients. Up until my pre op assessment on mon I was ok about it all ,i ve been menopausal since chemo and know plenty of women have it done. Since then however I have been thinking about the ooph and having read several threads on here , particularly posts from saleboat , am wondering whether I should go ahead or not or postpone it for a bit ? I 'd love to hear your opinions. for or against . . I suppose whats thrown me is the possible significance of my pr+ status altho I think I would still have chosen arimidex over tamoxifen. Thanks in advance and sorry this is so long winded !Forgot to say I tested negative for brca 1 and 2 but geneticist still feels it probably is genetic.

[Bev]

Hi Lia,

I'm really reaching outside of my area of experience but am feeling talkative.

On one hand lots of people have done oomphs and say it's easy and OC is one less thing you'll have to worry about.

I tend to try to hang onto all my parts until 3 out 4 Drs. recommend losing them. So maybe get another opinion,

My guess, if you want to keep your parts, you would need to go off Zoladex for some time and then have a blood test for estradiol levels to see if Arimidex will remain effective. (To see if you're really in menopause)

Arimidex by itself causes bone loss. It's hard, every decision has risks of unintended consequences. Once you decide, go for it. We can only work with what we know.

Good luck, Bev

[Susan]

Hi Lia: I'm also in the same boat as you. I went to the oncologist on Wed., I'm also 2 years out from dx, and I had blood tests done to see if I'm post menopausal, and it shows I'm not. He had wanted me to go on Arimdex too. I'm currently on faslodex injections every month. I'm 49, and he's going to give me 6 more months and redo the blood test, and if I'm still not post menopausal, he wants me to get a ooph too. I've heard the surgery is easy, but I just don't want anymore surgeries. Did you have an estradiol test? Mine was at 286. Well, let us know what you've decided to do!
Sue

[sassy]

I was 45 at dx in Feb 05, triple positive. Chemo put me into menopause and my onc put me on Lupron shots to keep me there. Because of other issues, my surgeon did not want me to have additional surgeries, so ooph was not an option at the time.

In Dec 06 my body started trying to come out of menopause, so my three month Lupron shots were changed to monthly. In January my surgeon cleared me for surgery, but my onc wanted me to stay on Lupron instead. At the time he told me there were early indications from current studies that show promising results from Lupron in relationship to recurrence in hormone positive BC. In my meeting with him last month, he told me that it is possible that Lupron may prove to be an even better drug in staving off recurrence than Arimidex. (I am currently on both). There are two trials currently being conducted, SOFT and TEXT. I have not found a lot of information on these to this point, but have not had much time to try either. If I can find more info, I will post the links.

You may want to discuss the posibility of Lupron for ovarian suppression.

I wish you the best.
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[alicecallahan]

I too, have gotten my period back after almost 2 years.......My doctor said he had no evidence as to whether staying on Zoladex for a few years, or having an oopherectomy was better for avoiding recurrence; but I feel that getting them removed will give me a better quality of life than having those chemicals every month !! I just am not sure whether or not to remove the uterus as well, because an abnormal area is showing up on my pelvic ultrasound that says they believe its endometrial fibroid, but
cant rule out carcinoma, although I believe it is benign because my CA blood level was normal.....my onc says they need to track us premenopausal ER+ women better to figure out the % of those whose ovaries turn back on..........he also says he believes arimidex is best for HER2+ patients vs. tamoxifen, and so does my surgeon..........