HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - HER2+, ER+, PR+ and are taking Tamoxifen.

mindersue · 08-09-2006, 10:00 PM

I finally made my decision on which hormonal therapy to get. After much debating, researching, and info-gathering from this site (THANK YOU ALL!), I decided to get Lupron and Aromasin. Today I got my first shot of Lupron and I'm happy to say it didn't hurt at all!

My gut feeling all along was shut down the ovaries and take an A.I. I read some things where shutting down the ovaries is effective in itself, and in post-menopausal women, AIs are more effective than tamoxifen. My gynocologist ALMOST scared me into taking tamoxifen, stating that severe menopausal symptoms could wreck my quality of life. She called me back the next day after discussing it with 2 other gyns, and said that each had different opinions and that ultimately it was my choice. She agreed that since I was already having menopausal symptoms from chemo, shutting down my ovaries may not affect me as severly as she had thought.

I decided on the shot vs. removal only because it buys me some time to "test" menopause and Aromasin. If all goes well I will eventually get my ovaries removed.

Having said all of this, it still isn't proven that Lupron + AI is the best way to go. I could've been in a clinical study that would answer the question of which hormonal treatment is best for premenopausal women. I really would have loved to be a part of that. But my gut wouldn't let me be placed randomly into a treatment arm.
Thank you again to everyone who has participated in this discussion. It was a tough decision and this board helped me tremendously.

08-09-2006, 10:00 PM	#31
mindersue Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Southern California Posts: 30	I'm pre-menopausal and... I finally made my decision on which hormonal therapy to get. After much debating, researching, and info-gathering from this site (THANK YOU ALL!), I decided to get Lupron and Aromasin. Today I got my first shot of Lupron and I'm happy to say it didn't hurt at all! My gut feeling all along was shut down the ovaries and take an A.I. I read some things where shutting down the ovaries is effective in itself, and in post-menopausal women, AIs are more effective than tamoxifen. My gynocologist ALMOST scared me into taking tamoxifen, stating that severe menopausal symptoms could wreck my quality of life. She called me back the next day after discussing it with 2 other gyns, and said that each had different opinions and that ultimately it was my choice. She agreed that since I was already having menopausal symptoms from chemo, shutting down my ovaries may not affect me as severly as she had thought. I decided on the shot vs. removal only because it buys me some time to "test" menopause and Aromasin. If all goes well I will eventually get my ovaries removed. Having said all of this, it still isn't proven that Lupron + AI is the best way to go. I could've been in a clinical study that would answer the question of which hormonal treatment is best for premenopausal women. I really would have loved to be a part of that. But my gut wouldn't let me be placed randomly into a treatment arm. Thank you again to everyone who has participated in this discussion. It was a tough decision and this board helped me tremendously.