HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - Oncs trivialize side effects: the 2 big ones

Hopeful · 07-09-2007, 05:49 PM

I suffered from VA prior to the start of anti-estrogen therapy. I told my onc this in an early visit, and he did not address it - it was as if I had never said anything.

Six months into estrogen therapy, I had my annual gyn exam and the VA had progressed to the point where the gyn was not certain she could gather enough cells to do a pap smear. Two days later I saw my onc and told him about my gyn exam, and said I had VA. His response was, "How do you get THAT?" I tried explaining in further detail, and he did a quick "google" on it while I was in his office. He started to catch on. He said he would review my issue with a colleague at a major cancer center nearby. The colleague's suggestion was to switch from the AI to Tamoxifen and try some topical estrogen therapy. I am postmenopausal, and got a very high score on the Oncotype Dx test which says to me, if nothing else, that Tamoxifen is definitely not an option for me.

Last Thursday I saw my onc for my Herceptin treatment, and raised the issue once more, as my 3 month follow-up with my gyn is the day before my next Herceptin treatment. I told him point blank that I was unable to have sex, and this was a big QOL issue for me. He did not hedge or blink, but looked me straight back in the eye and said he understood and that I was right - it is a major QOL issue. He said he would not object to my staying on the AI and seeking topical estrogen therapy from my gyn.

Alaska Angel, you are right, we need to tackle this issue with our doctors head on. We need to make our needs and issues known, and insist they be addressed. I think a lot of patients would have been put off by the "how do you get THAT" question; no doubt, these providers also need to do their part to keep lines of communication open. IMO, bc treatment is de-humanizing. What good is it to save the body, and lose the essence of what makes us human? Anyone reading the comic strip "Funky Winerkbean" can relate to Lisa's observation last week: "I want to live the time I have left, no just be alive." Amen.

Hopeful

07-09-2007, 05:49 PM	#35
Hopeful Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 3,380	I suffered from VA prior to the start of anti-estrogen therapy. I told my onc this in an early visit, and he did not address it - it was as if I had never said anything. Six months into estrogen therapy, I had my annual gyn exam and the VA had progressed to the point where the gyn was not certain she could gather enough cells to do a pap smear. Two days later I saw my onc and told him about my gyn exam, and said I had VA. His response was, "How do you get THAT?" I tried explaining in further detail, and he did a quick "google" on it while I was in his office. He started to catch on. He said he would review my issue with a colleague at a major cancer center nearby. The colleague's suggestion was to switch from the AI to Tamoxifen and try some topical estrogen therapy. I am postmenopausal, and got a very high score on the Oncotype Dx test which says to me, if nothing else, that Tamoxifen is definitely not an option for me. Last Thursday I saw my onc for my Herceptin treatment, and raised the issue once more, as my 3 month follow-up with my gyn is the day before my next Herceptin treatment. I told him point blank that I was unable to have sex, and this was a big QOL issue for me. He did not hedge or blink, but looked me straight back in the eye and said he understood and that I was right - it is a major QOL issue. He said he would not object to my staying on the AI and seeking topical estrogen therapy from my gyn. Alaska Angel, you are right, we need to tackle this issue with our doctors head on. We need to make our needs and issues known, and insist they be addressed. I think a lot of patients would have been put off by the "how do you get THAT" question; no doubt, these providers also need to do their part to keep lines of communication open. IMO, bc treatment is de-humanizing. What good is it to save the body, and lose the essence of what makes us human? Anyone reading the comic strip "Funky Winerkbean" can relate to Lisa's observation last week: "I want to live the time I have left, no just be alive." Amen. Hopeful