Zoladex...

WayTooYoung · 02-19-2013, 07:34 PM

Hiya,

So, I hesitantly started Zoladex today. My oopherectomy has been booked for May. Once I get confirmation that my ovaries are shut down, I will start Femera and Herceptin. Has anyone had any experience using this combo for treatment? All the studies I find seem to show how it is successful in preventing recurrences.

Any help is appreciated.

mamacze · 02-22-2013, 02:41 PM

Hi Angel,
I am so sorry I don't know much about Zoladex, or Femara...but I do know about oopherectomies. You are WAYTOOYOUNG (!!) to have to deal with all this; but please make sure you ask your doctor about how you can maintain a (how do I say this delicately?!), healthy sex life! After an oopherectomy, many of us need a bit of help in this area and it is better to address it sooner; before a problem arises, than later. It is not something our docs like to talk about usually, but for your own mental and physical health, it is good to address it early.
Good luck and stay with us. Let us know how you are doing after the surgery.
Hugs and hugs,
Kim (from CT)

tricia keegan · 02-22-2013, 02:53 PM

I've been taking the sister drug Arimidex but just wanted to tell you I had an ooph back in '06 and have no regrets, it was the easiest surgery I ever had, good luck with the Femara and Herceptin and hope it works well for you and be sure to get a Dexa scan first as a baseline to measure your bone density.

sarah · 02-23-2013, 04:38 AM

don't know about zoladex but I took Herceptin and Femara for 6 years. I did have some skin problems and I had some bone loss due to the Femara and had to take Clastoban to protect them. I was told to take the Femara at night to lessen the side effects.
hope it goes well. It's been 2 years since I stopped both but now after what I've read, those of us who are ER+ should take an anti hormone drug for much longer than 5 years - maybe forever?????
take care
sarah

JennyB · 02-23-2013, 06:18 AM

Hi Waytooyoung,

I too had to take Zoladex shots after I became aware of hormonal symptoms (onc completely denied that this would be possible but I kind of went behind his back and ordered blood test....!!)
Anyway the shots were easy to manage and I luckily didn't have a lot side affects, I took Tamoxifen for 2 months then went back to Femara with Zoladex. I then had the Oopherectomy, a very easy procedure, but as Kim said above it isn't without ramifications. I feel sometines like I rushed the decision to have the Ooph and didn't fully research the side effects down the line. don't get me wrong - I think at the time I would have given a leg if it would increase my survival chances - I don't regret the operation but I didn't fully understand the consequences on ovarall health in the long term re bones heart etc and yes sexual health. However you would have the issues anyway due to zoladex and Femara so just talk to Onc and Gynae and be proactive instead of reactive (bury your head in the sand kind of approach like me!) Get drugs/creams now to protect your vagina and maintain its health.
I think that you're right in your statement about reducing recurrences that is what i read too. You are doing everything you can at the moment.
Good luck with your op
Jenny x

roz123 · 02-23-2013, 02:29 PM

jennyB and others
can you have lupron (zoladex) shots indefinitely or is this just used until you get an ooph? I am hesitating on getting my ovaries out due to the issues jennyb mentioned
why do some MO's recommend and others dont?

JennyB · 02-24-2013, 05:38 AM

Roz, I beleive that you can stay on Zoladex for up to 5 years - there was a women at my cancer centre that had done that so that she could try for another child afterwards.
I am not saying I wouldn't have done the Ooph anyway but we were moving to remote town with no oncology unit and no possiblity of having the op there either - it was just a decision I rushed because of circumstances rather than taking my time over it. A bit like my mastectomy really happened 6 days after meeting the surgeon and I was pregnant so really not in a headspace to process what was really happening to me!
S**t happens - eh?

Jen x

Lien · 02-24-2013, 09:15 AM

I was diagnosed at age 44 and did 5 years of zoladex shots combined with Arimidex. After I quit the shots, my periods came back a year later. I had very few side effects, but did have significant bone density loss. I am 53 now and my periods have petered out. I had very few menopausal problems. I never had Herceptin and am 9 years out from diagnosis. Soon after my periods came back, we saw several cysts in my breasts on the annual ultrasound. I had a biopsy done last Sept. which came back benign. It was a bit worrysome, but not a very big deal. Last week I went skiing and made a nasty fall on an icy patch, but no fractures! Yeah! So either my bone density improved, or I got lucky.

I liked the fact that the Zoladex shots protected me against a recurrence, but were reversible. If I were you, I would go for the reversible option (Zoladex shots) for a couple of years and see how you do re. cholesterol, heart health, sexual health and bone density. These are very real issues and a hip fracture can kill you, just like breastcancer. You need to be able to weigh the pro's and cons. I would talk to other doctors besides oncologists if I were you. You are still so young! You need to consider all these things. Zoladex can buy you the time to figure out what works for you.

Love

Jacqueline

roz123 · 02-24-2013, 12:09 PM

LIEN
the bone density issues...can't we take something for that? do they reverse after you stop Lupron or once that happens is it permanent?
Jen - I feel the same way about my reconstruction choice...bad one (for me) but you deal and move on. Im trying to take a level headed approach this time - I think the zoladex can do that for me but I do worry about those se's aswell - there is no perfect scenario it seems

Lien · 02-24-2013, 12:46 PM

Bisphosphonates are recommended for boneloss, but they have side effects and I am allergic to lots of stuff, so I try to avoid meds if there are alternatives. Exercise can help, as does adequate Vit D & calcium. I believe some research showed that even though the meds improved bone density, they didn't reduce the incidence of fractures. But I didn't look into it so it may have been a fluke or bad research. I just didn't want to take them.

For me, the bone loss stopped after two years on Zoladex and Arimidex. It stayed stable. And I didn't have my bonedensity tested after I quit the meds, as I live in the Netherlands and we try to avoid tests just for the sake of knowing where we stand.

Jacqueline