Monday, December 24, 2007

I am three years post-ductal carcinoma discovery. Therapy included lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiation for a stage II, 2 cm lump. I am currently taking tamoxifen.  s it true that the likelihood of uterine cancer approaches 30 percent and that it is the most likely site of another cancer?

It is true that tamoxifen is associated with a relative increased risk of uterine cancer. However, the actual risk attributed to tamoxifen is on the order of one additional case of uterine cancer per year of 1,000 women taking the drug. Furthermore, the majority of that risk is in women in their postmenopausal years.

If anything, breast cancer is still the cancer to worry about while you’re on tamoxifen. The drug is given to prevent recurrence of the initial breast cancer, and it may also protect women from a second breast cancer. Nonetheless, some women on tamoxifen still develop a new breast cancer.