74 year old feller here, had right mastectomy and lymph node clearance Feb 2nd 2022. Started chemo 18th May but withdrew from programme after two cycles due to severe side effects which saw me in A&E both times and now on blood thinners. Just had my 3rd Herceptin injection and all seems ok at the moment. Will be on this for approx 12 months in total.
Following on from Herc will be 5 years of daily Tamoxifen !
Research indicates that Tamo may not be an easy ride. I have a few Q's :-
1/ Are there any men on here who have experience of using it, if so how did/do you find it?
2/ What is the purpose of it exactly?
3/ If I agree to using Tamo I will be 80 years old by the end of the course, is it worth it if it is going to be rough ride?
I am a big believer in quality of life rather than quantity.
Some facts about my particular circumstances to consider are :-
Longstanding lump in my right armpit saw me off to the G.P. which led to an Ultrasound appointment. Biopsy revealed secondary cancer cells 'most likely of breast origin'. Breast biopsy X2 revealed no sign of primary cells in the breast tissue. C T scan found nothing neither did follow-up PET C T scan. The Surgeon told me 'there is no sign of cancer elsewhere in the body'.
I was advised by the Surgeon to have surgery because cancer cells can be diffused throughout the tissue and only visible via a microscope. The post surgery laboratory report indicated no primaries visible, the sample was sent out of county for a second opinion but the result was the same.
Bearing in mind that when I was at home in agony 9 days after chemo and in need of of urgent medical attention, a 999 call revealed that it would be at least 2 hours before anyone could get to me. My wife had to drive me to hospital where eventually C T scan (3.30am) following day they found a Pulmonary Embolism hence the blood thinners.
Please feel free to comment or advise, I would appreciate any input.
I have had no dietary advice at all, just medication. In retrospect I find that surprising! I am pretty much back to my normal diet which is quite healthy but could be better. I tend to eat what SWMBO puts in front of me ( I'm not stupid ) after all why keep a dog and bark yourself?
