Tamoxifen and Radiotherapy

Hi MaryMK I was 51 when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in Dec 2020.  I had surgery then radiotherapy and have been taking Tamoxifen for about 9 months.  

Radiotherapy was fine, I have some post radiotherapy changes which are some pain in the breast that was treated but not significant and only if I press on it.  It has slowly improved and may or may not go away completely, I have no idea.  But it's not a problem and doesn't cause me any issues.

The tamoxifen is also fine with no side effects other than constipation so I have increased my fibre intake and that has helped.

Everyone is different and we all react differently to treatments.  You tend to hear more from people who have had adverse reactions as those who haven't have no need to post about it.

You can always start Tamoxifen and if you do happen to have side effects you feel you can't deal with you can always discuss with your oncologist and stop taking it.  Do bear in mind that if you do have side effects they can often be relatively short lived, I was told by my oncologist that after about 6 month or so a lot of people find the side effects ease off.

It's a hard choice as I would have prefered not to have radiotherapy or to take meds but I also wanted to maximise my chances of  making the sure the cancer didn't come back.

Hope this helps. 

Thank  you.  It does help.  You are totally right that generally you hear the bad and not the OK or good about meds.

I think I am just having a wobble about things in general at the moment.

I have even stupidly thought that I should have just ignored the  cancer as I didn't even no I had it if it weren't for mammogram.

I hope things are improving for you. 

MaryMK getting a cancer diagnosis is very overwhelming and then add to that all the information we are bombarded with and all the decisions we are asked to make and your brain can just go into meltdown or just want to switch off.

Be kind to yourself and give yourself time to let it all sink in.  I found getting outside and going for a walk really helped me clear my head and get things into perspective so maybe try that tomorrow.

Things are good for me so far thank you.  You can read people's bios by clicking on their names, assuming they've posted one.  Mine is there and you can post yours too as it can be quite cathartic to do and also helps others.

Thank you again.  A few similarities  to myself in your bio.

I do struggle with the being kind to myself.  I worked for 14 years in mental health advising people to do just that but have never been any good at practicing what I preach.

Hoping my sleep will return to some normality soon as that is nit helping.

That is so true re.never practice what we preach lol.I started Tamoxifen almost 3weeks ago,my Oncologist mentioned about hot flushes,now have them at night but not bad,am post menopausal so not sure if they are mild because of that or not.Day 4.noticed a couple of my fingers were swollen when I got up in the morning,but,swelling went down quickly,it still happens occasionally,my stomach has felt a little sick on and off,again not for long,and Haven,t had that feeling for a week now.I n my case am waiting for it all to kick in,but it might never happen.x

Hello. Click my name to read my tale. I've been on tamoxifen  for nearly 4 months. Better for me to take after dinner on full tum, I struggled with taking it in a morning and was often feeling quite nauseous. Dont get many hot flushes more cold shivers. Swollen ankles but put them up too. Think I have got off quite lightly. Have a read of the Oestrogen reducing medications thread. It may have dropped off front page but full of handy hints. I was very reticent to take pills mainly cos I struggle to swallow them but they're going down OK.

Rads was ok.  Tired from waiting as didnt run to time. About 2 weeks after very sore red welt under boob and lost all the skin on the crease. After about 5 days of sudocrem was much better. I'm very fair skinned and an ff. My physio told me that anyone over a c cup would experience some discomfort as its the way we are built.  Few twinges and unfortunately for me I now have armpit swelling and cording hence the physio. I'm only slightly younger than you so hoping that your side effects are minimal but as GodWilling has said we are all different and it may just be a case of trying them. Good luck x

Fingers crossed for you that you don't get any more side effects 

I am also very fair and prior to surgery was an e.  No idea what I am now.

I hope things improve for you.

Take care

I'm just plodding on. I've found rads a lot harder than surgery. Physio told me lots of info but wished I had been told by team before hand so I could be prepared. My advice is to moisturise well. The sooner the better. There is also a lot of info in radiotherapy thread too.

You're perfectly entitled to have a wobble. I'm a lot better but hadmany a wobble day. Its a lot to take in and cope with but take it one day at a time x