Tamoxifen

[Purplerose12]

I’ve just received scan results at end of treatment for 1st recurrence and everything is stable. I’ve been prescribed Tamoxifen, has anyone any experience taking this and did it help? X

[A1r1t]

Hi, purplerose12, I've been put on Tamoxifen for maintenance and so far so good although my Ca125 number recently started to rise. But I'm feeling OK. I've been on Tamoxifen for about a year now and when I first started taking it I got stomach cramps and indegestion. But once that was sorted out with other medication I've been fine other than hot flushes now and again but I can live with that. Hope it works for you too. Please let me know how you get on with it, kind regards, Ivy.

[Purplerose12 in reply to A1r1t]

Thank you for replying, I haven’t heard that many people are put on Tamoxifen for Ovarian cancer so it’s good to know it’s helped you x

Susan

[Coco32]

Hi , I have been on Tamoxifen for almost a year following initial post operative diagnosis for Low Grade serous OC. My CA125 was over 2000 pre surgery & down to 48 post surgery. Once on Tamoxifen it continued to decline and now hovers around 17 well within normal range. So I’d say, yes it is working for me! 🤞

No real side effects for me apart from a bit of initial hair thinning and regular hot flushes, but difficult to know if this is the drug or surgical menopause.

[Purplerose12]

Thanks for your reply, pleased it seems to be working for you x

Susan

[RomanZ]

Hi Susan, Tamoxifen is a very common maintenance treatment for ovarian cancer. My mum had Letrozole (same thing as Tamoxifen) for her first recurrence. It works particularly well for women whose cancers are estrogen positive. It's typically mild in terms of side effects and but everyone is different.

[StilCrazy]

Hi Everyone

Just in case other OC sufferers are wondering why they did not get Tamoxifen, the reason is it is only prescribed if your cancer is estrogen receptor positive. When they do the histopathology of the tumour they check if it is estrogen sensitive. If so, tamoxifen is worth trying otherwise not. I have a HGSOC which is not estrogen responsive so I could not try Tamoxifen when first recurrence came. Even so, my onco is retesting the new tumours for estrogen sensitivity as it could have changed. After a full ovariohysterectomy your adrenal gland still manages to secrete estrogen which the tamoxifen then blocks. Hope that helps anyone out there who may be rushing off to get a script for tamoxifen!!