Chemo Options

Sounds interesting!!! Maybe you can Google that to see if you can find anything. Surely they are not talking about Tamoxifen or Arimidex.

JUJU

Katt-
"chemotherapy" simply means chemical therapy. I used to work with a psychiatrist in a hospital who would start patients on psych meds and refer to it as chemotherapy. So under that definition, any drug could be called chemotherapy, or chemo. Traditionally, in the world of cancer, we refer to chemo as toxic fluids that are injected or given through IV. I think we often equate it with hair loss too, which is not always true.

Most traditional chemo's that I am aware of for breast cancer are given intravenously. There are hormonal drugs, like Tamoxifen or Arimidex, which are oral. There may also be others, and I know other cancers may have oral meds.

My suggestion is to prepare for the fact that they may suggest IV chemo agents, but you may be offered another option....
Consider bringing a tape recorder tomorrow too, it will help you quite a bit so you don't have to listen as hard.

Good luck!
Lori

I believe cytoxan can be taken orally. Also xeloda is an oral chemo.

Katt: I would go to an oncologist and ask about the chemo and various treatments. I have found that surgeons will work w/ onco but they are not specialist in the chemo and treatment. So please talk to an onco before you make any decision. Remember, you need to find the best info and care for each phase of this journey.

Deb

I haven't been posting much because I don't have a lot to say at this time. I have been doing more reading here than anything else and have to say that some of the info posted here has been helpful to me. I know that everyone's experiences/treatments/reactions to meds are different, but it gives me an idea of things I could expect. I asked the surgeon abiut oral chemo but it's been sometime ago and I forgot what she said about it, but I will be doing the IV thing like most of you.

Hugs to everyone here.

Grandma Cathy said...
Katt,

If they only offer you oral drugs (or chemo) you should be very, very worried.

L & H,
Cathy

Why Grandma.  I was given Arimidex after my breast surgery.   I have ductal cancer stage 1, the arimidex is causing me (i think) bone muscle, and joint pain.  I had been diagnosed with fibro some years ago, so I am not one hundred % certain, that is what is causing it.  However your reply about oral drugs only has me worried.

reenee

Arimidex, Tamoxifen and Femara are dugs I have taken. They are drugs that can reduce the % of a recurrence. I don't think that I would classify these as "chemo" drugs.

If there are some oldies out there, Fay took some oral chemotherapy for a long time. If I remember correctly, they had her taking some ungodly number of pills a day. She is the only one that I know of but she had had a long list of iv chemo-drugs she had been given.

Beyond that, I, too, would be worried if all I had been given were oral chemotherapy.

ReeNee, Arimidix does cause bone and joint pain. It's alter-ego is Femara, and it, too, causes these pains.

Hugs, Jo-Ann