Design-her Gals (Blogathon #26)

My friend Nicole posted this link on her blog earlier this week, and I think it’s so cute that you all have to check it out. Personalized stationary – all kinds of crazy cool stuff!

Sidenote: Tamoxifen is the drug that my mother had to take for five years – she finished it this past October – go Mama!!!

What is tamoxifen?
Tamoxifen (brand name, Nolvadex) is a drug used to treat breast cancers that rely on estrogen for growth. Some breast cancers need estrogen to grow. Estrogen enters the breast cancer cells and promotes growth. When tamoxifen is used, it also enters the cancer cells and blocks estrogen’s ability to promote tumor growth. Tamoxifen is prescribed for women who have estrogen or progesterone receptor positive breast cancer and for women who are at risk of developing breast cancer. Tamoxifen has been used as a treatment for breast cancer for over 20 years, but the FDA has approved it for use by women at higher risk.

What are the side effects of tamoxifen?
The very common side effects of tamoxifen include hot flashes and common side effects include abnormal vaginal discharge. Uncommon side effects include fatigue, nausea, depression and loss of sex drive and rare side effects include headache, bloating and vaginal bleeding.

Tamoxifen also has four established long-term side effects. It slightly increases the chance of developing endometrial cancer (cancer of the uterus), blood clots in the large veins (deep venous thrombosis), blood clots in the lungs (pulmonary emboli), and cataracts (Fisher et al, 1998; NHRMC, 1996). While the prospect of such side effects can be frightening to some women, the risk of experiencing any one of them is very small and is far outweighed by the benefits of treating the cancer.

What are the benefits of tamoxifen?
In addition to its effectiveness in treating breast cancer, tamoxifen also has other health benefits. Tamoxifen can:

• Improve the blood cholesterol profile by lowering LDL levels (the “bad” cholesterol). A better cholesterol profile may lower the chances of heart disease.
• Lower the risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures
• Lower the risk of developing breast cancer in either breast.
• Lower the risk of developing breast cancer (for women at higher risk).

This post is for the Blogathon 2006! I am blogging for The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. For more information about what I am doing, please click here!