I have stage 2 B breast cancer both ER PR positive and HER2 negative. Would tamoxifen 20 mg by oral cure breast cancer completely without doing an operation, or will the cancer spread?
Hello, firstly, sorry you find yourself on here...
The Tamoxifen is a targeted therapy...belt and braces if you like. Although I'm no medical expert I don't think it would offer a complete cure....what is your treatment plan apart from the Tamoxifen? Xx
I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis and appreciate you have questions however as nurses we are unable to say what the best treatment may be for anyone as everyone's cancer and situation will be different.
It is always a good idea to discuss the treatment options with your own specialist team who have all the information about your cancer and can talk through any concerns and what the best treatment may be for you.
We have information about breast cancer and it's treatments here but I have to say that surgery is usually one of the main treatments for early breast cancer with tamoxifen given as a prevention medication to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back in the future.
Research has shown that adding tamoxifen (or other types of hormone therapy) to surgery makes treatment more successful when early breast cancer is hormone sensitive. Surgery removes the cancer and tamoxifen mops up any cancer cells that might have already escaped and get left behind. If tamoxifen is given as a stand alone treatment, there is a lot more for it to do, but aside for that there is the risk that over time the cancer would stop responding to it and start to grow or spread. So surgery is really important, and there is a lot of evidence behind it, but it can be daunting too.
I hope this is helpful but do talk things through with your doctor when you can. Do get back if you have further questions or you are welcome to call the nurses on 0808 800 4040 Monday-Friday 9-5 if you prefer.
