Effective In Curing Breast Cancer; Tamoxifen?

Is Tamoxifen Effective In Curing Breast Cancer?

Tamoxifen, known in the trade as Nolvadex, is usually prescribed by specialists in breast cancer and is taken in pill form. A patient will stay on the drug for about five years.

Often the woman’s cancer will be tested to see if it is sensitive to the amount of oestrogen in the system. If the cancer is oestrogen sensitive, tamoxifen will be given.

Because tamoxifen is such a weak estrogen, its estrogen signals don’t stimulate very much cell growth. And because it has stolen the place away from more powerful estrogen, it blocks estrogen-stimulated cancer cell growth. In this way, tamoxifen acts like an “anti-estrogen.”

Tamoxifen may also take the place of natural estrogen in the receptors of healthy breast cells. In that way it holds down growth activity, and possibly stops abnormal growth and the development of a totally new breast cancer. By blocking natural estrogen from getting to the receptors, tamoxifen is helpful in reducing the risk of breast cancer in women at high risk who have never had breast cancer. It also can help women who have already had breast cancer in one breast by lowering the risk of a new breast cancer forming in the other breast.

One study found that radiation plus tamoxifen was much better than tamoxifen alone at reducing the risk of breast cancer coming back after a lumpectomy in women with hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer. This was true even for women with very small cancers.

For pre-menopausal women, tamoxifen is the best hormonal therapy. But tamoxifen is no longer the first choice for post-menopausal women. If you’ve been on tamoxifen for two to three years and now you’re in menopause, your doctor may recommend that you switch to an aromatase inhibitor to finish your five years of hormonal therapy. However, you can still get a lot of benefit if you take tamoxifen for up to five years and then switch to an aromatase inhibitor.

Tamoxifen was first used to fight breast cancer at the Christie Hospital in Manchester, England, in 1969. It has since proved its worth as means of stopping the spread or recurrence of the disease in women who have already been treated for it.

But, it was noticed back in the early 1980s that some women who were receiving the drug for cancer in one breast did not develop any tumorous growth in the other. This prompted the suggestion that Tamoxifen might have another preventative role for those women who are at risk of getting breast cancer but have yet to develop any signs of the disease.

#Anchor2Health #breastcancer #Tumor #Mammography #Pathology #wellness #longevity

Metabolic Problems Linked with #Obesity and #Diabetes

If you are considered obese, especially with an above average amount of abdominal fat and are insulin resistant, you may have what is known as metabolic syndrome.  It is
important to note that you can be insulin resistance and not actually have diabetes – yet.
If you are insulin resistant you may be what is termed pre-diabetes.

If you are insulin resistant, your body is not using the insulin your pancreas is producing effectively.  Your pancreas will continue to produce more and more insulin but your body
will not use it and cannot derive the energy from the food you eat.  This condition can be passed on from another member of the family but it is also caused by obesity and
inactivity.

As with diabetes, the risk factors for having metabolic problems – metabolic syndrome –are quite similar.  Age is a risk factor, the older you are the chances of having this are
greater.  Almost half of the people with metabolic syndrome are over the age of 60 but symptoms have been seen in children and adults in their 20’s.  Another risk factor for
having this syndrome is race, people from a Hispanic or Asian backgrounds are at a higher risk than others.  And as mentioned there is also the hereditary factory.

Being obese with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 25 is a factor too.  The difference with this factor from the others is that most people have an element of control over this.
If they are able to lose weight and exercise they can reduce or eliminate this contributor towards metabolic syndrome.

If you are diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, your doctor will run screening tests for diabetes.  He or she will also recommend or put your on a program to lose weight through
a healthy and balanced diet coupled with physical activity.