Recurrence while taking Femara?
Meet the Experts
Sandra F. Schnall, M.D. is a medical oncologist/hematologist who practices at Bryn Mawr Hospital in the Thomas Jefferson University Health System outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Marisa Weiss, M.D. is a radiation oncologist specializing in breast cancer and the founder, president, and guiding force behind Breastcancer.org.
Question from Cheryl: What form of treatment is used if you get a recurrence while you are still taking Femara?
- Answers —Sandra Schnall, M.D.: Where the recurrence is may reflect what kind of treatment would be recommended. There are salvage hormone therapies if hormone treatment is what's recommended. If you haven't been treated with tamoxifen, that may be an easy one to start with. Alternative hormones may be something like Faslodex, which is an injectable hormone treatment given once monthly.
- Marisa Weiss, M.D., president and founder: I guess once all the various hormone therapies have been tried, if the disease continues to progress, it's time to talk to your doctor about other forms of systemic treatment. Those include chemotherapy or immune therapy like Herceptin (chemical name: trastuzumab), if the cancer is HER2-positive.
On Wednesday, April 21, 2004, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Hormonal Therapy Updates. Sandra Schnall, M.D. and Marisa Weiss, M.D. answered your questions about hormonal therapies and answered questions about which ones work best in different situations, how they might fit into your treatment sequence, how to deal with side effects, and more.
The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.
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