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Help to maintain weight on tamoxifen?

Page last modified on: October 13, 2008
Question from Wynn: I've only been taking tamoxifen for 8 months. At first I lost weight while on tamoxifen, but for the last 2.5 months I've gained. I'm thinking about decreasing my dosage or asking my doctor to go to a different brand. I run approx. 25 miles a week and use a personal trainer. Any advice?
Answer —Patricia Ganz, M.D.: The first point is that there is no other brand of tamoxifen other than what you're taking. The generic and the brand name are both the same. In addition, reducing the dose would not be advised because we want to make sure if you take a medication you get its benefit. Sometimes if you reduce the dose, you get side effects, but no benefit. I don't know how old you are, but weight gain is a problem for many mid-life women and as we get older we have less testosterone because our ovaries decrease production of testosterone. Testosterone is critical for the maintenance of muscle; that's why men have muscles and we have less. Also with more muscle, we burn more calories. So starting in our 40s we are declining muscle mass and we will tend to gain a pound or so a year if we're not careful. So you are doing the right thing with your running, but you may also want to do some work with free weights to maintain your muscle mass. And regrettably, you may have to eat less.

On Wednesday, August 15, 2007, the Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Managing Ongoing Medications. Patricia Ganz, M.D. and moderator Lillie Shockney, R.N., B.S., M.A.S. answered your questions about staying on track with breast cancer medications you have to take on a regular basis.

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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Meet the Experts

Patricia A. Ganz, M.D.Patricia A. Ganz, M.D. is a medical oncologist and a professor in the schools of medicine and public health at UCLA, and is director of the division of cancer prevention and control research at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center there.

Lillie Shockney, RN., BS., M.A.S.Lillie Shockney, R.N., B.S., M.A.S. is the administrative director of the Johns Hopkins Avon Foundation Breast Center.

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