This is another very relevant question which should pave the way for understanding and knowing this very interesting drug medication, tamoxifen. It’s really the same as everything else but of course it’s critical importance for your health and ultimately your life should be of paramount importance from your own perspective. When you buy anything new you need to know how it works and it’s the same for drug medications and everything that goes with it.

So how does tamoxifen really work?

The central actors in the role of tamoxifen in the treatment of breast cancer are hormones, and it would be correct to say that they are produced by glands that exist in your body.

Following their production, they enter the bloodstream in which they begin to affect other tissues in the body.

We can take the hormone testosterone as an example and start off by saying that these hormones are produced in the testicles.

The hormone is responsible for triggering the male characteristics in the body such as deepening the voice of the male and increases the amount of hair that grows on a man’s body.

But here is the most important part that hormones play in the treatment of breast cancer in both women and men through the use of hormone therapy.

Hormone therapy is based on the observation that the receptors of specific hormones which are needed for the growth of cells are situated on the surface of some tumor cells.

Hormone therapy plays its role by preventing the production of certain hormones, by blocking hormone receptors, or by replacing chemically similar agents for an active hormone, which can’t be used by the tumor cell.

There are different types of hormone therapies and each one can be identified and categorized by its own function and/or the type of hormone that is affected.

Tamoxifen is an anti-estrogen drug medication. What an anti-estrogen drug does is it binds itself to an estrogen receptor site on the cancer cell and actively blocks estrogen from entering into the cancer cell.

This act on the part of tamoxifen actually stops the growth of cancer cells and eventually leads to the demise of the cell.

Precautions before the treatment starts

Here are the essential precautions you need to take before commencing your breast cancer treatment:

  • prior to the commencement of your treatment with tamoxifen, you should make sure that you inform you doctor about any other medication you’re taking.
  • These should include prescribed and un-prescribed medications, OTCs or over-the-counter- remedies, vitamins, as well as herbal remedies. You should avoid taking aspirin, or products containing aspirin unless you are specifically allowed to so by your doctor.

You should inform your healthcare professional if you’ve ever had a blood clot that needed to be medically treated.

  • If you are pregnant or you may be pregnant before the start of your treatment course, you should inform your healthcare professional of the matter. Pregnancy category D warns that the taking or tamoxifen might prove hazardous to the developing fetus in the womb.

Women who are with child or who become pregnant must be warned of the potential danger to the fetus.

  • An extra cautionary warning for both men and women: You should not be pregnant or become pregnant while you’re taking tamoxifen. Barrier contraception methods such as condoms, are recommended to be used.

You should discuss with your doctor about when you may get pregnant without causing harm to your unborn child such as when your therapy ends.

  • You shouldn’t breastfeed your child while you’re taking this drug medication.

Some self-care tips for you

Some people are intensely proactive when it comes to applying their own methods for augmenting what is medically provided. Others are not so proactive and need a helping hand.

Here are some tips for you:

  • Whatever you do, don’t stop taking this drug medication unless you are specifically told by your healthcare provider. Remember you may be taking it over the long haul for 5 years, not for only a few days or weeks.
  • Taking tamoxifen will cause side effects one of which is hot flushes. If you experience this side effect, you can reduce the intensity of the symptoms by wearing light clothing, staying out of the sun in preference for a cool shaded environment.

You can also cool down your head by covering it with cool cloths. If the symptoms fail to get better but only worsen and become intolerable, you should consult with your healthcare provider to help you manage your problem.

  • Taking tamoxifen may result in a little nauseating experience and some people manage to put up with it. If you experience strong nausea, you should take anti-nausea medications according to what you doctor has prescribed for you.

You should also consume small helpings of frequent meals while chewing gum and sucking lozenges tablets should help sooth your throat.

  • You should try everything you can to avoid being exposed to sunlight. You should ware SPF 15 or even higher sunblock with other protective clothing.

Generally speaking, drinking alcoholic beverages should be kept to an absolute minimum or it should be completely avoided. You should find time to discuss this important subject with your doctor.

  • Remember that your body is not used to taking a drug medication that produces different interactions and introduces opposing forces to occur in your body. Given that situation, your body will occasionally need plenty of relaxation so you have to get plenty of rest.
  • A healthy diet is everything when your body is being taxed from the results of taking a drug medication such as tamoxifen which is waging war against breast cancer inside your body.
  • It’s not only because energy is being expended due the struggle between the drug medication and cancer cells but breast tissue needs to be rejuvenated and replaced by a steady stream of rich nutritious sustenance.
  • If you are experiencing side effects from taking tamoxifen, you should discuss your concerns with your healthcare team to try and find solutions to your problems.

Usually, they will provide you prescribed medication to combat your problem or also offer effective suggestions that have been specially formulated to solve your problems.

Monitoring and testing

The saga of tamoxifen battling it out with cancerous cells in the breast is not only about a waged battle. It’s also about your actual condition being scrutinized with monitoring and testing protocols.

There’s no doubt you’ll be monitored and checked at appointed times to make sure you’re safe and sound while you’re taking tamoxifen so that side effects can be constantly monitored and your reactions checked against hormone therapy.

Your blood count will also come under scrutiny as would be your other organs such as your kidneys and liver, may also be ordered by your doctor to be examined at regular intervals during your treatment course.

Conclusion

After all the commotion that goes on during your treatment course you get a sure and firm feeling that you are not left on your own during an epic battle between cancer cells in your breast and the herculean strength of tamoxifen. And the good news is that the battle has already been won as the receptor bound, anti-estrogen tamoxifen medication dispatch dead cancer cells one after another, as others get ready to be eliminated.