Drugs Used to Fight Breast Cancer

Breast cancer affects thousands of Americans every year. Though no cure has been made yet, the best thing that doctors can do is contain this before it spreads to other parts of the body using drugs.

One drug is called Femara which is prescribed by the doctor for the patient. The generic name is Letrozole and works together when the woman is undergoing chemotherapy.

It works by not allowing the enzyme Aromatase which is found in the body to turn to adrogens which will later become estrogens. This will stop the tumor from growing and eventually make it shrink.

There are some reported side effects from patients such as back pain, nausea, hot flashes and fatigue which are perfectly normal when taking the medicine.

Another drug that the patient who is undergoing chemotherapy can take is called Zoladex. This is also used to treat people who have prostate cancer. This works by killing the cancer cells of estrogen through starvation.

This is because estrogen plays a big role in the growth of cancer cells. Unlike other drugs that can be taken orally, this has to be injected to the patient. This can be done monthly or every 3 months depending on the stage of the disease.

Some of the more common side effects are swelling or tenderness of the breast, loss of menses, hot flashes and vaginal dryness. The person should call the doctor at once if the drug makes the arms and legs numb or when this makes it difficult to urinate.

Tamoxifen is often used to treat patients who are undergoing chemotherapy. This is because it interferes with the growth of estrogen. This drug has been used for more than 20 years and is taken orally by the person. This is also used to treat breast cancer in men which rarely happens.

The drug works by either slowing down or stopping the growth of cancer cells produced by estrogen. This is also effective in preventing the disease from spreading which makes recurrence close to impossible.

Tamoxifen unfortunately also has side effects. These are headaches, impotence, loss of sexual desire and headaches. This can also lead to blood clots and problems of the liver but these are rare. The person can do some regular checkups to make sure all the other systems in the body do not react with the drug.

Most patients who have been prescribed this as a medicine will be taking this for the next 5 years. This may be very long but most patients have never experienced the recurence of breast cancer.

A new drug which is gaining popularity is called Taxol. The generic name for this is called Paclitaxel. This medicine is also used for those who have problems in the ovary, lungs and the bladder. This can also help treat esophageal cancer and melanoma.

This works like Zoladex since this has to be injected into the body through an IV. The person can go to the clinic to have this done or just do it at home. The side effects produced are similar to the other drugs.

This is administered for three hours every three weeks. Most patients have this done in the evening so the person can sleep peacefully without feeling the allergic reaction to the drug.