If you have hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, hormone therapy with tamoxifen and/or an aromatase inhibitor is a vital part of your treatment.
Compared to chemotherapy, tamoxifen has few side effects. However, menopausal symptoms are common in women using tamoxifen [53-54]. Your health care provider can help you treat many of them. The most serious side effects of tamoxifen, such as endometrial cancer (cancer of the lining of the uterus) and blood clots in the lungs, are very rare [53-54].
Figure 5.10 lists some possible side effects of tamoxifen.
| Figure 5.10: Side Effects of Tamoxifen |
| Common |
- Hot flashes
- Vaginal discharge
|
Uncommon/rare
|
- Fatigue
- Nausea
- Loss of sex drive
- Vaginal bleeding
- Vaginal dryness or itching
|
| Very rare |
- Endometrial cancer
- Blood clots in the large veins (deep venous thrombosis)
- Blood clots in the lungs (pulmonary emboli)
- Stroke
- Cataracts
|
| Adapted from National Cancer Institute materials [51]. |
Updated 04/17/12
