DEAR DR. GOTT: I am hoping that since there seems to be almost an epidemic of breast cancer diagnoses and now plenty of women are taking the drug Tamoxifen, that you can address an issue. I browsed your topics online and didn’t find anything about it.
I was diagnosed and treated for invasive breast cancer (small and no lymph node involvement) late 2010. I am 52 years old and at the time wasn’t experiencing menopause. After a lumpectomy and approximately seven weeks of radiation, I am hoping this is all behind me. In March 2011, I started taking Tamoxifen, which I understand is protocol for non-menopausal women and I will continue to take it daily for five years. I have read and talked to my doctors about some of the side effects, such as hot flashes and leg cramps. The hot flashes have come, as has (it seems) menopause. However, one unusual side effect that seems to have hit me (and I’ve read about it on blogs but not on any published list of side effects) is Tamoxifen’s effect on my memory.
About three weeks after I started taking it, I started noticing incidents of not being able to recall a word or a name. One day while working, when I couldn’t come up with something I absolutely should have known, I started thinking about why I was possibly having trouble. I thought about my amount of sleep, my diet, and anything that might have changed and the only change that came to mind was the Tamoxifen. It’s almost scary how I have forgotten data that is usually very known to me. I have trouble bringing up words and names that I know and have never had a problem remembering things before.
When I looked online, I found that others, too, have had some memory problems while on Tamoxifen so I mentioned it to a couple of my doctors during recent checkups and they both said they haven’t heard of it but that doesn’t rule it out. One doctor talked about “chemo brain” and how it’s possible the Tamoxifen is may be having a similar effect on me.
Do you have any words of advice on this drug? Is it really something that needs to be taken or is this just a precaution? Thank you so much for the daily information you share with the world.
DEAR READER: For those who don’t know, Tamoxifen is an anti-estrogen drug, usually prescribed for women and men with certain types of breast cancer. It is also given to female children with McCune-Albright syndrome, which causes early puberty and menstruation (in some cases as early as four to six months of age) and to women who meet a specific set of criteria that places them at a very high risk of developing breast cancer.
The drug carries a boxed warning that some users may develop serious, potentially fatal side effects such as stroke, pulmonary embolism and uterine malignancies. Beyond that, there are a host of known side effects, many of which mimic menopause because of the drug’s ability to block estrogen. Adverse reactions include vaginal dryness, hot flashes, thinning hair or partial hair loss, depression, insomnia, dizziness, anxiety, tingling of the extremities, and much more. Most of the effects were found to be relatively mild and rarely severe enough to require discontinuation.
As for your memory loss, there is no mention of cognitive/memory impairment; however, a quick internet search of “Tamoxifen, memory problems”, brings up a host of user-generated forum/blog discussions about this very problem. I was unable to locate any studies done on this subject, but if there are any out there, I would surely like to hear about them. Given the amount of anecdotal evidence, I believe it is past time to investigate the possibility.
My recommendations to you are to discuss your current treatment course with your physicians. If your risk of relapse is low, perhaps a reduced dose or discontinuation is possible. If your risk is higher, it may be more prudent to stay on the drug and attempt to cope with the memory problems. This might involve writing notes and keeping a detailed planner of important names, dates, and other pertinent information. I am also told that there are a wealth of memory games available on the internet and for phones and video game devices which may be beneficial in helping you retain or possible regain some of your cognitive abilities back.
