Dear Friends,
There's been a lot of talk about Evista as a drug that may offer
protection against breast cancer, supposedly without the side effect of
Tamoxifen. I had heard some negative things about this drug, but did not
want to pass them on until I verified them. When I saw my ob/gyn today
(who I trust greatly; he is very supportive of alternative therapies and
very thorough, and has been monitoring my tamoxifen side effects) I
asked him about it.
He said that Lilly has been marketing the drug heavily, and that the
claims do not match the data. He said that Evista has not been proven to
prevent breast cancer, and unlike tamoxifen, we don't know the long
range effects. In addition, while Tamoxifen can cause polyps which may
be cancerous, it tends to be a low-grade, easily treated cancer. Evista
on the other hand has the potential to cause a high-grade, far more
serious cancer, and has also been shown to cause adenocarcinoma of the
colon. Another concern: if you take Evista now to protect against cancer
(remembering that we're not sure it does), if you get breast cancer
later, and need Tamoxifen as part of your treatment, it will no longer
be effective (Evista permanently changes the receptors). The only other
reason to use Evista is for the protection against osteoperosis, but
there are better medications out there with fewer serious side effect.
The bottom line: he feels that this drug should not be on the market,
and can not think of any circumstance where it would be useful. He
refuses to prescribe it. So...one dr.'s opinion, but something to think
about.
Love and prayers, Joicy
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