Estrogen Receptor Positive (ER+)

Great question. Most people (physicians and patients alike) would agree that it's probably not a good idea to give hormones to a patient whose breast cancer had hormone receptors on it (ER and/or PR positive). But that's not what you asked. Your question went a little deeper because you asked about "natural" progesterone cream. My interpretation of the word natural here is that the progesterone is likely derived from a plant source which is often wild yam. Wild yam contains a compound called diosgenin which has estrogenic and progestogenic effects in mice. Surprisingly however, humans do not possess the enzyme necessary to convert diosgenin to progesterone. While there are several progesterone or estrogen creams/gels that are FDA approved, I would be cautious about using compounded medications because of concern of purity, dosing consistency, and content. Harvard has some great info about this on this site: http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/What-are-bioidentical-hormones.htm. Let me know if I have not addressed all of your concerns.

The drug is everolimus, an mTOR inhibitor, added to an aromatase inhibitor (exemestane, known as Aromacin). The months that it “seems” to buy are time until the cancer worsens. This is an important issue because it can be confused with survival (i.e., how long a patient lives) but it is actually not (yet) known to prolong this. It also has some real, but manageable toxicities. It represents confirmation that inhibition of mTOR can be clinically effective but the relative value of this approach and its optimal implementation remains to be more fully determined.

Hello, congrats on NED. This is similar to another question about estrogenic foods. They are safe - studies have shown they may even occupy receptors the way tamoxifen does. Organic when possible (unsprayed).
We don't know any specifics to lower risk, what we have is a combination of foods - every color fruit and vegetable. NO SODA, fried foods, JUNK.

Avoid artificial ingredients of all kinds. Consider some exercise, a way to relax and enjoy, and some detox - using healthy cleaning products, avoiding parabens in makeup and the like.

Many supplments can build health but you need to get a baseline from an acupuncturist, naturopath or nutritionist to see what you personally may need. After treatment our DNA is messed up and definitely following a health path can help. Yoga is amazing too!

Anastrozole treats breast cancer by inhibiting the production of estrogen in tissues of the body of post-menopausal women.
- By inhibiting the production of estrogen, the estrogen receptor [ER]-positive and/or progesterone receptor [PR]-positive cancer cells cannot grow.
- Anastrozole operates by blocking the aromatase enzyme that converts androgen to estrogen in the tissues of women who have gone through menopause.
- Postmenopausal women get estrogen from the conversion of androgen into estrogen in the tissues of the body.
- In women who have not gone through menopause, they receive their estrogen from the ovaries.
- Anastrozole is categorized pharmacologically as an antineoplastic agent and as a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor and is indicated for postmenopausal women.

Letrozole (Femara) is an antineoplastic agent. Antineoplastic agents are anticancer medications. Letrozole is also categorized as a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor. Aromatase inhibitors do not allow the aromatase enzyme to convert androgen into estrogen in the tissues. By blocking estrogen production in the tissues of the body, the estrogen receptor [ER]-positive and/or progesterone receptor [PR]-positive) breast cancer cells cannot grow.

I'd love to jump in but it was such a complete answer, I don't have much to add! I will however reinforce that despite all of our advances, there is still so much that we don't know and there are still a lot of unanswered questions. Environmental influences probably play a greater role than we currently appreciate, and we are becoming more aware of the influence of lifestyle factors such as diet, activity level / weight, and alcohol intake. The balancing act continues.

If you are ER and PR positive it means that your tumor has estrogen and progesterone receptors on the cells surface that these hormones can bind with. It is ofen described like having a lock and key that fit together. When estrogen and/or progesterone bind with the cell they activate the cell to divide. Tamoxifen and Aromatase inhibitors can be used to treat estrogen positive breast cancers.

HER-2/nue (c-erbB2) is an oncogene (a gene which when turned on, can lead to development of cancer). A HER 2 positive cancer has high levels of this oncogene. These cancers tend to be more aggressive but the drug Herceptin, a targeted therapy, is very effective in treated HER-2 positive breast cancers.

I am not a medical expert and bet that your oncologist could explain it better for you!

Letrozole is categorized pharmacologically as an Antineoplastic Agent and as an Aromatase Inhibitor. The action of Aromatase Inhibitors is to inhibit the production of estrogens by stopping the conversion of androgen into estrogen.

- Aromatase Inhibitors operate by blocking the aromatase enzyme from converting androgen to estrogen in women who have gone through menopause.
- Post-menopausal women get estrogen from the conversion of androgen into estrogen in the tissues of the body.
- In contrast women who have not gone through menopause receive their estrogen from the ovaries.
- By inhibiting the production of estrogen, the estrogen receptor [ER]-positive and/or progesterone receptor [PR]-positive tumor breast cancer cells cannot grow.

Anastrozole (Arimidex) is an anticancer drug. It is a type of nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor. Anastrozole works by decreasing the estrogen production in the body by inhibiting the enzyme that converts androgens into estrogen. By decreasing the amount of estrogen in the body, tumors that need estrogen to grow are inhibited.

It is also important to note that new cancer cells develop daily, in everyone, not just in cancer patients. Therefore even if the surgeon was able to remove all visable signs of cancer, addtional treaments may be recommended to prevent recurrence or the spread of cancer. The theory behind TAM is that it prevents estrogen from binding to cancer cells; without estrogen, cancer cells cannot survive. To learn more about Tamoxifen, Pros and Cons, please visit:
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Therapy/tamoxifen

There are those who suggest that freshly ground flax seed and Curcumin eaten on a daily basis produce the same benefits as TAM without the side effects. Please discuss this with an Integrative Oncologist if you wish to explore this route.