Many women take Tamixofen, which cuts in half the chances of their estrogen-positive breast cancer from coming back. Because hormone pills are a no-no for such situations, antidepressants have been prescribed in the past to help fight hot flashes.
As everyone should know, drugs can interact and interfere with each other. Some drugs can diminish or completely cancel out the effectiveness of other drugs.
Recent cancer studies on about 1200 women over a year by Medco Health have found that some (not all) anti-depressants (Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft and others) decrease the effectiveness of Tamixofen. They found that about 7% of women not on anti-depressants have a cancer recurrance but this percentage doubles for women who are on anti-depressants.
Medco's chief medical officer, Dr. Robert Epstein recommends staying away from Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft for now. Dr. Claudine Isaacs, a breast specialist at Georgetown University's Lombardi Cancer Center, agrees and recommends erring on the side of caution and avoiding those three particular anti-depressants .
Back in 2006, an advisory panel recommended putting a warning label on Tamixofen but the FDA has yet to implement action.
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Please see the other articles listed in the margin. You might also be interested in reading about: Hormone Receptor Postive Breast Cancer.
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