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This page/column contains information which may be of interest to consumers. The information is based on articles which appear in Australian Prescriber. As Australian Prescriber is written for health professionals, you should discuss any issues raised by this page/column with your doctor or pharmacist. They will be able to give a more detailed answer to your questions by reading the main article.

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Australian Prescriber Vol. 25 No. 6 2002

Prevention of breast cancer

More Australian women die from breast cancer than any other cancer. It will affect 1 in 13 women by the age of 75 years.

Some women have a higher risk of breast cancer. Sometimes there is a family history of breast cancer.

If her risk of breast cancer is high a woman may be advised to take a medication called tamoxifen. While tamoxifen reduces the risk of cancer it can have some serious side effects. These include blood clots in the legs and lungs and an increase in cancer of the womb. More research is needed to find out how well tamoxifen works in Australian women. If tamoxifen is recommended, a woman should discuss with her doctor the balance of its good and bad effects in her case.

In some women the risk of breast cancer is very high. They may choose to have their breasts removed to reduce the risk of cancer.

As breast cancer is a serious disease treating it before it spreads is important. Women over 50 years old are recommended to have X-rays of their breasts every two years. These mammograms can show cancers before they are big enough to feel.