. Up to 60% of those women fear the drugs used to treat their cancer will impact their ability to have babies, Partridge said.Women with hormone-receptor positive tumors — meaning their cancer is fueled by either estrogen or progesterone — are usually advised to take endocrine therapy for up to 10 years after diagnosis to dampen down any hormones that could prompt a return of their cancer.
Within three years of stopping hormone-suppressing drugs, the rate of recurrence was 8.9% — similar to what would be expected in patients who stuck with the medications, Partridge said.“This is definitely a big breakthrough,” said Dr. Kai Johnson, a breast medical oncologist with the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. “I think it’s practice-changing, because we can confidently tell women” that a gap in their endocrine therapy doesn’t seem to impact their risk of a recurrence.
Johnson was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer at age 34. Her doctor said that if her cancer were to spread, it would likely do so quickly. She opted for a double mastectomy followed by eight rounds of chemotherapy. She stopped her endocrine therapy, and got pregnant with baby Ronin, who turned 11 months this week. Her motherly pride is palpable.