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Receiving a cancer diagnosis can be very difficult for you and your family. Your doctor may have prescribed a number of treatments, including ZOLADEX.
Before getting started with ZOLADEX, here is some basic information you might like to know. Remember, your healthcare team is there to help you; talk to them about how you are feeling so they can provide the care you need.
To help doctors know what is fueling your breast cancer, your tumor will be tested for certain markers called “receptors.” The test may show that your tumor has one type of receptor, more than one type of receptor, or it may show that it has none of the receptors tested.
If your tumor is hormone receptor-positive (HR+), it means your cancer cells have hormone receptors. The hormone receptors may be estrogen receptors (ER), progesterone receptors (PR), or both.
If your tumor is human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive (HER2+), it means your cancer cells have HER2 receptors.
If your tumor is triple negative, it means your cancer cells do not have ER, PR, or HER2 receptors.
If your doctor is prescribing ZOLADEX, it is because your breast cancer is ER+. This means your specific tumor is fueled, in part, by the estrogen in your body. If you are premenopausal, your body makes estrogen primarily through your ovaries. As such, stopping ovarian function cuts off a fuel source for your breast cancer.
The results play an important role in planning your treatment. Following these tests, your doctor will design a treatment plan for you, possibly including chemotherapy, as well as other drugs used to treat your specific type of cancer.
Your doctor will decide what’s best for you, but three kinds of treatments are often used:
ZOLADEX blocks a hormone produced in the brain, called gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), that triggers the ovaries to make estrogen. ZOLADEX is reversible, meaning that your periods should resume within a few months of ceasing injections. Your doctor may also consider permanent, non-reversible options, like oophorectomy, where the ovaries are surgically removed, or radiation that permanently stops ovarian function, known as ovarian ablation.
Your doctor may prescribe an aromatase inhibitor (AI) or tamoxifen. AIs reduce estrogen made by tissues other than the ovaries, such as fat cells, the liver, and adrenal glands. Alternatively, tamoxifen is a drug that blocks estrogen from binding to breast cancer cells. If your doctor prescribes tamoxifen, he or she may or may not recommend ZOLADEX, depending on your specific breast cancer.
Your doctor may also recommend adding a CDK4/6 inhibitor to your treatment plan. CDK4/6 inhibitors are non-hormonal inhibitors that suppress the activity of CDK4/6 enzymes, which help cancer cells grow and divide.
For premenopausal women diagnosed with ER+ breast cancer who have been treated with chemotherapy, or are young at diagnosis, there are two widely accepted treatment strategies for limiting the effects of estrogen on the cancer.
CDK4/6 inhibitors may be used in either treatment strategy to suppress the activity of CDK4/6 enzymes, which help cancer cells grow and divide.
If your doctor recommends tamoxifen, he or she may or may not recommend ZOLADEX, depending on your specific breast cancer.
What to expect when starting ZOLADEX
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
INDICATIONS
ZOLADEX 3.6 mg and ZOLADEX 10.8 mg
ZOLADEX 3.6 mg
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. To report suspected adverse reactions, contact the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch. You may also contact TerSera Therapeutics at 1-844-334-4035 or medicalinformation@tersera.com.
Please see Full Prescribing Information for ZOLADEX 3.6 mg and ZOLADEX 10.8 mg.