Mine has been an 8-year quest. Here is an example of today’s episode for me:

After reading this morning’s Oncolink posted article (Androgen deprivation therapy in prostate cancer may be associated with cardiovascular risk — Eric Metcalf — Tuesday, February 2, 2010 (Last Updated: 02/03/2010), this is my train of thought as a breast cancer patient treated with doxorubicin and thus subject to possible cardiac damage:

Is the use of doxorubicin and/or trastuzumab damaging to the heart because of the increasing toxicity to the heart, or is the REAL culprit behind the increased damage simply the lowered levels of the hormone(s), including testosterone? Are the women who have the greatest heart damage from treatment also those who have the lowest levels of hormones due to the destruction of hormonal production by the doxorubicin and/or trastuzumab? Would it help the women whose EFs are dropping to be given supplementation with testosterone, to be able to complete the doxorubicin plus trastuzumab?

As a breast cancer patient who participated in the trial for the use of testosterone by breast cancer patients, and who has remained without evidence of disease as a HER2+++ patient for 8 years and never received trastuzumab, I wonder…. I continue on low-dose testosterone…

Searching the net, searching the net….