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U.S. Breast Cancer Facts
One person is diagnosed with breast cancer every 3 minutes2. One person dies of breast cancer every 14 minutes2. People over the age of 50 account for 76% of breast cancer cases2. There is over a 97% five-year survival rate when localized breast cancer is caught before it spreads to other parts of the body2. Tamoxifen: Approximately 65,000 women complete their last round of tamoxifen annually3. Recurrence: Approximately one third of women with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer experience a recurrence (breast cancer coming back). Over half of these occur more than five years after surgery5,6. For more information on breast cancer, visit our resources page. 1. American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts and Figures 2006. http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/CAFF2006PWSecured.pdf. Accessed August 15th, 2007. Page 4, Table 1. 2. Breast Health Resource Guide. Avon Foundation. http://www.avoncompany.com/women/avoncrusade/bccguide.pdf. Accessed August 15th, 2007. Pages 3-5. 3. American Cancer Society. Breast Cancer Quick Facts. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/GI/content/GI_2_9_Breast_Cancer_Quick_Facts.asp?sitearea=GI. Accessed July 19th, 2004. Page 2, para 17. 4. Weiss, M. and Weiss, E. Living Beyond Breast Cancer: A survivor's Guide for When Treatment Ends and the Rest of Your Life Begins. New York: Three Rivers Press; 1997. Page 93, para 2, lines 4-7. 5. Early Breast Cancer Collaborative Group. Tamoxifen for early breast cancer: an overview of the randomized trials. Lancet. 1998. 6. Goss PE, Ingle JN, Martino S, et.al. Updated Analysis of the NCIC CTG MA 17 randomized placebo (P) controlled trial of letrozole (L) after 5 years of tamoxifen therapy in postmenopausal women with early stage breast cancer [abstract]. Proc Am Soc Clin Oncol. 2004. Indication Femara ® (letrozole tablets) is approved for the adjuvant (following surgery) treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive early stage breast cancer. The benefits of Femara in clinical trials are based on 24 months of treatment. Further follow-up will be needed to determine long-term results, safety and efficacy. Femara is also approved for the extended adjuvant treatment of early stage breast cancer in postmenopausal women who are within three months of completion of five years of tamoxifen therapy. The benefits of Femara in clinical trial are based on 24 months of treatment. Further follow-up will be needed to determine long-term results, including side effects. In addition, Femara is approved for the treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive or hormone receptor-unknown breast cancer that has spread to another part of the body (metastatic cancer). Ask your oncologist if Femara is right for you.Important Safety Information You should not take Femara if you are premenopausal. Your doctor should discuss the need for adequate birth control if you have the potential to become pregnant, if you are not sure of your postmenopausal status, or if you recently became postmenopausal. Femara is only indicated in postmenopausal women. Talk to your doctor if you're allergic to Femara or any of its ingredients. You should not take Femara if you are pregnant as it may cause fetal harm. Some women reported fatigue and dizziness with Femara. Until you know how it affects you, use caution before driving or operating machinery. Some patients taking Femara had an increase in cholesterol. Additional follow-up is needed to determine the risk of bone fracture associated with long-term use of Femara. In the adjuvant setting, commonly reported side effects are generally mild to moderate. The most common side effects seen with Femara include hot flashes, joint pain, night sweats, weight gain, nausea, tiredness, other heart-related events and bone fractures. Other less commonly reported side effects include vaginal bleeding, blood clots, other cancers, osteoporosis, stroke, heart attack and endometrial cancer. In the extended adjuvant setting, commonly reported side effects are generally mild to moderate. Commonly reported side effects for Femara include hot flashes, fatigue, joint pain, headache, increase in sweating, swelling due to fluid retention, increase in cholesterol, dizziness, constipation, nausea, cardiovascular ischemic events, muscle pain, osteoporosis, arthritis and bone fracture. In the metastatic cancer setting, commonly reported side effects are generally mild to moderate and may include bone pain, hot flashes, back pain, nausea, joint pain, shortness of breath, tiredness, coughing, constipation, limb pain, chest pain and headache. Femara is a once-daily, convenient prescription tablet.For additional safety information, please see the prescribing information. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088. |
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