Hope springs eternal: black cohosh

Posted by Liz on Oct 18, 2008 in breast cancer, estrogen | 0 comments

There may be good news on the horizon for perimenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.  Researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia are conducting an animal study to see how black cohosh and the tamoxifen interact.

Unfortunately, breast cancer patients who take tamoxifen to prevent their cancer from recurring, are unable to take hormones for menopausal symptoms that often occur as the drug starts working to shut down estrogen production. Consequently, one of the only options available to them are antidepressants, which are not always effective and depending on the agent, may cause side effects such as weight gain, fatigue or reduced sexual desire.

It’s a hopeful path that may help alleviate undesired side effects in women with breast cancer. If you’re interesting in reading more about black cohosh, you can click on the word in the tags category on the sidebar.