If someone invented a pill to cut a cancer risk in half, would you take it?

If I was a woman about to loose a breast(or both) and ovaries, I’d probably try the drug. But I’m sure there was a good reason why Ms. Birkhold chose not too. If I had cancer it couldn’t hurt to try, right? I mean, I’m not a very big fan on taking medications, because I have no illnesses. But if I did, it wouldn’t hurt to try and help myself.

No, because what if you were never going to have cancer in the first place and this pill actually activated a chance you were going to get it?

Not that I fit the demographics for this particular pill, but I reckon it would depend on the side affects. I’ve yet to see a drug that doesn’t have a long laundry list of side affects that sound worse than what the drug is supposed to fix.

No. I have very little faith in drugs to do exactally what they are made to do.

No…The long-term side effects may be worse.

Haha, yeah, a pill that doubles the rate of cancer, but then cuts that in half :p

I might take the pill if I were at high risk for that type of cancer, but otherwise, I would not. Some of the side effects were as bad as the cancer it was supposed to prevent!

I would only consider taking something like this if I felt it had been undergone substantial testing and had years of experience of consumption with a report on affects to go with it.

I certainly wouldn’t want to be a guinea pig or test tube experiment.

That being said, if I was on my deathbed and there was an option of mediation (albeit not heavy tested) but may have some life saving properties, I would be more likely to take it.

You’ve left out some important information. Are you talking about tamoxifen specifically? Or is this some imaginary miracle pill? Is this pill popping something innocuous like a vitamin? Are there risks associated with it? What’s the cost?

I took tamoxifen for the limit of five years, after a lumpectomy, chemo and radiation. I was grateful for it even though I began to show the side effects (necessitating a D & C) as predicted at the end of the five years.

If I had not been diagnosed with breast cancer, I would have chosen to not take it.

It is almost impossible to deal with imaginary medical situations that involve imaginar drugs. Dealing with reality is difficult enough.

edit: imaginary

With or without cancer, I’d have to say “no.”

There are too many bullshit drugs on the market for cancer right now. Either I wouldn’t know the drug in question existed (for the sake of “omg so many drugs, which to pick?”) or if it was advertised heavily in the media, I would be naturally skeptical. When an actually helpful drug comes out for cancer, if it’s from a university, the experiments will definitely be published in the major scientific journals. If it’s from a pharmaceutical company, the experiments may or may not be on their website. If the media piques my interest enough and if I can read the experiments and agree that the logic and data interpretation is sound and significant, I may consider taking the drug.

Odds are against though. I hate meds. I hate anticancer med bullshit. And if I’ve got cancer, adding any more side effects on top of my disease is going to completely ruin the time I’ve got left.

@Iclamae, Traditional medical treatment, including tamoxifen, have left me cancer-free for the past 13 years. Without them all, I would be six feet under now. Don’t be too glib; nature may smack you in the face.

One doesn’t take meds because the pharma cos. advertise; one takes them on the advice of trained doctors with years of experience, who have read the studies and often taken part in the research themselves.

Having had cancer twice, yes, I would (and in fact, do). It never occurred to me to think that I was at high risk for cancer until I was diagnosed in 1997. And I was well into the treatment regimen before it struck me that I could die. Denial is a strange thing.

If it ain’t cancer….it would be something else, like old age. If you think about it…we’re ALL terminal. So, I’ve had tons of cousins, sisters and even my own mother stricken with one form of cancer or another. I’m probably high risk myself, but I just don’t think about it. I figure…if I get it in some form or another…I’ll deal with it best I can and try to keep on keeping on. If cancer is what finally brings everything to a big halt for me, so be it. Until then…life goes on.

@SirGoofy: You are lucky enough to be aware of the research and the non-genetic ways to lower the odds of getting cancer.

No meat, small amounts of fish or chicken that have not been stuffed with hormones or farmed; many dark green and leafy veggies, unsprayed fruit, complex carbs, no white food except cauliflower, exercise regularly, normal weight, relaxation and stress-reducing tecniques and the like.

Add no smoking and drinking in moderation.

That will change your odds, says Gailie the Greek.

Obviously, it would depend on the type of cancer, the type of pill, and the side effects. The article talks about tamoxifen; my mother took it for 5 years after she had breast cancer. She found the side effects to be quite bearable. Hot flashes were the worst, and she took megace to counteract them. She’s now 15 years out and still doing fine. Knock on wood.

Tamoxifen isn’t even the best drug these days to prevent breast cancer recurrence. There’s some evidence that the aromatase inhibitors such as letrozole (Femara) are even more effective than tamoxifen. Stay tuned.

First I have too know all the side affects. I don’t like to use things that are not well tested.

@gailcalled , Sorry, my family’s had bad experience with hospitals and doctors in the past so I’ve developed some negativity and skepticism about them and their advice. I would probably prefer to read the articles and such myself before deciding about taking the meds.

Also, this questions is about a med for decreasing risk of cancer. I am not a gambling person and until we understand the disease better, I’m going to be incredibly skeptical about everything that boasts “decreasing risk.” I think I misread the question the first time. My opinion about wanting to read the research articles about the drug still stand and my hesitation towards the meds are more related to the fact that’s it’s a gamble.

If I had cancer and were debating “cures” or “treatments,” then my above answer stands. I may take some doctor’s advice about a treatment but I despise meds and the possibility of damaging my remaining time.

No because I don’t trust a Word the pharmaceutical companies say to us, they scew the results of clinical trials to make money and I cannot stand side effects. OK: I exaggerated. I meant I take what they say with a grain of salt.