Evista: Is it Worth the Risks?

Many women 55 or older suffer from osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is responsible for fractures, bone thinning and loss, and the formation of Dowagers Hump. Invasive breast cancer can strike women 55 or older and occurs in 80% of women who have no familial history of this disease. Before now, there's never been a medication designed to help treat and prevent both diseases. Until Lilly Laboratory's Evista.

Evista treats osteoporosis and prevents invasive breast cancer to a significant enough degree, that the FDA has allowed it to be labelled for both. So for women at risk, you can now deal with both threats to your health with one daily pill. However, the risks are significant.

Evista is an estrogen agonist/antagonist. It both helps to produce estrogen in the bones and blocks estrogen in the breast. It cannot prevent all forms of invasive breast cancer, nor can it treat an existing malignancy. The side effects include:

Hot Flashes (mild and disappear with time)

Leg Cramps

Swelling

Flu like Symptoms

Joint Pain

Sweating

The major warnings state that Evista can cause embolisms (blood clots) leading to heart attack, stroke and death. So, great care must be taken during your initial workups prior to initiating treatment. Is it worth the risk? If you are at elevated risk for invasive breast cancer and have signs of osteoporosis-yes. If you don't have pre-existing cardiac problems, or a history of blood clots, then this drug is a potential lifesaver.

The milder side effects weren't enough during testing for patients to discontinue treatment. Most did disappear over time. Considering the risks, is this a drug you would take? For further information I'm posting the link to the Evista site so you can judge for yourself.

www.evista.com