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Combination therapy for breast cancer: Pros and cons
By Mayo Clinic staffA combination of chemotherapy and hormone therapy may be right for you. But it isn't the best solution for everyone. Your preferences and concerns play a large role in your decision. Before choosing combination therapy, consider these points:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Improves length of survival and reduces chance of recurrence more so than does either hormone therapy or chemotherapy alone in certain subsets of women | Carries a greater risk of blood clots than does tamoxifen alone |
| Causes short-term side effects such as weight gain, fatigue and maybe chemo brain | |
| Has long-term side effects from chemotherapy, such as causing infertility in premenopausal women, slightly increasing risk of uterine cancers and congestive heart failure |
