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Megace, a Drug consisting of Megestrol Acetate compound, is a medicine used to treat breast cancer in women. Megace is a man-made substance called a progestogen, which is similar to the female hormone progesterone. It is a type of drug known as hormonal therapy. Megace is being manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb and comes in the form of tablets. What are the major disorders for which Megace may be Used? Megace is used in the treatment of advanced or locally advanced breast cancer, and as additional treatment in early breast cancer. What is breast cancer? The breast is a gland designed to make milk. The lobules in the breast make the milk, which then drains through the ducts to the nipple. Similar to other body parts, the cells in breasts grow and then rest in cycles. Genes in the cell’s nucleus control the periods of growth and rest in each cell, where nucleus is the control room of the cell. The cells grow properly when genes work in a proper fashion, and on the other hand the growth of cell gets disturbed if the gene function gets disturbed. So, to be specific, breast cancer is an uncontrolled growth of breast cells. Cancer has the potential to break through normal breast tissue barriers and spread to other parts of the body. According to the results most cancers are due to some dysfunctioning of body organ or tissues rather than because of inheritance. As far as breast cancer is concerned, the chances of its happening increases with age and doubles every 10 years until the menopause when the rate of increase slows. Approximately a quarter of breast cancers affect women under the age of 50, a half occur between the ages of 50 and 69 and the remaining quarter develop in women who are 70 years or older. Some things about breast cancer :
The working of Megace has not been yet completely found out but it is thought that in some way it interferes with the action of particular female hormones in the body. Many breast cancers rely on supplies of specific sex hormones such as oestrogen to grow. On the surface of the cancer cells are proteins called receptors which are sensitive to the sex hormones. When the sex hormones such as oestrogens come into contact with the receptors they activate the cancer cells to divide and the tumour grows. Megace disrupts this process in some way. It may be that it prevents the cancer cells from maintaining the receptors on their surface. Alternatively it may have a more direct way of destroying cancer cells which has not yet been identified. In breast cancer, Megace is mainly used as a treatment for women whose cancer has returned after a period of time during which it was successfully controlled with other hormonal therapies such as tamoxifen. Megace may also be used in women whose cancer has not responded to other hormonal therapies, but whose cancer cells have oestrogen receptors on their surface. Is any prescription required to get Megace ? Cancer is not something that can be taken lightly. It is a very serious problem and the person suffering from this needs proper care, guidance and attention. Breast cancer is one of the cancers that women face during post menopause age. So, one must consult a specialist of this field before taking this medicine or any other medicine for this purpose. Megace comes in the form of 40mg and 160mg tablets and should be taken once daily. But, an oncologist must be consulted before taking the medicine. And should not be stopped using without the advice of the doctor. If a dose is missed, there is no need of taking an extra dose the next day. The treatment should be continued as it is. What is the minimum duration for which Megace should be taken? Megace has to be taken for at least 4-5 years, if the cancer is in its primary stage. However, for local recurrence or secondary disease continue taking it for as long as the breast cancer remains under control. Are there any side effects of Megace? As such there are no major side effects seen uptill now by the use of Megace, but some of the following may be there, with their intensity varying from person to person. Following are some of the side effects of Megace:
Under what circumstances should Megace not be used? Under which storage conditions Megace should be kept? Megace should be stored at room temperature and the place where it is kept should not have excessive moisture and temperature. However, Megace should be kept in the container it came in, tightly closed, and out of reach of children. Also, as per the general indications for any medicine, Megace should also be thrown away if it is outdated. Major Drug (Megace and other similar drug) Manufacturers From where can one get Megace? Anyone can buy Megace from Online Canadian Pharmacy, which is available at a discounted price, 50% off, in Canada, and the best way to get Megace is by logging on to http://www.onlinecanadarx.com for online orders. This pharmacy provides you with drugs at cheap and affordable prices. One can order the medicine and pay through VISA, MasterCard or international money order. Why to buy Megace drug from Canada? It is cheaper to buy Megace from Online Canadian Pharmacy, because Canadian government regulates the prices of Megace and also because of the very common reason of exchange rate. Since, the Canadian dollar is cheaper as compared to the US Dollars, so one can buy more Megace from Canada, thereby saving a lot of money. |