Hi ,I was diagnosed 2 years ago with breast liver and bone cancer ,I have been having chemo tablets for about 18 months and letrozole ,but I am not happy with the side affects ,weight gain ,tiredness not sleeping is there an alternative to letrozole I can take that will be better for side affects , also do I need to use protection when having sex .thank you ,trudy
Hello Trudy,
Thanks for getting in touch. My name is Helen, I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurses on the Macmillan Support Line.
I see that you are part of several forums on our online community and hope you find them a warm and supportive community.
I was sorry to read that you are finding the Letrozole tough – it’s not unusual to experience weight gain and fatigue with hormone treatment and many people find the side effects difficult to cope with.
The chemotherapy will also affect your energy levels. All of this can have an impact on your quality of life.
I think you have an oestrogen positive breast cancer and therefore the Letrozole is being prescribed to reduce your oestrogen and to block its action to your breast cancer.
You have asked if there is an alternative to the Letrozole. Unfortunately, the side effects of any hormone medication is likely to have similar side-effects because they have the same action on your body. However, it’s really useful to have a chat with your breast cancer team to see if an alternative might be worth trying.
In addition, you might consider some of the following ways to help with your fatigue and sleep issues.
Complementary therapies, especially acupuncture, have shown a benefit on helping with fatigue. If you pop your postcode into our In Your Area web page, you might be able to find a Macmillan Centre near you that could provide complementary therapies. You may have access to a Maggie’s Centre that would do the same.
Through Macmillan you can get free access to Big Health’s apps, including Sleepio, an app that is helpful in dealing with insomnia, and RESTORE is Macmillan’s online fatigue tool.
You may feel it beneficial to speak to one of our counsellors about how you are feeling – you are most welcome to refer yourself if you think that talking through some of the issues related to your diagnosis and treatment would be helpful.
Finally, it is advised that when you are having chemotherapy that using a barrier method of contraception is important. This is because it is not clear if some of the chemotherapy might be present in body fluids and may pose a risk to your partner.
I hope this information is useful. Please don’t hesitate to get back in contact by email, webchat or phone, if you need further information or support.
The Macmillan Support Line offers practical, clinical, financial and emotional support. You can call us free from landlines and from most mobile phone networks on 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week, 8am – 8pm.
Best wishes, Helen
Cancer Information Nurse Specialist
Ref HM/AC
