Letrozole

Dear Avananna,

thank you for getting in touch. My name is Fiona and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists here on the Macmillan Support Line.

I’m sorry to hear that you are needing to have letrezole. I see that you’ve joined our New to the Community forum. I do hope that are finding this a warm and supportive community. We also have a Breast Cancer forum that you might want to have a look at.

I’m sorry to read that you are having side effects from your tablets. Some people find that the side effects can decrease with time but others find that they never go away. The degree of side effects are weighed against the benefit as hormone therapy does offer the best chance of preventing recurrence of the cancer, but can be really tough to live with.

Anecdotally, we hear that some people who struggle with the side effects of letrozole can sometimes feel like they cope better if the brand is changed and it may be worth chatting to your GP or local pharmacy about this as a possibility.

Reach out to your Breast Care Nurse to discuss any options that may be helpful and keep your treatment team in the loop with how you are feeling so they can offer the best support as well. Some people are given a ‘treatment holiday’ to allow their side effects to abate whilst others are switched to a different kind of aromatase inhibitor called anastrazole which might be better tolerated.

Living with anxiety can be really difficult. There are some advice and links here that might help. If you haven’t already, please talk to your GP or Practice Nurse about your anxiety as they may be able to help.

Trying to get back to life after a cancer diagnosis can be very hard too. Penny Brohn UK offers a huge amount of support online and in some areas so please do have a look.

If you feel it would be helpful to talk things through with us you’d be welcome to give us a call. It also helps us gain a better understanding of the current situation and discuss what other avenues of support may be beneficial to you.

With warm wishes

Fiona S 

Ref: FS/RH