Anastrozole

Hi JPP1, sorry to hear this..I'm also on Anastrazole but have never had the side effects you have or been told it wouldn't benefit me.  I have heard that different makes of Anastrazole can give you worse side effects. For me I've found that Accord and Teva brands give me less problems.

Hopefully my reply will bump you back to newest replies and someone else maybe able to help you. All the best.

Thanks, all the best to you  

Do you mind me asking you your age please? 

No I don't mind ... I've just turned 64. I wondered if there had been others who had been told they didn't have to continue Anastrozole if the side effects were bad in comparison to benefits of the drug ...if that makes sense ! 

I am 60. Like you, I was diagnosed at screening with a small 7mm tumour, HER2 negative and grade 1. 

Unlike you, I was prescribed Letrazole and just waiting now for my short five days of radiotherapy. 

I was not told about the benefits versus the alternative however I've done the NHS predict test and I can see that taking it gives me extremely minimal benefits, like less than 1 percent over 10 years! 

I'm going to discuss this when I next see my breast care nurse. It's all very confusing isn't it x

Hi JPP1 , i think it’s really hard to get ‘hard’ information, especially regarding recurrence. Most of the easily accessed stuff (like the Predict tool) is about survival rates, which is useful of course but for me, too blunt. I want more detail, particularly about recurrence and potential for metastasis. For me, these are the key questions rather than just how many of us might still be alive at a given point after diagnosis. 
I had a similar ish experience to you at my first oncology appointment. I was told that there were no surprises from the post op pathology (13mm oestrogen positive tumour, Grade 2, sentinel nodes clear). He said they would recommend adjuvant radiotherapy (3 weeks then) and hormone therapy (Anastrozole). I was 59 when diagnosed in 2018. But…. He said I ‘could’ choose to not have either, as I’d be classed as ‘low risk’. But when he told me the percentage gains of having the further treatment, it was a no brainer for me as I knew already that I’d do anything regarded as medically beneficial. They were not huge gains but enough for me to want the treatments. My gains are probably a bit higher than yours as I had a bigger tumour and a higher grade. But in the end it’s an individual decision and definitely not an easy one! I don’t love the Anastrozole and have a variety of unpleasant side effects, but have plodded on, hoping that it’s helping to reduce my risk of recurrence as well as increased survival rates. I do other stuff with this in mind - I’ve increased my exercise and love walking anyway, plus have made changes to my diet. 
There are definitely others on the forum who have chosen to discontinue hormone therapy because of the low ‘gains’ and side effects, so I’m sure some will pop in and share their experiences. Love and hugs, HFxx

thank you for all the information, its so hard to get a straight factual answer, and although we always go with any concerns written down myself and husband always come away with more questions and confusions.  after seizures we were told chemo will be stopped for now, is 3 sessions enough, was chemo just a precaution, will the anastrozole i am on help, im 56, will possile abemaciclib for many months be worth it, just waiting for  call back from one of the breast cancer nurses that are present at the oncologist appointments, so confused ref delaying chemo, having radiotherapy, and now possible chemo tablets for many months just want to get back to work and even just a small amount of normality.

had a complete breakdown in last meeting, fed up of crying so much, drained, the not knowing is mentally destroying.

thank god for these forums the support and information help so much xxxx

Hi

I've been told by my oncologist that if I get bad side effects I can stop taking them. The benefits are really low and would only make the smallest difference. I questioned him on why he's putting me on them and he said it's another very small help to eliminate the chance of it coming back. 

Luckily I don't have any side effects at all. I'm 59. 

Hi there,  I think that some women may have tumors that were not as sensitive to Estrogen and/or progesterone and may not benefit as much as someone whose tumor loves estrogen.  My DCIS and invasive cancer were 100 estrogen receptors so both the surgeon and medical oncologist have said that I would benefit from it and to try very hard to tolerate the Anastrazole.  I have been on it since May 2022 and doing ok.  Some aches and pains, low libido and dry mouth at night.  Gotta make it to 5 years.  We are all different and some women just cannot tolerate side effects.  Take care.