@sue417
It is my understanding that the hormone blockers we take actually block the estrogen receptors in the bone marrow, where dormant breast cancer cells can hide for years. So it would not matter how much estrogen is in our body. So no need to test estrogen levels. It just matters that dorment cancer cells hiding in our bone marrow are blocked from natural estrogen therefore cannot be fed and hopefully die out in 2 to three years. We take the hormone blockers for 5 years to be sure. I'm not sure I'm explaining this correctly. It's complicated. I have been on 3 different blockers. I am taking Tamoxifen now (Even though I'm past menopause). When I first started I would take it for two weeks and then stop for 2 or 3 days. Just needed a little break.. Then start back up. I think my body has finally adjusted. Now I have very little side effects. If we don't get the dormant cancer cells to die out, they will return as cancer somewhere in our body. That becomes an automatic stage 4 cancer. No cure for that, just treatment. So for me, I'm going to eat a little better, workout a bit, take up meditation (meditation helps calm the vagus nerve and can help with hot flashs) and continue to take my blockers. Good luck to all of you and stay strong.
Kristine