Everyone's comments are very helpful. For me.. I was diagnosed with IDC stage 2 (June '23), 2 chemo rounds, lumpectomy (3 positive lymph nodes), 30 rounds of radiation. NO family history that i know of, BRCA negative (40), Letrozole started Sept '23. took 10 day break to try Anastrozole and it was terrible on my gut so back to Letrozole. The damage to my body since being on Letrozole is extreme osteoporosis, trigger finger surgery on all 10 fingers! still lots of finger pain, now foot pain, the dryness 'everywhere' is ridiculous! hot flashes non-stop, muscle pain, extremely fidgety, difficult to sleep. I eventually went to Letrozole 3x wk and over time, it wasn't as bad as in the beginning but it was very clear what this was doing to my body. March '25 had my ovaries removed. I love to garden, and other outside things and i just hurt! Just switched to Exemestane in Jan '26 but that is just as bad, maybe i need more time to get used to it? my quality of life is getting worse by the day and Im sure many side effects will not be reversible. Im having to decide if i want to continue on this path of destruction to my body or risk cancer returning. I just don't know what my risk level is?
Of course Drs wont tell you its ok to stop or reduce the amt as they are or feel responsible if cancer returns so unfortunately they have to go by the books. They also told me estrogen testing is not reliable so making med decisions on these results are not solid. Can anyone tell me if they used Exemestane and how they did on it? and if anyone stopped after 3-5 years and did they return to normal or have permanent damage? My Dr also said that cancer can return in a different place and that scares me. I know everyone is different but i just need to hear other experiences to make my decision. I recently stopped all meds but wonder if that's not a good idea? please help