Hi @mahsume, welcome to the Breast Cancer group on Mayo Connect. You'll notice that I moved your message to this existing discussion called "Completed 5 years of anastrozole. Withdrawal symptoms? Side effects?" I did this so you can connect with other members who have stopped Arimidex after taking it for multiple year like @peaches2 @vikkr @cancersucks @javajude @sandrajo @rsc @auntieoakley @jadegrey @chriscake and others. Click VIEW & REPLY to see all the past posts.

I'm wondering @mahsume, did your mother mentioned the pain that she's experiencing at her recent checkup? Has this pain only appeared since coming off the medication?

That’s a good question that Colleen asked, if this pain appeared directly after stopping the arimidex. If so, I would definitely mention this to the doctor as this could mean some hormone that is unwanted returning to the body from somewhere. Arimidex would have bonded to any estrogen coming from food or other glands and prevented it from essentially feeding any possible remaining cancer cells. If the breast soreness is linked to hormones after removing this drug, that would be something the doctor would address. There are some arguments for remaining on this drug in some cases, again your doctor could guide you better. This is only one possibility, but because I was younger when my breast cancer occurred, this was a conversation I had several times with my doctors.