1. < Breast Cancer

Ibrance and Letrozole: Newly Diagnosed Treatment

Posted by sharonyb4000 @sharonyb4000, Sep 30, 2021

Hello,
My name is Sharon, I am 56 years old, and I have recently been diagnose with IDC Breast cancer the has spread to my lymph nodes and metastasized to various areas (Rib, sternum, spine, and iliac bone). Apparently I am one of the 6% of women who receive this type of diagnosed with no previous cancer diagnosis. I was completely overwhelmed when I received these diagnoses from all the scans, tests, and biopsies. So now I am learning how to live with an advanced diagnoses and my oncologist started me on Letrozole and Ibrance to slow the progression of my cancer. Does anyone have experience with this treatment?

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sharonyb4000 | @sharonyb4000 | Nov 3, 2021
In reply to @auntieoakley "You are the very definition of a cancer warrior. I am not talking about kicking cancer..." + (show)
@auntieoakley

You are the very definition of a cancer warrior. I am not talking about kicking cancer kind of warrior, but the ability to go on living to the best of your ability in spite of it kind of bravery.
There are other combinations of drugs that your doctor may choose, to hopefully give you less trouble. I don’t think you are complaining, if you can’t talk about the hard things here, then where? Because Oh my goodness the hiccups! I have that too, I have been living with them long enough to learn how to make them go away but they are certainly distracting. Lol. I also have to care for my bowels daily with Mira lax every night or pay the consequences.
I hope you are finding time to cherish yourself a bit, be gentle with yourself, you are going through a lot. I remember feeling like I had to do everything, like I could outrun it, but I kind of wish I had slowed down a bit and enjoyed my journey a bit more during that time.
Please come back and let me know how you are doing, I think about you often. When is your MRI?

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Oh thank you for your kind words. I have a thoracic MRI on the 10th and a Lumbar MRI on the 11th. It has already been established that my cancer has spread to these areas ( spine, left & right ribs, sternum and iliac) but there are new consistent pains and my doctor is concerned. So at least he will have the results when I go back to him on the 12th. No matter the results, I’m going home to Kentucky to see my new grandson, and my Mother. Family is everything to me and that gives me needed motivation ☺️

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Mentor
Chris, Volunteer Mentor | @auntieoakley | Nov 3, 2021

That visit will be priceless. I am glad to hear you are going to visit family. Keep me posted and if you need to talk about the good or bad parts please remember, I am here and so are a host of others, that get your situation.

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1 reply
sharonyb4000 | @sharonyb4000 | Nov 4, 2021
In reply to @auntieoakley "That visit will be priceless. I am glad to hear you are going to visit family...." + (show)
@auntieoakley

That visit will be priceless. I am glad to hear you are going to visit family. Keep me posted and if you need to talk about the good or bad parts please remember, I am here and so are a host of others, that get your situation.

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Good morning and thank you. I really appreciate you. I am here for you as well. Have a fabulous Thursday because God's mercies are new every morning!

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1 reply
Mentor
Chris, Volunteer Mentor | @auntieoakley | Nov 4, 2021
In reply to @sharonyb4000 "Good morning and thank you. I really appreciate you. I am here for you as well...." + (show)
@sharonyb4000

Good morning and thank you. I really appreciate you. I am here for you as well. Have a fabulous Thursday because God's mercies are new every morning!

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Yes, they are! Thank you.

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mhsosa | @mhsosa | Mar 9, 2022

I have been on verzenio (2 x day) and anastrozole 1mg a day for over a year. Went recently for second opinion. Oncologist took me off the verzenio and anastrozole. She did this because I told her about diarrhea and vomiting and no energy. I wondering what kind of results other patients have had with Ibrance and Letrozole. I have read life expectancy not as good with Ibrance compared to Verzenio. The Ibrance I am to take 28 days then go off 7 days and restart cycle of 28 days on, 7 days off. Any and all info will be greatly appreciated. I am wondering if I should just stay with verzenio. Am I stresses or what???

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3 replies
Mentor
Chris, Volunteer Mentor | @auntieoakley | Mar 9, 2022
In reply to @mhsosa "I have been on verzenio (2 x day) and anastrozole 1mg a day for over a..." + (show)
@mhsosa

I have been on verzenio (2 x day) and anastrozole 1mg a day for over a year. Went recently for second opinion. Oncologist took me off the verzenio and anastrozole. She did this because I told her about diarrhea and vomiting and no energy. I wondering what kind of results other patients have had with Ibrance and Letrozole. I have read life expectancy not as good with Ibrance compared to Verzenio. The Ibrance I am to take 28 days then go off 7 days and restart cycle of 28 days on, 7 days off. Any and all info will be greatly appreciated. I am wondering if I should just stay with verzenio. Am I stresses or what???

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I know how difficult some of these drugs can be. If this were a mild side effect, I am sure you would feel differently. I usually judge a side effect by how much it affects my quality of life.
They are coming out with more and more choices for MBC all the time. In many cases it is almost a managed disease now.
I am sad to hear you are struggling with your current regimen. Are you really comfortable with either of these doctors, so that you can talk about your decision further. You mention just staying on Verzenio, how bad is the gastrointestinal side effects? Only you can really decide the cost vs. benefit of this combo, does it interfere with your daily activities? Is it adversely effecting your health in other ways?

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pbnew | @pbnew | Apr 30, 2022
In reply to @leeann66 "Hi Sharon, my name is LeeAnn. I am 55 years old and last year June 2020,..." + (show)
@leeann66

Hi Sharon, my name is LeeAnn. I am 55 years old and last year June 2020, I was diagnosed with IDC, left breast tumour, in the nodes with metastasis to hips, sternum, rob, femur. 12 months earlier my mammogram was all clear. I had no prior cancer diagnosis so like
You, the first diagnosis was MBC. I am on Kisqali and Anastrozole, different meds than you but both are in the same
Family as yours. I am one year and a bit now ans all the lesions have been “metabolically resolved” meaning I am not cancer free as with MBC we will
Never be, but there is no active cancer currently in my body. The combination of these meds, like
The combination of yours, are showing great results on treatment for cancer like ours and there are more drugs being developed all the time. It seems like you are on a good treatment plan that I am hopeful will
Give good results as it did for me. One thing they told me was to wait 6 no the after starting treatment before another scan as these meds are slower acting. So 6 months after starting my scan (which I was terrified for) showed that the meds were making an impact! I wish the same
For you Sharon!!! Keep us posted, stay well and stay positive!

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May I ask what dose of Kisqali are you taking? What side effects have you had? Thank you.

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leeann66 | @leeann66 | May 3, 2022

Hi there, I was on 600mg/day dose with minimal side effects. My hair thinned out a bit and I had some bone pain in my wrists but very manageable, overall the treatment was well tolerated.

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1 reply
pbnew | @pbnew | May 4, 2022
In reply to @leeann66 "Hi there, I was on 600mg/day dose with minimal side effects. My hair thinned out a..." + (show)
@leeann66

Hi there, I was on 600mg/day dose with minimal side effects. My hair thinned out a bit and I had some bone pain in my wrists but very manageable, overall the treatment was well tolerated.

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Thanks. No problem with Letrozole but didn’t make it through first cycle of Kisqali. Low white blood count followed by high liver numbers.

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1 reply
Mentor
Chris, Volunteer Mentor | @auntieoakley | May 4, 2022
In reply to @pbnew "Thanks. No problem with Letrozole but didn’t make it through first cycle of Kisqali. Low white..." + (show)
@pbnew

Thanks. No problem with Letrozole but didn’t make it through first cycle of Kisqali. Low white blood count followed by high liver numbers.

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I am sorry that treatment failed. Have you discussed the next steps with your doctor?

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