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Concerned about the side effects of anastrozole
Breast Cancer | Last Active: Nov 21 7:48am | Replies (1935)Comment receiving replies
Anastrazole????. Hi, I am new to this site. I had stage one breast cancer. A lumpectomy removed all of it and they did not find it in my lymph nodes. I had only 10 radiation sessions. Then they put me on letrizole. I was coping well with the letrizole until I started itching. The rash areas increased. So after being on it about 9 months I was taken off of it. I am entering my 4th week off of it. Next week I will start anastrozole. I was told that I might also have the itching with that. So I’m worried. What bothers me even more is the possibility of having stage one alopecia. My hair is good, thick, and long. I don’t want to lose it and I’m worried about anaphylactic reactions. I wonder if they can give me an epi pen of which I know nothing. I had only a 3% chance of the cancer returning. Gee there doesnt seem to be many good choices. I used a skin cream prescribed by my GP prior to seeing my cancer specialist. Since it is probably a cortisone and anti fungal product I guess it’s not a good alternative to staying on letrizole. I didn’t sleep well with letrizole but without my allergic reaction it doesn’t seem as extreme as anastrzole. Does anyone have knowledge or experience. I don’t want to have raggedy hair.
Replies to "Anastrazole????. Hi, I am new to this site. I had stage one breast cancer. A lumpectomy..."
I am in year 2 of 5 years enduring Anastrozole. There are side effects but they seem to be very varied. Mine didn’t manifest until the second year
As I have written before - my greatest frustration was understanding, discussing and finding possibilities for dealing with side effects. There is no one size fits all here. Each side effects requires its own attention. AND it rarely involved Tylenol and Bengay but hallelujah if that worked. I worked my own issues out when assistance from those prescribing Anastrozole left me paddling my own canoe.
One by one with research and forums such as this I was able to address most of my issues. I wanted to hopefully keep this option for the 5 years prescribed and I will continue to work on that
If there is a fly in this prescribed AI ointment it might not be the chemistry of this pill, but rather in the emotional understanding of how this will effect the person taking it! The prescribers become a gateway side effect when the value of what they are offering as extensions of our life as a whole must encompass our daily life as we live it day-to-day.
Ever onward!!
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If you cannot do any aromatase inhibitors, would you consider tamoxifen? Good to read that your risk is low, but is that with assumed hormonal therapy?