Take anastrozole for the rest or your life?

Was wondering how f you know if feeling tired and fatigued BEFORE any treatment etc even starts is normal when first being diagnosed with IDC?
I’m so fatigued and I have not even been to Moffitt yet to start any treatment yet I’m just totally fatigued.

The question of these tests comes up a lot. Which I always find fascinating because when I was diagnosed they didn’t exist. My last most amazing doctor, and my current less amazing doctor never ordered any either. I have zero experience with them but wish I had the opportunity.
I did however have genetic testing done, not when I was diagnosed but much later, I have PTEN cowden syndrome. So pretty much breast cancer before 40 was in the cards.
I took tamoxifen for 5 years and anastrazole for 10, since I still have the hot flashes, I should have just stayed on it the rest of my life. Then again, bone destruction and horses probably isn’t a great plan.😂
Thank you one and all for sharing your stories, what tests you had and what decisions you made.
How many of you would stay on the drug to lessen you re-occurrence risk?

I have another question? Are the people that are doing the BCI and Oncotype having genetic testing done before? I had the Oncotype test done after the second time I had BC. I was not aware of it the first time which was 2007. My score was low enough that I did not have to do chemo. After I had that test I had genetic testing done because it was a second time I had cancer. I have the CHEK2 genetic mutation. So my feeling is that neither one of those test could accurately predict anything for me. My assumption is that most of the people that are doing this testing have not had genetic testing done. So how does this work out in that case? So you think that you are doing something to relieve your anxiety and give you some peace of mind, and basically, I am wondering if we are not just a huge experiment.

So....following all active treatment (for which I used a local hospital), the time came for the "maintenance" part. My oncologist at the time (and mind you, I was 69) suggested Tamoxifen for 5 years. Pretty cookie cutter, no? That's the first time I sought a second opinion. I mean, I was way past menopause at that point. I went to an uptown cancer center and sure enough they prescribed a more nuanced appoach: finish the two years Tamoxifen, then 7-8 years of Anastrozole (which thankfully I tolerate with no problems). Zometa (bone protecting drug, not for everyone, and serious side effects which I thought were worth chancing because in some reliable studies Zometa has been shown to aid in preventing bone metastases) for 3 years, every 6 months by infusion. I would have no problem with continuing the AI when the time comes, but like I always say: every day we're still around gives them one more day to come up with something better. Some of these things you just have to try and see if they agree with you. In my mind the maintenance part of our treatment is just as important or maybe moreso than the critcal portion of our treatment. The cancer center I consult with currently says that a total of 10 years is the plan. Like you say, a lot can change for offerings by that time. I'm now 73.

You know, I really don't know what blood tests they did on me initially at the local hospital. All I remember was for the brca gene which was negative. As I said, we had to move fast, and they threw just about everything but the kitchen sink at it. Would they have done a BCI initially? I suppose that is a good question for brighter minds than mine uptown. I've had three oncologists at DF tell me that 8 total years AI would be the standard of care for me (and that's without blood work). I've been on the AI since October 2021 so I have a way to go. After this last go around I'm definitely feeling cancer diagnostic fatigue. One cancer at a time LOL!