@teamweber24, such a good question. And yet another good question to which the answer is not clear-cut. It depends.

I found this information in the Discussion section of a 2023 paper:
- Optimum duration of extended adjuvant endocrine therapy in patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer: protocol for a network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10124296
"Both the NCCN and ASCO guidelines did not give a robust conclusion about the optimal duration of extended adjuvant endocrine therapy. The updated ASCO clinical practice guideline recommends that patients with node-positive breast cancer receive extended adjuvant endocrine therapies for up to a total of 10 years. Any one of the following extended adjuvant endocrine therapy in the ASCO guidelines was recommended: tamoxifen for 10 years; tamoxifen for 5 years followed by aromatase inhibitors for 5 years; tamoxifen for 2–3 years followed by aromatase inhibitors for 7–8 years; aromatase inhibitors for up to a total of 10 years. However, the NCCN guidelines recommended one of the following extended adjuvant endocrine therapies for patients with hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer: tamoxifen for 2–3 years followed by 5 years of aromatase inhibitors; tamoxifen for 4.5–6.0 years followed by 5 years of aromatase inhibitors; tamoxifen for up to a total of 10 years. As a result, decisions related to extended adjuvant endocrine therapy are challenging and complex between patients and clinicians in daily clinical practice, and more evidence is needed to support the efficacy, safety, quality of life and cost-effectiveness of extended adjuvant endocrine therapy in patients with hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer.

There are still major unanswered questions with respect to who should receive extended adjuvant endocrine therapy, for what purposes and for how long in patients with hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer."

Did you discuss with your doctor why it was considered beneficial for you to stay on AIs for 17 years? And why now is a good time to discontinue? I'd be interested in learning more.