Has anyone taken Arimidex along with the Fulvestrant injections?

Hi @sailo25, I'm tagging @keepmoving2 as I believe she has experience with both Arimidex (anastrozole) and Faslodex (fulvestrant).

Sailo, how are you doing on both medications?

Good morning @sailo25. Welcome to the best team that no one wants to be on. Colleen has a great memory. I was on Arimidex for 18 mos, cancer came back & now on Fulvestrant for almost 4 years. I was not on both at same time but I know that can be another method of treatment. Happy to share. How are you doing? Feel free to use this thread or send me a private message.

I’m doing fine. Thank you for asking. Next week I’m scheduled for a CT Simulation to get me ready for radiation of 20 treatments. I’ve never had radiation. Have you? If so, how was your experience?I’m hoping that during those treatments I will still have the energy to do the things I normally do.

I was taken off Arimidex & now receiving Faslodex injections.

Good morning back. CT simulation is no big deal but important for your future radiation. As you probably know, radiation is important to get any stray cells.

I did not have radiation for my breast - I was Stage 4 & at least at the time - chemo & radiation was ruled out. I did have radiation for my brain tumor. Typically breast radiation is more often but shorter duration ( I did only 5x but 20 min each time).
My understanding is that there are some great things that can help with breast radiation - staying hydrated, certain creams, don’t irritate skin where it is being done, etc. They will tell you but check this forum. I can speak to planning & energy. I was fine. I scheduled radiation app’ts when it was good for me. I used the time before I started to rebound my health from surgery. I went in to it taking my vitamins, hydrated & being active already. Some say exhaustion comes after. Maybe but I had things planned & just kept moving. Asking questions like you are & thinking ahead is more than half the battle. Always took work, food, drinks, IPad etc in case things went late - they usually don’t but you never know. And wear comfy clothing!!

Hello! Had lumpectomy 2 years ago. Now stage 4 with cancer in my bones. Currently on Letrozole (sister med to anatrozole which I had been on previously) and getting flaslodex injections now. Praying this works for me! Had radiation after lumpectomy and had very little problems with it. Just use the cream prodigiously and hopefully you will have similar results! Definitely, hair loss on Letrozole - no eyelashes left, and thinning hair. I was greatful to hear from the gal who said she has been on flaslodex for 4 years. So daunting not knowing what the future holds. Prayers to all of you on your journey.

I had lumpectomy in January followed by 20 radiation treatments in March. I had no problem with the radiation. Just put cream on the affected area after treatment. I experienced no skin irritation, the area was just slightly pink but never itchy or sore. It all went much better than I had imagined. Now I'm supposed to start taking letrozole. I am very hesitant because of all the possible (probable?) side effects. I was supposed to start taking it in April, but I have been putting it off and still haven't decided. I see a new oncologist (didn't communicate well with the first one) in early July and will discuss my reservations with her. My chance of recurrence is very low.
But radiation was definitely easy for me, aside from the drudgery of going for treatment 5 days a week, of course.
Sending much support to everyone on this journey.

@monkeylady, you may be interested in this discussion related to letrozole:
- Decision about letrozole https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/decision-about-letrozole/

To follow up, I met with my new oncologist (liked her VERY much), we discussed my concerns, and she prescribed tamoxifen in place of letrozole. The reasoning is that tamoxifen can be beneficial to bones (I have low grade osteopenia). And because I had a hysterectomy years ago, uterine cancer is not a concern. (Tamoxifen has been tied to uterine cancer.) I filled my prescription but I am still feeling very uneasy about taking the medication and haven't done so yet. The list of side effects is still pretty long. My gut tells me not to take it, but my fear of the cancer returning will probably override that. There is no easy choice, I guess. Sending peace support to everyone on this journey.