Concerned about the side effects of anastrozole

Welcome @cautiousoptimism.
@tinalove asked this very question a little while ago, so I moved your message to this discussion thread. View the full thread to see the great responses from @leemiller @luladavis @maureenkarras and @grandma41. It sure helps to hear from women how have been there!

@cautiousoptimism, What other side effects have you been dealing with?

It’s discouraging to hear that a drug to help your bones (Fosamax) causes joint pain. I recently started adding vitamin K2 to my daily calcium and D3 to see if that helps keep the osteopenia from progressing. I am 18 months away from my next DEXA scan.

You're right of course. We are all amazing. My diagnosis was Nov 2021.
Surgery Dec. 20/21. Radiation treatments April 2022. May was the recovery month . Then my husband died June from Pulmonary Fibrosis. I was his caregiver. The cancer and treatment was a struggle but I was never sick enough to not cook and clean and care for him.❤
Life that summer was a bit of a blur after he passed away. Looking back it is amazing how we put one foot in front of the other and keep enjoying each new day of life.

The anastrozole has thinned my hair a bit, and I get tired and breathless easily, but I have had NO pain with it. Very grateful for that.

Thank you but I am no more amazing than any other cancer survivor who pulls themselves up by the bootstraps, looks cancer life in the face and says I can do this! I call my metastisis my interruption.

You sound like an amazing woman. Thank you for sharing!❤

I was stage 2B lobular carcinoma 2.1 cm tumor with 3 lymph nodes invasive. I was 65 at the time of original diagnosis. I am now 75. I had a double mastectomy and did 4 rounds of adromyicin/cytoxin and 4 rounds of taxotere. My radiologist decided against radiation because of my age (65) and because my tumor was right on the margin of not doing it which she said was 2cm. My cancer was in the left breast and the radiologist said I could develop heart problems and possibly leukemia down the road because it was near my heart. I also did 5 years of an aromatase inhibitor. My metastisis was found accidentally when I went to the ER for a stomach bug (which cleared up with antibiotics) and the CT showed enlarged lymph nodes in the portahypatic area (near the liver but not in it) I had multiple types of scans and no other cancer was found in any major organs or bones, lungs, liver or brain. I am back on letrozole as the metastisis is also er positive. I get pet scans every three months. I never had any symptoms that my cancer had returned and am lucky it was discovered on my trip to the ER. I feel great and live my life grateful. If things change, and they very well could down the road, I will deal with it. Since my reoccurrence in 2022 I have met numerous women who are living anywhere from 5-20 years after metastasis. I am not dying from cancer I am living with it.

Did you have Oncotype done at time of diagnosis? I love your attitude and wish you the best. Also did you use the Predict Breast tool?

I was stage 2B lobular carcinoma 2.1 cm tumor with 3 lymph nodes invasive. I was 65 at the time of original diagnosis. I am now 75. I had a double mastectomy and did 4 rounds of adromyicin/cytoxin and 4 rounds of taxotere. My radiologist decided against radiation because of my age (65) and because my tumor was right on the margin of not doing it which she said was 2cm. My cancer was in the left breast and the radiologist said I could develop heart problems and possibly leukemia down the road because it was near my heart. I also did 5 years of an aromatase inhibitor. My metastisis was found accidentally when I went to the ER for a stomach bug (which cleared up with antibiotics) and the CT showed enlarged lymph nodes in the portahypatic area (near the liver but not in it) I had multiple types of scans and no other cancer was found in any major organs or bones, lungs, liver or brain. I am back on letrozole as the metastisis is also er positive. I get pet scans every three months. I never had any symptoms that my cancer had returned and am lucky it was discovered on my trip to the ER. I feel great and live my life grateful. If things change, and they very well could down the road, I will deal with it. Since my reoccurrence in 2022 I have met numerous women who are living anywhere from 5-20 years after metastasis. I am not dying from cancer I am living with it.

@cathyn your post is geared to DCIS, I assume. Those of us with grade 3 invasive cancers do tend to give serious consideration to these meds. Just to clarify different situations make for different points of view!

I was stage 2B lobular carcinoma 2.1 cm tumor with 3 lymph nodes invasive. I was 65 at the time of original diagnosis. I am now 75. I had a double mastectomy and did 4 rounds of adromyicin/cytoxin and 4 rounds of taxotere. My radiologist decided against radiation because of my age (65) and because my tumor was right on the margin of not doing it which she said was 2cm. My cancer was in the left breast and the radiologist said I could develop heart problems and possibly leukemia down the road because it was near my heart. I also did 5 years of an aromatase inhibitor. My metastisis was found accidentally when I went to the ER for a stomach bug (which cleared up with antibiotics) and the CT showed enlarged lymph nodes in the portahypatic area (near the liver but not in it) I had multiple types of scans and no other cancer was found in any major organs or bones, lungs, liver or brain. I am back on letrozole as the metastisis is also er positive. I get pet scans every three months. I never had any symptoms that my cancer had returned and am lucky it was discovered on my trip to the ER. I feel great and live my life grateful. If things change, and they very well could down the road, I will deal with it. Since my reoccurrence in 2022 I have met numerous women who are living anywhere from 5-20 years after metastasis. I am not dying from cancer I am living with it.