1. < Breast Cancer

Concerned about the side effects of anastrozole

Posted by tinalove @tinalove, Jan 31, 2016

I completed all treatments for breast cancer but now I am supposed to take hormone blocker, named anastrozole. im concerned about the side effects. Has anyone here taken it and did anyone have hair loss?

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anjalima | @anjalima | Nov 11, 2022
In reply to @tenayalake86 "I had a lumpectomy and a low enough oncotype that I didn't need chemo. I have..." + (show)
@tenayalake86

I had a lumpectomy and a low enough oncotype that I didn't need chemo. I have been prescribed anastrozole, and have researched the side effects. I am most worried about the mental deterioration and memory loss side effects. I don't know the percentage of women who experience these frightening side-effects. I don't even know how I would know if my cognitive abilities and memory are being affected. It's easier to diagnose the bone loss issue if they happen and I believe there are therapies to deal with bone loss. But I don't like the idea of cognition and memory loss and it seems to be one of the delayed effects that don't happen until you've been on anastrozole for a while. I think the same is true of any AI therapy. I will be discussing this with my oncologist next month. I have not yet had any hair loss and the hot flashes are not bad. I'd get more information from your doctor if I were you. That's what I'm planning to do. Good luck.

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BC survivors often have tough decisions to make about their future health and quality of life.

I choose to take Anastrozole and I have tolerated it very well for aspects that I can observe. My primary focus is on recurrence prevention. That said I am also focused on mitigating unobservable potential side effects of bone loss with nutrition and weight bearing exercises and nutrition for possible cholesterol elevation. So far things are ok.

If your oncologist feels that AI will limit your recurrence odds I recommend that you try it before assuming that you will have negative QOLife reactions. It’s a daily oral med that can be stopped at any time if it’s intolerable. 🌸

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1 reply
Tenaya_Lake | @tenayalake86 | Nov 10, 2022

I had a lumpectomy and a low enough oncotype that I didn't need chemo. I have been prescribed anastrozole, and have researched the side effects. I am most worried about the mental deterioration and memory loss side effects. I don't know the percentage of women who experience these frightening side-effects. I don't even know how I would know if my cognitive abilities and memory are being affected. It's easier to diagnose the bone loss issue if they happen and I believe there are therapies to deal with bone loss. But I don't like the idea of cognition and memory loss and it seems to be one of the delayed effects that don't happen until you've been on anastrozole for a while. I think the same is true of any AI therapy. I will be discussing this with my oncologist next month. I have not yet had any hair loss and the hot flashes are not bad. I'd get more information from your doctor if I were you. That's what I'm planning to do. Good luck.

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1 reply
windyshores | @windyshores | Nov 10, 2022

I just hope people will give these meds a try, rather than assume quality of life will be affected, at least significantly. And I think that unless side effects are severe, it is good to give the meds a month since the body tends to adjust to hormonal meds, and the effects of estrogen deprivation will not be clear for awhile. I don't know anyone in person (as opposed to online) whose quality of life was affected by AI's.

Bones can be managed....my feeling was that cancer, if it spread, would be a lot harder to manage than bones.

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marcia115 | @marcia115 | Nov 10, 2022

I had a lumpectomy 9 years ago and had radiation, they wanted me to take a pill a different one
at that time and I said no then. now in the other breast same thing I just don't think I want the
Anastrozole, the quality of life for me. What is the infusion for that you had? My bones are very thin then
when I get off of this medicine it will be another for my bones!!!!

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moverland | @moverland | Nov 10, 2022
In reply to @marcia115 "I have surgery for my breast cancer in Dec. they wanted me to take Anastrozole for..." + (show)
@marcia115

I have surgery for my breast cancer in Dec. they wanted me to take Anastrozole for 5 years,
I said no to many side effects plus bone thinning, If I can't take radiation then I am taking
nothing, hoping I don't get it again. I will not take the meds, and quality of my life, I don't want to
get sick and the people I talked to were on it and got off, they felt so bad.

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I refused aromatase meds they first time I had breast cancer (4 yrs ago) w/lumpectomy & 3-day radiation for the same reason as you: quality of life. I have chronic pain from spine issues & ostopenia & just didn't want to risk even more pain in my life. I had a recurrance this year. This time I had lumpectomyw/3 weeks of radiation. I begrudgingly said yes & an on Letrozole since June. I had minimal side effects & after a HORRIBLE infusion reaction that lasted a week, I now have no side effects & my chronic pain has even lessened!! I never would have expected this result. So us UT worth a try? Perhaps.

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1 reply
windyshores | @windyshores | Nov 10, 2022
In reply to @marcia115 "I have surgery for my breast cancer in Dec. they wanted me to take Anastrozole for..." + (show)
@marcia115

I have surgery for my breast cancer in Dec. they wanted me to take Anastrozole for 5 years,
I said no to many side effects plus bone thinning, If I can't take radiation then I am taking
nothing, hoping I don't get it again. I will not take the meds, and quality of my life, I don't want to
get sick and the people I talked to were on it and got off, they felt so bad.

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@marcia115 would you consider trying the med? I was on an aromatase inhibitor for 5 years with few problems, and I personally know 5 women who also had few problems. I did have pretty sever osteoporosis before going on letrozole but am on Tymlos now and building back. I did not want a cancer recurrence or spread. We don't know your risk with and without meds.....

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marcia115 | @marcia115 | Nov 9, 2022

I have surgery for my breast cancer in Dec. they wanted me to take Anastrozole for 5 years,
I said no to many side effects plus bone thinning, If I can't take radiation then I am taking
nothing, hoping I don't get it again. I will not take the meds, and quality of my life, I don't want to
get sick and the people I talked to were on it and got off, they felt so bad.

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2 replies
Kristi - just starting my journey | @kware75 | Oct 24, 2022
In reply to @lisajoann "Thank you for sharing♥️ I understand completely when you speak of others with worse cancers…I sometimes..." + (show)
@lisajoann

Thank you for sharing♥️
I understand completely when you speak of others with worse cancers…I sometimes feel guilty in my thoughts that people have worse then me and why should I complain…and the truth is that if you have not been diagnosed you really cannot understand what we go through on a daily basis.
I pray they find a cure…each day we get closer🙏💓

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@lisajoann and @lcr2017 thank you both for sharing. I have been feeling guilty lately as well. I have been told that we have our own journey and should accept and embrace the way feel. I try to be mindful of this. 🍂🌾🧡

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lisajoann | @lisajoann | Oct 24, 2022
In reply to @lcr2017 "I was a teacher and my one prayer in life was to live long enough to..." + (show)
@lcr2017

I was a teacher and my one prayer in life was to live long enough to raise my 2 boys since I had many students who lost a parent. When that worked out, and then I got diagnosed, I felt that life didn’t owe me anything. I have always been able to handle the ups and downs in life, but like someone else said, coming out the other side of this, I am not the same person anymore and no one seems to get that. They think I am okay because I got through my 5 years (stage 0, stage 1, bilateral, double mastectomy). It took 8 months to realize that it was so traumatic. I accept that people don’t mean to be unkind when they tell me about another person whose cancer is “worse than mine”. Do they think I don’t know it or that there are people truly suffering and dying? Where I have been fortunate is to have managed to stay on the AI for 5 years, but Covid helped with that. And now what? Even though my recurrence probability is low, once you are off the meds, you can’t help but think it will be back and maybe you won’t realize it since I didn’t realize it the first time. One side they couldn’t feel anything, the other side they couldn’t see anything. But now I have 2 grandkids and mostly my prayer is that my son lives long enough to raise his kids and that the other will eventually have them. I treasure my time.

Do what you can to get through. I did yoga for the side effects, particularly Sarah Beth Yoga online/ YouTube because I can do it at my own pace and for the parts that hurt the most, or just some mindfulness and as few or as many times a day as I feel. It feels better when I move, but I can’t be moving all the time! Even though the reconstruction of my breasts is beautiful, they remind me every single day. I never feel like they are not there. I also did talk therapy. For me, gulping water really helped. That’s when I knew I had forgotten to keep track of my in take.

I love watching my grandkids and I take 1 part of a day at a time since my afternoon may not be as bad as my morning,etc. But my lens is truly different now. It’s really hard not be me, plus 5 years later, I am older, so it’s hard to sort it out.

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Thank you for sharing♥️
I understand completely when you speak of others with worse cancers…I sometimes feel guilty in my thoughts that people have worse then me and why should I complain…and the truth is that if you have not been diagnosed you really cannot understand what we go through on a daily basis.
I pray they find a cure…each day we get closer🙏💓

REPLY
1 reply
windyshores | @windyshores | Oct 23, 2022
In reply to @lcr2017 "I was a teacher and my one prayer in life was to live long enough to..." + (show)
@lcr2017

I was a teacher and my one prayer in life was to live long enough to raise my 2 boys since I had many students who lost a parent. When that worked out, and then I got diagnosed, I felt that life didn’t owe me anything. I have always been able to handle the ups and downs in life, but like someone else said, coming out the other side of this, I am not the same person anymore and no one seems to get that. They think I am okay because I got through my 5 years (stage 0, stage 1, bilateral, double mastectomy). It took 8 months to realize that it was so traumatic. I accept that people don’t mean to be unkind when they tell me about another person whose cancer is “worse than mine”. Do they think I don’t know it or that there are people truly suffering and dying? Where I have been fortunate is to have managed to stay on the AI for 5 years, but Covid helped with that. And now what? Even though my recurrence probability is low, once you are off the meds, you can’t help but think it will be back and maybe you won’t realize it since I didn’t realize it the first time. One side they couldn’t feel anything, the other side they couldn’t see anything. But now I have 2 grandkids and mostly my prayer is that my son lives long enough to raise his kids and that the other will eventually have them. I treasure my time.

Do what you can to get through. I did yoga for the side effects, particularly Sarah Beth Yoga online/ YouTube because I can do it at my own pace and for the parts that hurt the most, or just some mindfulness and as few or as many times a day as I feel. It feels better when I move, but I can’t be moving all the time! Even though the reconstruction of my breasts is beautiful, they remind me every single day. I never feel like they are not there. I also did talk therapy. For me, gulping water really helped. That’s when I knew I had forgotten to keep track of my in take.

I love watching my grandkids and I take 1 part of a day at a time since my afternoon may not be as bad as my morning,etc. But my lens is truly different now. It’s really hard not be me, plus 5 years later, I am older, so it’s hard to sort it out.

Jump to this post

Great post @lcr2017 . I can relate!

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