Input PLEASE!

Schissel

My mom has stage 4 lobular.  First diagnosed 12 years ago and had a stem cell.  Recurrence two years ago and has been on Femara.  Now it appears the femara is not working as it appears to be in her kidney and she needs to have a stint put in.  I'm looking for people with a similar diagnosis that have been on femara and now changed to something else that has worked. I'm hoping for positive stories to share with her that have worked.  She also had uterine cancer a year ago and had a hysterectomy.  Any input at all is much appreciated

nash

Hi, Schissel. You might want to post over on the Stage IV forum to get more input from the girls there, but from my experience with my Stage IV mom (who had IDC HER2+), there are other AIs she can try--Arimidex and Aromasin. She could also try Tamoxifen, of course.The drugs all work a little differently, so it's worth trying each one out.

Sometimes when HT has stopped working, estrogen can be taken orally to restimulate the hormone receptors on the cancer. Then the AI is given and sometimes starts to work again. It's something to ask the onc about.

And of course, there is always chemo to move on to if none of the HT works. From my experience with my mom, basically you just have to give things a go and see if they work or not, since everyone is so different. Even women with the exact same diagnoses don't respond the same to therapy--there are just too many variables.

Hope that helps a little. Good luck to you and your mom--I know how hard it is. My mom's disease was much harder on me than my own.