Stage III women: instead of AI chosen "natural" treatment?

Karinsart

Thanks for sharing my blog Nan. The direct link to that post is Beyond Words: Ascension 

I was only stage one, but after trying Tamoxifen and being unable to tolerate the side effects, my oncologist insisted on Arimidex and Lupron injections, because I was still premenopausal, though it had been a year since my last period.  The Lupron caused me to vomit 5 days out of 7 - I felt worse than when on chemo.  The arimidex had my hands swollen and aching, my joints stiff and hurting - and all I wanted to do was sleep.  I couldn't eat, I couldn't exercise, I couldn't function.  No quality of life what so ever.  My oncologist told me this treatment was more important than the chemo had been.  But researching and number crunching, and pushing her further told me that it might improve my chances of staving off a recurrence approximately 4% more than if I did nothing.  I believe eating well and exercising and loving my life will give me way better chances than that!! and with Arimidex, I hated waking up in the morning.

It's so difficult making these decisions when we have so many different voices coming at us with varying opinions, and when we are talking about what could potentially be a life and death decision.  For myself it became about a quality of life decision.  But I must admit, this helped me feel good about abandoning the drugs and taking a more holistic route. Healing Cancer from the Inside Out

Wishing you all the very best on your healing journey. 

Yazmin

And here is Dr. Eric Winer on risk reduction benefits from Aromatase Inhibitors. Some of Dr. Winer's patients are regulars on this site, one of the most remarkable ones being RobinWendy.

 

Dr. Eric Winer is no lightweight in oncology, and regularly makes important contribution at the SABCS. 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX2hjjtqGZU&feature=related 

Member_of_the_Club

I am fairly certain that Eric Weiner still prescribes AIs, and i think the fact that they show a reduction in recurrence rates over tamoxifen, (a very slight reduction) which shows a large reduction over nothing, means that they are effective.  BUT two years is a lot to suffer from reduced QOL and i think you should talk to your onc about conditional risk and going off the AIs.  Its possible that you've already gotten most of the benefit.

M360

Emma, I too am looking for a better QOL.  My doctors wanted me on Tamoxifen, but I have a history of throwing clots.  I was always thin (size 2), but gained weight on all the medication I have been given during my battle, when I was in my 20's I had osteoporosis and took Calitonin injections for over 5 years.   I tried Femara but I got side effects.  I was hoping I didn't have them but did.  I'm very high ER & PR positive 98.9%.  I'm told it's from my pituitary and thyroid.  I became hypothyroid during treatment, but improving and cutting back on meds because levels are starting to get back to normal on their own. I want to find a natural treatment because I have no other choice.  My doctors told me another lymph gland or tumor and I'm stage IV and it's so rapid for me that chemo and surgery would be out of the question.  That was a shock.  When given numbers (which I think are different for everyone) my recurrence was from 19% without AI's for 5 years compared to 24% recurrence if I took AI's for five years.  Now that I can't take the Femara my Onc said she doesn't feel comfortable with me taking anything else.  I tried, but liver levels, bone density changed way too much to stay on them.  If you find a natural way, I'm open to try.