Letrizol and Ibrance

pinkbombshell66

Hello. I joined in 2012 when I was newly diagnosed with breast cancer. My first diagnosis was Stage 4 with lungs, bones, and ovary mets. Today is the first time I've returned to this website. I am still filling out my profile. I am about to end my 18 month romance with Affinator and Exemestane. It became very rocky when my scans showed worsening bone and lung involvement. I'm about to start a new relationship with Letrizol and Ibrance as soon as the battle with my insurance company is over. Can anyone please share your experience with these meds. I only just found out 3 days ago. I'd like to know about the side effects and how well it has or hasn't worked for you. Thanks in advance for your replies. Best wishes to you all!

sandilee

Hi pinkbombshell,

There is some great information on the thread in the Stage IV forum on Ibrance, started by Romansma. Most of us on that thread just started the drug in the last month or so, as it's so new, so we're all learning together.

For me, there have been very few if any side effects that affect how I feel. A little tired, maybe, but nothing that is keeping me down. On the other hand, my blood counts for my first cycle were quite low, and I need to take a break from the medication in order to continue next week on the Ibrance. ( I will continue with the Letrozole througout the break.) Apparently this is quite common, and either one's body adjusts to the medication and the counts stabilize, or a lower dose is offered.

The jury is still out on how effective this combo is as far as slowing down the cancer for those of us on the board, but the trial results were excellent, so we're hopeful.

Join us over on the Ibrance (Palbociclib) 2015 thread!

Constantlyamazed

I have just finished the second course of iBrance and have been on letrazole since July. Newly diagnosed in June 2015 with IDC with mets to bone. I am not a patient person and one has to be with this treatment. It takes weeks even many months to be able to monitor its effectiveness. My side effects are fatigue, nausea and constipation. I wish you well

Moderators

Hi Constantlyamazed and welcome to Breastcancer.org,

You've found a wonderful Community here, full of advice, experience, and support. However, this thread has been quiet since May.

You may want to check in with the amazing members of our Stage IV forum to share your experiences with ibrance there; we're sure they have lots of advice on dealing with these nasty side effects!

We hope this helps! Please continue to let us know how you're doing!

--The Mods