Starting Chemo October 2009

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  • micheleboots
    micheleboots Member Posts: 1,993
    edited May 2013

    Mary, I will get the Zoladex shots for a few months until they can get me in for removal.  It sucks to be here again, but I am one tough cookie. 

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  • Carrol2
    Carrol2 Member Posts: 2,903
    edited May 2013

    MICHELEBOOTS  I love that you are so strong it is an inspiration. Thanks for teh tip on the brikenstocks. I actually love the orthaheel shoes I got and in the winter they had boots. Sometimes the birkenstiocks are a little too casual. I also found that if I wear a heel some days for a few hours it helps. But the floor in the store I work in is slate tile so killer on feet. I did get some great sneakers for working out by Brooks. They fitted me at Dicks sporting goods and I was wearing the wrong size so duh that helped lol.

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  • Piffken
    Piffken Member Posts: 91
    edited May 2013

    No problem micheleboots. Yes, I went to the Femara thread hoping to get some feedback on other ladies' experiences. Not sure if I want to switch back to Tamoxifen because that made memiserable, too. Just in a different way.

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  • Piffken
    Piffken Member Posts: 91
    edited May 2013

    Carrol2,

    I know I was counting the days until Icouldmake the switch from Tamoxifen to Femara but am now considering switching back. For me, the SE's are worse on Femara than Tamoxifen although entirely different. The Onco said it would not be a problem to switch back, she did say the Femara was better but only miniscule. Both are excellent drugs and Femara does not have Tamoxifen by much. So, I guess it is a personal choice for you. Why don't you give it a try and switch back to Tamoxifen if SE's are worse. Good luck.

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  • Piffken
    Piffken Member Posts: 91
    edited May 2013

    maryNY,

    So glad to see you still come around from time to time. I haven't been here in a whilemyself but that's what I appreciate so much about this forum. You can not check in for months at a time but when a new question comes up, everyone is right there to  share their experiences and tips. It is really great to have this forum.

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  • MaryNY
    MaryNY Member Posts: 1,584
    edited May 2013

    Piffken: Has your doctor considered switching you from Femara to one of the other aromatase inhibitors -- Arimidex or Aromasin? I was on Tamoxifen for two years and then switched to Aromasin last year as I was officially in menopause. At first my hot flashes were worse than on Tamoxifen and I also had a lot of aches and pains. The hot flashes have settled down now and either the aches and pains are much better or I just work through it. I put on over 30 pounds while on tamoxifen. At least now I've stopped gaining weight but haven't been able to lose any.

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  • Piffken
    Piffken Member Posts: 91
    edited May 2013

    MaryNY,

    It is so nice to see you are still around, you were one of the first people I met in this forum. No, my Onco has notmentioned the other names,only Tamoxifen and Femara. I am in the same boat, I gained a lot of weight as well and can't seem to shed it. Very frustrating. I will definitely discuss the other options with her but if they don't apply to me, I think I will grudgingly switch back to Tamoxifen, the swollen feet are just too bad for me. And to mke matters worse, we live in Florida, so the summer heat and humidity are going to make it even worse. I'll keep you posted what happens. How is everything on your end? 

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  • MaryNY
    MaryNY Member Posts: 1,584
    edited May 2013

    Hi Piffken: Everything is fine with me. I'm doing better on the Aromasin than on Tamoxifen. I would definitely ask your onc about possibly trying a different aromatase inhibitor (AI) as it seems you are miserable on Femara and as you say the summer is not going to be kind to you. The three AIs are:

    • Arimidex (chemical name: anastrozole)
    • Aromasin (chemical name: exemestane)
    • Femara (chemical name: letrozole)

    When my onc switched me to Aromasin, I was horrified to discover the cost and was going to tell her I couldn't afford until I discovered that Pfizer has a program to assist those who don't have prescription drug coverage and I qualifed under their income guidelines so that's one less thing to worry about. Maybe it's because of cost that it seems to be prescribed less than the others. Even the generic version is expensive.

    I really need to tackle my weight gain as I know it's a risk factor for recurrence as well as many other bad stuff.

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  • feistybluegecko
    feistybluegecko Member Posts: 133
    edited July 2013

    Hello from far away from me too.

    I don't visit here too often now, and am generally doing well.  The prompt for me has been side effects which are worsening since I moved from Tamoxifen (after pulmonary embolism a year ago) to Femara.  Knees, elbows and hands are increasingly painful and I am finding my mobility is really being affected now.

    I see I am not alone there :(

    How is everyone else doing?

    Philippa

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  • micheleboots
    micheleboots Member Posts: 1,993
    edited July 2013

    Philippa, welcome back.  

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  • feistybluegecko
    feistybluegecko Member Posts: 133
    edited July 2013

    Thanks Michele - I have been catching up with everyone and sorry to hear that cancer has been rearing its ugly head.  Big hugs to you, and good luck.  This is some great community and solidarity we have here, that we can pick up so easily with each other.

    Take care - warm wishes to everyone from rainy Yangon - we are right in the middle of monsoon here and this year it is a really wet one!!

    Philippa

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  • micheleboots
    micheleboots Member Posts: 1,993
    edited July 2013

    It's wet here too.  Some days it feels like a monsoon.  It is not like our normal summers.

    My clinical trial nurse told me today that my cancer is stable.  At least it's not getting bigger.  I think it will take a bit to see a difference.

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