Should I take hormone therap?

Hi Joy - My stats were similar, and I did not want to do HT. My onc said it was a lot of faith to put in the oncotypedx number, so I'm taking it. Twenty one months to go, but who's counting? I don't think I could be convinced to do ten year, but we'll see. Take care!

Woohoo! Congrats!

My MO said because my Oncotype number was so low, 5, that I definitely need to do H/T. She said higher oncotype scores mean we need chemo, lower numbers mean we need H/T. She said my chances of recurrence would increase by 35% if I didn't take it. I thought H/T would be the easy part of treatment but it's been the worst part.

First I tried Letrozol and I turned into a depressed witch. It was horrible. I was angry and unhappy all the time. I told the MO that if I had to remain on Letrozol I would soon be divorced and have no friends. My husband agreed! So I was switched Exemestane. The first month was fine but into the second month I became more and more fatigued. It got to the point where I couldn't do anything without be exhausted and winded. I could barely make it up the stairs to my bedroom. I like to cook but had no energy to do it, I couldn't even do laundry, and grocery shopping was way more I could do, walking across the store wiped me out. The not flashes were bad and left me even more exhausted. I stopped taking it two weeks ago and most of the side effects have subsided but I still haven't returned to my previous energy level but it's much improved.

I am seeing my MO the end of August to discuss where we go from here. Any suggestions? Does anyone have experience with H/T meds without such terrible side effects?

thanks much

That's what I thought too, but my oncologist said otherwise. She said as much as a 5 oncotype score said I didn't need chemo it said just as strongly that I did need H/T. She said the low score made it all the more necessary that I remain on hormones. But who knows? Maybe she's wrong.

What happens if I can't take H/T? At this point I don't want to take it but she said my odds of a recurrence would rise by 30 to 35%. Is that true? Or is my MO wrong about that too?

Hi Neen - My onc was adament about me taking HT with my oncotype of 3. My recurrence rate is 4% or it would approximately double to 8% if I didn't take it. Still my onc said that was a lot of faith to put in that one number if I decided not to take it.I did tamoxifen for two years, then had a ooph and did AIs for nine months. So far I've tried two and both Femara and Arimidex have been too hard to take. I may or may not try Aromisin. Right now I am back on Tamoxifen. It is a lot easier for me, and I can slog it out for 21 more months.

Hi. Hope your are felling well. I know it is scary to consider taking a medication which can has side effects and one that you may not believe you really need. Antihormone therapy is a proven treatment that absolutely saves women from recurrence, a new primary in the opposite breast and death. Studies initially suggested that 5 years was adequate but new information definitively proves that 10 years is even better in preventing recurrence or the development of metastatic disease. Not all women need 10 years, but I suggest that the data is so strong regarding the benefit of tamoxifen (for premenopausal women and postmenopausal women who cannot tolerate aromatase inhibitors such as Arimidex, Femara or Aromasin) and aromatase inhibitors despite the side effects (generally tolerable) that I absolutely recommend you try the drug recommended by your oncologist. The pills are taken daily so in the rare situation in which the patient cannot tolerate the drug, just stopping it will relieve all the side effects immediately. And there are nonhormone ways to treat some of the side effects including hot flashes, vaginal dryness and osteoporosis.The vast majority of patients have minimal or no problems with the drugs and the benefit is worth it. No one wants to deal with a recurrence of breast cancer. Good luck and take care.

Thank you. I was wondering if anyone else felt as I do. Just still so new and so scared. I want to make good decitions for me and my love ones, but QOL is huge in all of our lives.

regards, julia.

Thanks dsgirl....always encouraging to hear from long term survivors. Continued good health!