Arimidex if you've had a mastectomy?

Fearless_One · January 2011

Does your onc still want you on Arimidex if you have had a mast?...I am on arimidex, but I had a lumpectomy. But I am getting a prophylactic mastectomy in March, and she said she still wants me on it. Seems like recurrence would be pretty slim with a bilateral mastectomy, but just wanted to hear your experiences.

3daywalker · January 2011

Oncologist's usually stick to protocol on that one, so 5 years of Arm. for you. I jusy did 2 years Tom, then 3 years Arm now onto Femera for 5. Lucky me

karen1956 · January 2011

Fearless...I had a bilat (one side prophy)...and my Tx protocol included chemo, rads, ooph and AI's...onc told me AI's were as important for me as chemo!!!

Fearless_One · January 2011

Ok, so sounds like my onc is following the normal protocol. I don't have a problem with Arimidex, it just seemed odd that I would need it after having a BLMX, but I will stay on them.

lago · January 2011

I will be on Arimidex after my chemo. I had a BMX. It makes perfect sense to be on Als or Tamoxifen if you are hormone positive regardless of the type of surgery. This is a systemic treatment where surgery and rads are only local.

Claire_in_Seattle · January 2011

Arimidex is to prevent any nasties growing elsewhere in your body, so would be the protocol regardless of whether you had a lumpectomy or even a bilateral mastectomy.

The danger is not local recurrence but what was circulating prior to "shutting down the cancer factory". That is the reason for chemo, and also the reason for hormonal therapy.

Otherwise, they would zap (or remove) the immediate area and be done.

Fearless_One · January 2011

Are you ladies on 1 mg. as well (well, that's the Anastrozole, I don't remember for the Arimidex, my insurance makes me get the generic now).?

Marple · January 2011

I had single mast and am on arimidex. Initially for 5 years but because I had a positive node my onc is making noise about staying on it longer. I'm not sure if I will. At the very least next Nov. (I'll be 5 years then) I plan to take a break and see if all these aches go away. And yes, arimidex is 1 mg.

Fearless_One · January 2011

Yeah, I had 2 positive nodes....

otter · January 2011

Fearless, since anastrozole and Arimidex are the same thing (anastrozole is the active ingredient and the most common name for the generic version of Arimidex), the usual dose for either of them is 1 mg.

And, as per your original question,... yes. I had a left mastectomy/SNB and once my tumor was found to be ER+, there was never any question that I would be on hormonal therapy -- either tamoxifen or an AI. Since I was 5 years into natural menopause at dx, my onco recommended Arimidex. As others have said here, the main purpose of hormonal therapy is to reduce the chances of mets (a "distant recurrence") because of cells that escaped from the breast before the surgery. A secondary purpose that's important to those of us who still have one breast is to decrease the chances of a second primary in the remaining breast. Tamoxifen and the AI's help with both those risks. For most of us with ER+ tumors, hormonal therapy offers stronger protection than chemo. For me, hormonal therapy is providing a 40 to 50% decrease in the risk of mets, whereas chemo only provided a 30 to 35% decrease, compared to the risk I faced with neither of those treatments.

otter

Vane251642 · May 2017

Hi. Iam glad that you all ready go with 5 years in the arimidex. I am starting with anastrazole first and the doctor change me for letrozole because the medicine give me a lot of pain in the joints and fatigue but the second one is give me pain to. I am 43 and I want to know how I get better without stop taking the medicine. Thank you. 😊🌸

Moderators · May 2017

Hi Vane, and welcome to Breastcancer.org!

This thread has been quiet for quiet a while (since 2011), and so it's very unlikely that the members who have posted here will come back to respond to your post. We'd suggest starting a new post in the Hormonal Therapy forum, where you can ask your questions and get support. It's easy to do; just click the link to the forum, select Start a New Topic, fill out the subject and post information, and click Submit. Don't forget to Add the Topic to Favorites, so you'll get notification when someone responds to you.

We hope this helps and look forward to hearing more from you soon. Please let us know if you need further assistance!

--The Mods

Icietla · May 2017

Hola and Welcome, Vane. I have been taking Letrozole for a little over thirteen months. In my first days on it, I lost a few pills to vomiting, and I took more when I felt better after those events. I take my Letrozole in the evening. For the first several weeks, I was much more tired. Then the additional tiredness passed. For the first several weeks, I also had alternating warm flushes and chills through the nights, which made it difficult to sleep at night. I kept drinking water at my bedside, and rested with lightweight covers I could easily pull over myself or easily remove to vent away excess heat. This difficulty also passed. When I am at rest for long periods, I have some pain and stiffness along one femur; I roll over or get started walking for a bit to relieve it. I also take pain medications for some other painful conditions, so those are doubtless keeping my leg feeling better than it would feel otherwise. I still have some warm flushes between about one and three hours after my Letrozole dosing.

See, three of my initial side effects turned out to be only temporary. Do not assume that your present difficulties will continue for as long as your treatment continues. Your side effects may be temporary also, or they be temporary in a periodic way -- they may come and go over time.

I lost most of my hair in late summer, but I am not sure if it is because of the Letrozole -- there are other possible explanations for that. Recently one of my toenails split and shortly fell out, presumably from the Letrozole.

Hair thinning is a non-problem for me. Tiredness is a non-problem for me. Warm flushes are a non-problem for me. Toenail loss is a non-problem for me. The pain and stiffness along my femur is not intolerable so far.

My Oncologist requires that I also take Calcium and Vitamin D -- at least 1200 mgs. Calcium per day, and at least 800 i.u. Vitamin D per day. I take 1500 or 1800 mgs. Calcium and 1200 i.u. Vitamin D daily (either three 500-mg. or three 600-mg. Calcium tablets, each also containing 400 i.u. Vitamin D).

I am so sorry you are suffering from the medicine. I hope it will all get much better for you. Your Doctor may be able to suggest an appropriate medicine to help about your joint pain.

dtad · May 2017

Vane....please take a minute to make your stats public so we can better help you. Also if you have definitely made the decision not to take anti hormone therapy there are things you can do to lower your estrogen naturally. Please feel free to PM me if you want to talk about it more. Good luck to all.

BarredOwl · May 2017

Hi dtad:

Re: "Also if you have definitely made the decision not to take anti hormone therapy . . "

I note the conditional "if", but please note that Vane has posted in the standard therapy forum and expressly stated:

"I want to know how I get better without stop taking the medicine."

In my understanding, she is experiencing certain side effects and is requesting advice from those with relevant experience as to how to cope with or better tolerate the side effects of treatment.

BarredOwl

dtad · May 2017

So sorry. I read that wrong. I will delete my post!

BarredOwl · May 2017

Hi dtad, deleting mine as well, and bumping for more replies for Vane, re how to cope with or better tolerate the side effects of treatment (Letrozole; FEMARA).

Hi Vane: I did not take Tamoxifen or an AI, but you might consider trying the same drug from a different manufacturer. On other threads, ChiSandy noted that "drug products" from different manufacturers containing the same drug (e.g., letrozole) contain different inactive ingredients. She reported that she tolerates letrozole from some sources better than others:

". . . For one of the AIs, letrozole, the version with the fewest inactive ingredients is not the branded Novartis Femara, but Roxane. Next comes Femara, then Teva. Not surprisingly, side effects seem to be mildest with these three letrozoles, with Roxane the gentlest (and cheapest).

. . . [B]inders, coatings and fillers can contain allergens, and colors and excipients contain pigments, minerals and mineral salts to which many people are sensitive. A lot of the symptoms of these sensitivities are remarkably similar to the drug's side effects—which when added together intensify the side effects."

You may wish to ask your MO and pharmacist about trying a different version of your current drug, perhaps one with fewer inactive ingredients.

Best wishes to you,

BarredOwl

Arimidex if you've had a mastectomy?

Comments

Categories