Wanting to stop anastrozole, I'm at the end of my rope

I'm almost at the end of radiation. 1cm tumor, no lymph nodes removed during my lumpectomy. I am er and pr positive, and 70 years old. I have decided NOT to take any pill. I know that decision is not a popular one...Anyone else decide against on of these pills??

I can very much relate to the posts on this thread. I'm on Letrozole/ Ibrance and I think most of my side effects are from the Letrozole because they persist even if I take a two week break from the Ibrance: extreme fatigue along with insomnia and disrupted sleep, nausea, horrible joint pain especially when I am trying to get relief by lying down, headaches, severe depression and anxiety, constipation and when I fix that with medications it often veers into diarrhea, horrible problems with dryness, whether it is my eyes, vagina, or rectal area. I go for a walk and return with a bloody rectum from the dry tissues rubbing and abrading (sorry for being so graphic.) I'm a mess and I can hardly stand it.

And my oncologist is so so dismissive. At my last appointment with her a couple of weeks ago, she was so dismissive of my pain, my severe constipation problems, and the fact that my vaginal tissue is inflamed and itchy, dry but also with a smelly discharge---she said I should see my family doctor! Like my family doctor is going to know anything about how to address side effects from cancer drugs. I hate my cancer centre so much but in Ontario, the cancer centre you go to is determined by your geographic catchment area, and I can't switch centres (i"ve tried.), unless I move.

I had one day of blessed relief from the pain when I gave in and took a Tylenol with Codeine, but that causes me instant constipation. The first time around when I had Stage II cancer the doctors had no problem prescribing hydrocodone, and now the opioids have such a bad name and reputation, no doc has even offered me a prescription. My first go round with cancer decades ago I can honestly say was pain-free, and that was because of the hydrocodone. What I wish the medical profession realized is that not everyone gets addicted. I was on hydrocodone for months at a time and I never got addicted.

I'm in despair and feel like I'm talking to a blank wall with my oncologist, and she's already my second oncologist at the same center, after I asked to be switched. Now I'm thinking it's not the individual oncologists that are the problem but the treatment approach at my cancer centre, or maybe the treatment approach in my province.

thanks so much dollydeb---I printed your post out, and will run it by my onc. If she's not willing or interested in addressing side effects that I am having, there is supposed to be some kind of "Symptom Management" team at my Cancer Centre, that helps patients with things like pain, nausea, and other side effects, maybe they'll help. I do think it's very unprofessional of my onc to just tell me to see my family doc. The problems with my tissues are totally related to the cancer medication treatments and should be treated seriously by my oncology team, not a family practitioner. Today I dabbed some avocado oil on tissues that became sore and abraded after my walk--the frigid cold outside temps make it worse----not very scientific but I don't think it's going to hurt anything lol

PKWGA...so sorry you are having serious side effects of the aromatase inhibitors. IMO docs should be more transparent about the potential side effects, especially the permanent ones. We need to make informed decisions about our treatments. The only way to do that is to gather as much information as possible and come to our own conclusions. Good luck to all navigating this complicated disease.

Hi everyone...I've said many times that my pet peeve is docs denying side effects of anti hormone treatment. I think they actually believe that if its not discussed it won't happen! As if its all in our heads! My MO at a major NYC university hospital did that to me. When I asked what the side effects were of aromatase inhibitors she actually told me there are none! Looking back I think that was the beginning of me looking into not taking them. Maybe if they were more upfront and willing to work with us than the compliance rate would be higher! Of course, I'm not saying they are all guilty of this, but it is a common theme on this forum. I also agree that it is the responsibility of the doc prescribing the drug to be transparent about its side effects, especially the serious ones and the permanent ones. We need to speak up for better treatment options. A 40-50 percent compliance rate is just way too high to be an effective treatment!