vaginal spotting, postmenopausal, after 8 months letrozole

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Hannah1962
Hannah1962 Member Posts: 35
edited January 2020 in Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After

Hi,

Of course this happened on a Friday night (can't call doctor until Monday). I'm wondering if anyone has experience with vaginal bleeding on letrozole. I'm only guessing that letrozole could be the cause of the spotting, which is fairly bright red. I've been in menopause about five years, with no previous episodes of spotting. My bc lumpectomy was about a year ago, and I started letrozole after radiation treatment, so it has been about 8 months I've been on letrozole. Of course I will ring my gp on Monday, but I'm interested to know if anyone else has experienced spotting post bc while on the AI hormone treatment.

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  • Hannah1962
    Hannah1962 Member Posts: 35
    edited December 2019

    I just found a list of side effects for letrozole (posted for medical professionals) and it had vaginal bleeding listed as happening for 5% of patients, which makes me feel better, but I will still call my doctor on Monday morning. I'm still interested in hearing from anyone who has experienced this. Since my breast cancer surgery was on December 27 last year, I was hoping for a nice holiday season without lots of medical appointments. If you had spotting, what kinds of tests did you need? Thank you and happy holidays to everyone.

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  • Ginasknitting
    Ginasknitting Member Posts: 3
    edited December 2019

    I have just started spotting today, Saturday, at 60, on anastrozole for 4-1/2 years. I'm trying not to freak out but I'm with you, why on the weekend! I will also be on the phone Monday morning. My brain is all over the place with what ifs. Yuk

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  • farmerlucy
    farmerlucy Member Posts: 3,985
    edited December 2019

    I had a similar experience, but I had been on Tamoxifen and Letrozole. It turned out to be benign polyp. That bugger cause me a lot of angst, time and money. In the end I just asked for a hysterectomy. I should have done that years ago. I hope you get some answers soon, but in the mean time know that uterine cancer is not that common and other benign factors are more likely responsible for your symptoms.


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  • 32blue
    32blue Member Posts: 1
    edited December 2019

    I took Tamoxifen for 5 years and now Letrozole for just over a year. I had an episode of spotting for a weekend in the summer - bright red, and not heavy. An ultrasound revealed a thickened endometrial stripe and I had a biopsy of the cervical lining. Turned out to be benign and they said this is a common occurrence with the drugs. Definitely call the doctor Monday as these drugs do put us at increased risk.

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  • Hannah1962
    Hannah1962 Member Posts: 35
    edited December 2019

    Thank you everyone for the helpful replies, and good luck Gina, I hope we both get good news!

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited December 2019

    Dear 32blue,

    Welcome to the BCO community. We are grateful that you reached out to share your story with our members. We hope that you will stay connected here and both continue to share and experience the support of our community.

    The MOds

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  • Ginasknitting
    Ginasknitting Member Posts: 3
    edited December 2019

    Thank you ladies for sharing your experiences. It does help to hear them. I’ll be thinking about you to Hannah. Keep us posted and I’ll do the same

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  • Hannah1962
    Hannah1962 Member Posts: 35
    edited January 2020

    I'm returning to post the good news that my tests all came back fine. My vaginal lining is very thin and possibly the bleeding is a result of uterine atrophy on account of the blocked estrogen (AI). The bleeding stopped , but I just recently started noticing some hair loss, which is new. So I think the AI side effects might be showing up now. I just posted a reply on someone's question about hair loss on Femara.

    It is so very helpful and reassuring to be able to post our questions and read responses here. Thank you everyone!

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