Ibrance - side effects and life expectancy

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Anonymous
Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
edited June 2020 in Stage IV/Metastatic Breast Cancer ONLY
Ibrance - side effects and life expectancy
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  • Mia_milan
    Mia_milan Member Posts: 4
    edited June 2020

    Hello,

    I am new to this forum. I have just been diagnosed with MBC to the liver and have been taking IBrance 125mg and Letrozole for 2 months. I have no major side effects, except for slight fatigue.

    Is this likely to change as I continue taking the medication? do symptoms usually appear later on?
    If the medication will be successful in preventing the cancer from spreading, how long is this likely to last?

    I am afraid of what to expect for the future and was not comfortable asking my oncologist all these questions.

    Thank you for your support.

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited June 2020

    Dear Mia_milan,

    Sending you a big warm welcome to our caring and compassionate community. We're so sorry that your circumstances brought you here but there is a wealth of information and support on the boards from others who 'get it'.

    We're glad to see that you've posted out to the community your questions and concerns regarding Ibrance and others should be along soon to offer their experiences and knowledge.

    You may also find the links below helpful. The first is a well established thread on all things Ibrance that you might like to post in and get to know others. As well as this, we have some research findings on Ibrance that you might like to read up on.

    Topic: Ibrance (Palbociclib)

    Research news on Ibrance

    We hope this helps!

    Sending our warmest regards to you,

    The Moderators.

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  • Cure-ious
    Cure-ious Member Posts: 2,626
    edited June 2020

    Hi Mia,

    For me, I had much more fatigue at the beginning, but then my body somehow adjusted to it, and later months were much better.

    I did have low neutrophil counts many cycles when i was on Ibrance at the 125mg dose, but then my doctor put me on a lower 100mg dose and I noticed significantly less fatigue, so it was there even as it didn't bother me much. Other than thinning hair no other side effects, and nothing comes up at later times. There are side effects from the anti-estrogens, too, joint aches for example.

    CDK4,6 inhibitors in trials were shown to work on average for 2 years ( but half of patients go on longer, and some go on very much longer), and if you have cancer only in the bone then the average is 3 years. I am one of those, and now at five years.

    As for life expectancy, nobody gets to know, and the doctors certainly don't know. The whole point now is to enjoy each day and trust/hope that the medical system will keep coming up with strong treatments that allow us a good quality of life.

    Please join us on the Ibrance thread!

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  • cowgal
    cowgal Member Posts: 833
    edited June 2020

    Hi Mia,

    I am just in the first week of my 5th cycle of Ibrance. I have noticed that cycle to cycle I don't get the same side effects and sometimes I have a hard time knowing whether to blame the Ibrance, the Faslodex or the XGEVA for some of them. Please come join on us on the Ibrance thread that the moderators linked to. I think that you will find a lot of support and good information to help you and also some tips for dealing with some of the side effects you may experience.

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  • Spookiesmom
    Spookiesmom Member Posts: 9,568
    edited June 2020

    And the se may only last one cycle, and be gone!! If a se is really awful, always call your MO, s/he can help.

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  • BlueGirlRedState
    BlueGirlRedState Member Posts: 1,031
    edited June 2020

    Mia Mian - I'm on cycle 9 of Ibrance combined with Arimidex (AI). This is the 3rd time BC, twice on left, and now on right. Oncologist thinks each is a new occurence rather than recurrence. The good news is , that Ibrance seems to be working. Tumor shrunk from 2.3 cm in Sept 2019 to 7 mm in April. SEs - fatigue almost immediately. Blood counts way down. Sometimes hard to get up. I'm an active person, and so far the fatigue has not stopped me, but sometimes I really have to push myself. Sometimes mouth sores, but regular salt water gargle seems to keep them at bay.

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  • Mia_milan
    Mia_milan Member Posts: 4
    edited June 2020

    Thank you very much for your feedback. This is all very encouraging to me.
    Two months ago I thought i had been given a death sentence. Now I feel there is hope.

    I will be following your advice and joining the ibrance thread.

    Thanks again for your support,
    Mia


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