Hi!

I did chemo (Adriamycin + Cytoxan, then Taxol + Herceptin + Perjeta), and I've now done over five years of ovulation suppression/hormonal therapy (Zoladex + Aromasin -- I'm on the 7-10 year plan). I found AC chemo to be the most debilitating because it gave me chemo brain, and I had to write everything down in order to function. Taxol + Herceptin + Perjeta gave me fatigue and diarrhea, which I controlled with Imodium. Zoladex + Aromasin gave me osteoporosis (treated with Prolia), mood swings (treated with Celexa), and hot flashes.

I'd say that chemo was worse than hormonal therapy for quality of life, but at least with chemo, you know it's going to be over in a matter of months. So, you go through chemo with a fixed end-date in mind. It might suck, but it will suck and be over.

With respect to hormonal therapy, the thought that you'll be on it for years is a real drag. Even though I'm pretty far along (MO and I will decide whether to stop at year seven), it feels like forever. If you're struggling with hormonal therapy, I can imagine thinking, "No way am I going to feel this way for the next five/seven/ten years!" I'm lucky that OS + AI hasn't been too bad for me; for others, that certainly isn't the case.

Chemo was way harder for me. AC, in particular, was very hard mentally, although I later thought it could have been due to mood swings that were induced by all the steroids they give with chemo.

I've been on letrozole for a little over 2 years. I can confidently say that SE has gotten better: I have fewer hot flashes, less joint pain, although muscle pain still bugs me. On a plus side, due to being in permanent menopause I no longer have period-related migraines that I used to have. But, of course, antihormonals are no picnic. My sex life is non-existent. Some hot flashes have a very unpleasant aura when I feel lightheaded and as if I'm about to pass out. I developed lots of premature wrinkles (I was DXed at 40 and now am 43).

But, as my onc NP once put it to me, "our bodies learn to live without estrogen". Mine adapted.

Having done a few different chemo and hormone therapies, my advice would be that different drugs are very different from eachother. Not all chemos are the same, and not all hormone therapies are the same.

My personal experience was this: On chemo I had trouble with TC (Taxotere was my worst chemo experience), and an okay time on AC. I could live a fairly normal life on Xeloda. On hormone medicine I felt pretty good on Tamoxifen, I felt terrible on Aromasin, and I feel okay on Faslodex.

It's hard, and everyone has a different experience. Best wishes for your decision.

That is great news!!

Thanks for the information; I was diagnosed in Feb 2020; had the lumpectomy and they took out 9 lymph nodes they were all negative and did 20 radiation treatments and was started on endocrine therapy 4/2/2020 via a phone appointment. I have lymphedema which they said no one gets any more. The anastrozole has cause horrible night sweats and day sweats; I sweat all day and all night. I don't know if anything can be done about the night sweats; I don't know if it will even work to prevent a recurrence. Reading these blogs makes me think it is just a manner of time when it comes back.

Darlene, what you had done was the Oncotype test. It is accepted standard of care these days for guiding the chemo decision for those with ER+, HER2- cancers. Insurance usually covers the cost and only doesn't in situations where the pathology either clearly suggests that chemo is not necessary (a small non-aggressive tumor that is node negative) or clearly indicates the need for chemo (for example, a very large high grade tumor with extensive nodal involvement).

You need to be careful in drawing conclusions from reading this site. Remember that the people who hang out here and return here are those who need the support. So you will find here all the previous members who've had a recurrence, but there are many many more who were one time members but who no longer post here because they are off living their lives, with breast cancer behind them.

What was your Oncotype score? That will give an indication of your risk of recurrence and will be a lot more accurate for you than what you read about what's happened to other people.

"I have lymphedema which they said no one gets any more" Goodness, who told you that? Are you seeing a Lymphedema specialist?

As for the side effects from anastrozole, you might want to read the following thread for suggestions, or start your own thread asking for advice in dealing with night sweats from AIs:

Topic: Doing Well on Aromatase Inhibitors (AIs) https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/78/topics...

I did the same test and yes I think it was a good test and I did not need chemo either. And you are right I thought the radiation treatment was horrible; degrading and humalitating. And I only did 20 treatments which is what my insurance covered. I had read that 5-6 weeks was the recommended radiation treatment and I think I did the 4 weeks because my insurance would not cover any more. I am not sure if I could have done another week it was horrible and my breast turned red brown and was searing with pain; it got darker and darker but now is much better but I would never do it again. I have been taking the antiestrogen since 4/3/2020 and the hot flashes or just pain sweat is not any fun at all. I am either cold or hot all the time.

I haven't read the study. I wonder how one can compare a short-term treatment like chemo to a long-term treatment like AIs. Not exactly apples to apples.

I have done both and radiation too. Radiation was the most challenging for me, especially mentally. Chemo was tough but doable. I was able to continue working through both chemo and radiation taking sick days for infusions. Was my QOL impacted by radiation and chemo? Certainly. I had to take precautions not to catch infection, was weaker, had to get red cells transfusion at some point, lost hair, couldn't travel, etc. None of the things I just mentioned were considered serious side effects and in the opinion of my MO I breezed through it.

I have been on an AI for 6.5 years. No side effects apart from dryer skin and minor stiffness in the morning that could be the result of normal aging process too. I don't even think about this little pill any longer. It certainly has not impacted my QOL in a significant way. I don't consider the need to use more moisturiser and exercise more regularly as a QOL impact, especially when we are potentially talking about life itself

kathabus, I'm surprised that your insurer refused to cover your Oncotype. Oncotype is validated for 1-3 positive nodes (although not as robustly as node negative) and that shouldn't be treated as experimental. My insurer is super conservative and even they covered it. I don't recall that I even had to argue with them about it as I did with some other testing. I hope you didn't end up paying out of pocket for it!

I've done chemo twice and hormonals twice. Every one is different - studies are great for guidance, but each of us is still an individual. So I share my experience, but it doesn't mean it will be yours. Also, through my cancer experience, both my oncologist and I have discovered that I am beyond hypersensitive to drugs. I had a side effect from Herceptin she'd never seen and a side effect from Arimidex she'd never seen - and she's treated thousands of patients for more than 20 years.

Both times chemo was tough,not fun. But I saw my oncologist regularly, I had the chemo nurses for help, and everyone else expects you to experience difficulties during chemo. Being on a hormonal is totally different and for me, made chemo look like a walk in the park. While I was struggling to find my new normal after chemo, my problems only grew. However, to most people, if you're done with chemo, you should be fine. That is also what makes hormonals more challenging, I think.

The first time I took a hormonal, I was on Tamoxifen because I was premenopausal. Tamoxifen was hell, horrible side effects - I only made it 2 years.

Seventeen years later, I was diagnosed again, but this even more strongly ER/PR+ plus Her2Neu positive. So after more chemo, I started Arimidex since I'm now postmenopausal. After 3 weeks, I developed a bad cough. I stopped the drug, the cough went away, and I waited 2 months and re-started Arimidex. No cough, but one year later, I've now stopped Arimidex because I am crippled with relentless pain. I have other side effects as well, but it's the pain that's unbearable. I'm taking a drug holiday and then I'll try Aromasin.

So for me, hormonals destroy my quality of life and they're long-term, so far worse than the side effects from chemo which, fortunately, dissipated in the weeks and months after completing treatment. But again - this is MY story and I can't emphasize enough how my story is not your story. I have a friend who's been on both Tamoxifen and Arimidex with ZERO side effects.