Letrozole (Femara} vs Arimidex

[Pachira]

Hi Ladies. I hear the daffodils in Scotland are peeking through so we have Spring to look forward to. No sign of them here in Wa State but maybe I’ve just missed them. A little history is that I had a double mastectomy in 2007 with reconstruction for invasive BC. Chemo wasn’t suggested and I declined arimidex. My cancer re-occurred in Jan 2016 and I’ve been on Armidex since then. My tumor markers initially decreased but over the last year have steadily risen to 111 on ca15-3. I had an MRI of the brain and a ct scan in December 2020 and they didn’t really see progression from the bone but I’m wondering if it would be worth asking about switching to Letrozole. My onc had been talking about Ibrance but says we’ll talk again in February. I know both arimidex and Letrozole are similar but it seems there are more people on this site that are on Letrozole. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I’m 71 and my Onc recently described me as A symptomatic lol I used to feel like 90 but I think I’ve learned to live with arimidex

[blms]

I was on letrozole for 3 years without i incident and it did not bother me. I am the same age as you are so well past menopause and did not have hot flashes from the drug . It stopped working after 3 years and now I have substituted faslodex which is not a big deal for me. I am on Ibrance and currently 100 mgs without too much complaint. The 125 was brutal.

[Pachira in reply to blms]

Thank you. I guess like everyone else I’m dreading having to move to another treatment that seems harsher. Arimidex has worked for 4 years.

[blms in reply to Pachira]

TOTALLY understand that! I am praying to not have to do just that next week. I will have my scan on Monday and see the doc on Tuesday. She wanted me on IV taxol weekly in November but I said I wanted to begin with Ibrance and shots first. So here I am and we will see. I too hate this crap!

[Pachira in reply to blms]

Let me know how it goes. I’ll be saying a prayer for us both!Chris/Pachira

[Thatflowerlady in reply to blms]

Excuse me for interrupting blms , I started Taxal IV treatments 2 weeks ago and so far no major problems . ( I was so scared ) my hair will likely fall out this week or next . But other than that I feel pretty good . All the best !

[hdhonda]

What does your oncologist suggest? They usually want you to stay on a drug until it no longer works. Best wishes to you. Blessings, Hannah

[Pachira in reply to hdhonda]

He says we’ll talk in February. I’ll have my blood work done the day before so he can look at that plus the TM marker level. He has told me in the past as long as it fluctuates he’s not concerned but he seems to be concerned about a steady rise over a year.

[hurricaneheather]

mets dx in July 2015. treatment: Ibrance, Letrozole, Lupron. the body had 'side effects' difficulty with Letrozole and was switched to Anastrozole (Arimidex), at the end of 2015. the body has been tolerating treatment: NEAD since March 2016.