Can't decide on treatment.
Hi. I've only posted a couple of times and am finding it hard to post this. I'm a 48 yo mum of three. I was diagnosed in October and have had three surgeries, the last one on 5 December which was a ...
Forum Discussion
Hi Roxette
While it's good to have surgery behind you, it's hard to start a new year with this kind of decision. No lymph node involvement is good. Most people find the prospect of chemo very scary, especially when the overall value may seem very low. Menopause and AI however are factors that, like chemo, are hard to evaluate as everyone's experience differs in some way.
Some questions may help your thinking:
* negative side effects of AI can be bone thinning leading to osteoporosis. Have you had a bone density test? If your bone density is good, this may not be a major issue.
* another one is vaginal dryness or atrophy. May range from nuisance to a distinct change in your sex life.
* joint pain and menopause-like symptoms are common (although I have been on Femara five years and never had either). I was post menopausal when diagnosed, and was virtually symptom free during menopause anyway, so can't comment much on that.
* if your oncologist is considering chemo, what specific therapy? Ask for some written information on the most likely regimen. However you won't get all of the side effects noted, and may get few. Nausea and fatigue are common, but some people get neither. You may also feel awful.
* how long a course of chemo?
* while no-one can make guarantees about the duration of side effects, when a course of chemo is done, it's done. Tamoxifen is considered 5 years good, ten years better and some recent research is beginning to go that way with Femara.
Best of luck with whatever decision you make, but you are ultimately the best judge of what's right for you, at this time.
While it's good to have surgery behind you, it's hard to start a new year with this kind of decision. No lymph node involvement is good. Most people find the prospect of chemo very scary, especially when the overall value may seem very low. Menopause and AI however are factors that, like chemo, are hard to evaluate as everyone's experience differs in some way.
Some questions may help your thinking:
* negative side effects of AI can be bone thinning leading to osteoporosis. Have you had a bone density test? If your bone density is good, this may not be a major issue.
* another one is vaginal dryness or atrophy. May range from nuisance to a distinct change in your sex life.
* joint pain and menopause-like symptoms are common (although I have been on Femara five years and never had either). I was post menopausal when diagnosed, and was virtually symptom free during menopause anyway, so can't comment much on that.
* if your oncologist is considering chemo, what specific therapy? Ask for some written information on the most likely regimen. However you won't get all of the side effects noted, and may get few. Nausea and fatigue are common, but some people get neither. You may also feel awful.
* how long a course of chemo?
* while no-one can make guarantees about the duration of side effects, when a course of chemo is done, it's done. Tamoxifen is considered 5 years good, ten years better and some recent research is beginning to go that way with Femara.
Best of luck with whatever decision you make, but you are ultimately the best judge of what's right for you, at this time.