I’m keen to hear from anyone who has a similar breast cancer to me and their decision re taking hormone blockers. I’m 73 years old, and diagnosed with ER+, HER2-, 8mm invasive ductal tumour with no lymph node involvement. I chose to have a mastectomy primarily to avoid radio therapy and I’m not required to have chemo.Are there any research studies on women in my category of cancer and the risk of recurrence with/without hormone therapy?
Hi I am 63 and had hormone positive cancer (5.5cm) and had a mastectomy with radiotherapy .No lymph node involvement so no chemo. My oncologist recommended Letrazole for 5 years and I am almost 12 months on it with minimal side effects. A lot of women write about side effects but everyone is different so if your oncologist recommends Letrazole ( or one if the other two AIs) why not give it a go and see if you do actually get side effects? Your oncologist should be able to give you the pros and cons of whether this drug is worthwhile for you and even though there are many studies of the benefits of these drugs to prevent recurrence it’s always an individual choice having regard to the individual medical advice. Hope that helps.
Hi @PYM - sorry to see you join the club that no-one wants to join .... well done on getting thru your surgery & hope all is going well. Feel free to tell us a bit more about yourself. How long ago was your surgery?
You can add your Town/City to your profile too, then members who live in the area may be able to point you to specific services that may be available to you ....
I am 68 (64 when diagnosed) and mine was ILC (invasive Lobular Cancer) which is a really sneak one (aren't they all tho!!) and it was also hormone positive, so I'm 4 years down the track on the Hormone Suppressing tablets!
The main reason for taking the AIs (Aromatase Inhibitors) is that these cancers actually 'feed' off the hormones (ie the tumours grow when they can access specific hormones, more often than not, oestrogen & progesterone) - so those hormones in your body aren't doing you any favours .. the AIs reduce/block or stop the production of those hormones, lessening the chance of recurrence.
This chart below gives a bit of an explanation of the various types of Hormone Suppressants & how they work: The first column is the Name of the meds (generic name and original) then AI vs SERM vs ERD ....
Your oncologist should give you a 'rating' depending on your pathology results, age & other considerations, as to the likely % chance of recurrence ..... If they haven't done that, you should ask for it to be done. Sometimes, it is only a 2-4% likelihood of recurrence .... but if you DIDN'T have the tablets & DO get a recurrence - it can be upsetting to ask yourself 'what if' ......
As @Julez1958 says - in the end it is your personal choice ... and not everyone gets the bad side effects .... I'm on my 3rd AI now & am going quite well on it.
All the best with your deliberations ..... take care xx
Hi I am 63 and had hormone positive cancer (5.5cm) and had a mastectomy with radiotherapy .No lymph node involvement so no chemo. My oncologist recommended Letrazole for 5 years and I am almost 12 months on it with minimal side effects. A lot of women write about side effects but everyone is different so if your oncologist recommends Letrazole ( or one if the other two AIs) why not give it a go and see if you do actually get side effects? Your oncologist should be able to give you the pros and cons of whether this drug is worthwhile for you and even though there are many studies of the benefits of these drugs to prevent recurrence it’s always an individual choice having regard to the individual medical advice. Hope that helps.
