It certainly is an interesting one the AI's. I've received an email reply from my Oncologist on exactly all this. I did 4yrs on Tamoxifen and had a recurrence. Post chemo in 2016 was put on Arimidex for about 18 months and then switched to Aromasin due to side effects and have been on this for nearly 2 yrs. He acknowledged all the side effects and said it is a problem with many patients. He said I can stop but recommends I see the treatment out til end of 2020, that I need 5yrs on an AI for best protection. This is for me personally and due to the aggressive type of cancer I had at recurrence.
I said to him that the difficulty is the change in physicality is enormous, I can live with the fatigue and pain daily for another 18 months but Aromasin??? OMG!!! there is no way of losing weight. For me 10kg post treatment is unresponsive to any diet or exercise.
Exemestane (AROMASIN) is a steroidal Aromatase Inhibitor (AI) Your extra weight may hang around and increase after chemotherapy if you also take hormonal therapy (tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor). If your body shifts into menopause because of chemotherapy, there's a tendency to gain weight. ... It's important to know that the hormone estrogen suppresses LPL activity on fat cells.
The enzyme lipoprotein lipase (LPL)plays a major role in the metabolism and transport of lipids, and consequently is a participant in the development of obesity•One of its roles is to remove triglycerides from the blood for storage in both adipose tissue and muscle cells.••Enzyme activity may also explain why some people who lose weight regain it so easily. After weight loss and weight stabilization, adipose tissue LPL is increased and its response to meals is heightened.•People easily regain weight after having lost it because they are battling against enzymes that want to store fat. Fat storage is efficient, and fat oxidation is not•The activities of these and other proteins provide an explanation for the observation that some biological mechanism seems to set a person’s body weight or composition at a fixed point; the body will make adjustments to restore that set point if the person tries to change it.
I explained I get the science with treatment, but....do they not know the poor quality of life thereafter?? because it is a major issue! Due to my situation I dont feel Im able to stop it. Mind you I did everything possible last time and it still came back inspite of it.
They have a long way to go with these medications, and only have Letrozole now I can switch to, which I will purely because its not a steroid and I may be able to shift some weight.
M
