My experience of this aspect of treatment is that you need to have good information about your own particular situation and discuss side effects with your oncologist. I will have been on either Tamoxifen or Femara for 7 years in November this year.
I have had excellent quality of life on Tamoxifen and coped well for most of my 3 years and 3 months on Femara. I have also made many healthy lifestyle changes over the last 7 years. I think some of those may have helped to reduce the impact and number of side effects. But I know that those changes alone would not be enough for me to feel I was doing everything I could to reduce my chance of recurrence.
My experience also seemed to be that side effects changed over time on these medications. It took time for my body to adjust to the sudden lack of estrogen (I was 47 at diagnosis) and then I managed pretty well. Femara seemed to be too much for my body to manage after 3 years on it but my oncologist was very supportive and changed me back to Tamoxifen. For me, I think this gives me a good quality of life and better general health.
I can understand that everyone has a different personal situation and that these medications can have serious side effects for some. Making informed decisions with good support from your oncologist is important for peace of mind. You cannot base decisions on other people’s experiences.
