@Garnet7 ... decades ago, when pretty well everyone had radical mastectomies (no matter the size of the tumour and before radiation ...) it was 10 years of Tamoxifen (pretty well the only AI at the time.) Both my brothers’ Mother in Laws had this and are still here, 30+ years later, in their 90s!
Then, with more precise surgery being performed, with less collateral damage to the patient’s breasts - and more choices in AI meds ... the length of time for taking AIs was reduced to 5 years.
Unfortunately, up to 30% of all BC patients will have a recurrence (irrelevant of good surgery and follow up treatment) - so many Oncs are now recommending 10 years again on AIs .... a small price to pay for that little bit of added insurance, but sadly, it is still no guarantee that a recurrence WON’T occur :(
The fact is .... we all need to remain very vigilant of any changes in our bodies - lumps and bumps, or aches and pains that are just ‘different’ or ‘won’t go away’ ..... we need to demand bone scans, CTs, MRIs and PET Scans - and not accept anything less.
Take care, ladies xxx
