FEMARA
Comments
-
Nice to read so many responses, so much good info out here. I think it's helpful to acknowledge the helpfulness of this drug, it puts it in prospective. Just learned the other day that a coworker had her breast cancer back after two years. She is ER- so there was nothing for her to take post chemo and radiation. I find it interesting to hear the statistical side of Femaras effectiveness. From the beginning of this cancer venture I carefully weighed options and looked at the survival stats. From my info. surgery was the most important factor, then radiation, chemo, and then the little yellow pill. Joni, I'm curious what you're being told % wise about Femara. Congrats on finishing radiation. I had major burning with it last month but am happy to say it cleared up very quickly. Apple, nice to see you on this site (Feb. Fury), hope you're feeling good! Gauleyeagle hope you got some good results back. Looks like you're living in the right place if one has to get the big C. That's wonderful that you get such great medical coverage. Kerry_lamb, thanks for the words of support about the emotional side of cancer. Hope all have a great weekend.
0 -
Suzanne, My onc told me Thursday that the oncotype test showed 42% chance of recurrence in 5 years with no treatment except lumpectomy. Then she said the chemo & the radiation dropped that recurrence factor down to around 30% chance recurrence, but with the AI it would drop another 56% from that 30%-my math maybe bad but I figure that takes it to about 12% or so-I'm only 55 & have a 15 year old, I have to stick around as long as possible, so I'm taking the 1st pill Monday, still reluctantly, but hopefully with no regrets. Joni
0 -
Joni, sounds like a good plan to take the Femara. It's amazing to me the different statistics we get. I'm here in Albany, NY and I went down to Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital for a second opinion after I had my lumpectomy. The oncologist down there told me I had an 80% chance of being cured by having the surgery alone. That sounded good until I flipped it around to saying it was a 1 in 5 chance of it coming back. He said add on the chemo and radiation and it drops the risk even greater. My radiation oncologist recently broke it down for me like this. He said I had a1/2% chance of getting cancer on my noncancer breast the first year which increases by an additional 1/2% each year. Meaning 1/2 % year one, 1% year two and so on. He said there was a 7% chance of return on my cancered breast, and finally a 10-15% chance of metastic cancer occurring. I'm not sure what the Femara does beyond that but I guess suppressing estrogen is a good thing in our cases. I'm going to my reg. onc tomorrow (oops today, I see it's after midnight now) so I think I'll chat up the stat thing with him. Enjoy that 15 year old. I'm 53 and have an 18 and 22 year old.
0 -
So suzanne-any new stats from from today's visit? It just blows me away how facts/figures can be manipulated, switched, etc. to render a result someone else wants you to hear or believe?
Joni
0 -
Make sure when your discussing % your clear about absolute vs relative risk reduction
0 -
Mabels, how does that exactly differ or break down when comparing absolute to relative risk reduction. My onc ball parked the effectiveness of the Femara to a 3% reduction in a reoccurance. He stressed that this whole treatment is to cure the cancer not just treat it. He mentioned that they have a clinical trial going on now with women continuing on Femara for an additonal 5 years for a total of 10 years treatment. Wow!
0 -
Has anyone stayed on femara longer than 5 yrs. I have few se effects now but as long as it keeps the cancer from returning i will stay on it as long as needed.
Just thought i would ask I know one of the se of femara is it could raise cholesterol. Has anyone
had this problem and did the cholesterol raise very high
0 -
Nanna - I've been on femara 31/2 yrs and it has raised my cholesteral to the point I now take Crestor. I don't plan to stay on it for more than 5 years because of the joint pain.
0 -
Suzmarks: I guess the results of my sonogram were good--I still have the blood clot in my neck but it isn't any bigger. So this means I will be on the fragmin for at least another few months. I really am sick of the shots in the stomach. Received paperwork from my onc to get another pet scan the end of december. I am anxious to see if the femara has started to work on my cancer! I have been on it since July of this year, so it might be too soon to see any results. So far, my side effects have been minimal and I thank the good Lord for this. I have lymphedema in my left arm--didn't have until this round with cancer. Onc prescribed a lymph press for me and it is wonderful. It is a sleeve that fits my entire arm-up past the top of my arm. I use it only twice a day for 40 min. and these are the fastest minutes of the day!!
Love and prayers to everyone, gauleyeagle
0 -
Hi, wonder if anyone taking femara has pain similar to sciatica, I am taking femara for 2 years now and since august I have pain in my coccyx, lower back, left hip radiating to my left leg. I have seen my family doctor which ordered an MRI without contrast and everything is normal, then I saw my radiation oncologist who ordered a bone scan and everything is normal. yesterday I saw my medical oncologist and she said that with the bone scan and mri being normal there is no reason to do more test and if it would be cancer it would show up on either test eventhought the mri was done without contrast and now she wants me to stop taking femara for two weeks to see if the pain goes away. So now I am scared to stop femara as I dont think this is the cause of my pain. should I stop taking femara like my oncolongist said as I am scared that my cancer return and is anyone got similar pain while on femara.
Sig
0 -
Sig - Funny you should mention your sciatic pain. I've only been on Femara for a month, but in the last week I've had 2 bouts of sciatic pain in my left hip & leg. It was excruciating, but thank goodness only lasted for a day each time. I loaded up on pain meds & ibuprofen each day. It really scared me when it first started, because I've never had it in my left side before. I've had 5 back surgeries, after the sciatic nerve stayed compressed in my right leg, with no relief from PT or epidurals after 6 months each time. The last 2 surgeries were 2 months apart (a myelogram showed that some bone fragments had broken off after the first surgery), & the pain was so excruciating for the following 2 years that I was on methadone for the chronic pain. It was the worst time of my life, but the Methadone kept me pretty much catatonic. After 2 years, I woke up one morning to find the pain had finally subsided. Anyway, I'm paranoid now whenever any kind of sciatic pain crops up. Hopefully, these 2 bouts this week will be all I will experience. If it continues, I plan to call the med onc. I'm sure he'll say it's not the Femara, but I can't help but blame it because I haven't done anything to cause it. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed. Hope you will find some relief soon!0
-
I have been on femara now for almost 2 years and this is weird but I went to the emergency room Sunday because of pain in hip and down left leg and it was horrible pain. It started on Friday and I could not pick up and bend the leg or anything. I was given demerol and phenegren in a shot and pain pills to bring home. Ruled out blood clot and said they thought it was sciatic nerve pain....HMMMMMM I guess it could be the femara never had this before. Have all the joints messed up bad though and some days feel like I cannot walk....jude14
0 -
wblibrary, Sorry it's taken a little while to get back you but I decided to wait a little while and see how the arimidex goes. The first week was hellish but this week not too bad. I think maybe the first week was bad as I still had the Femara working in my body, kind of a cross over period. I am finding the hot flashes much worse, more severe and frequent. I am finding one knee is swelling and I ache on an evening much more than during the day, my sleep is being disturbed even though I take a sleep med nightly. I will give this med a try for a while though and see how it goes.
We found a suspicious lump in my treated breast/chest which I had an ultrasound for last Friday but no news yet - they say no news is good news right? I have had some pains in that armpit which they also ultrasounded a few weeks ago as one tech saw something but on the follow up ultrasound nothing. The onc said she wants to keep an eye on it so not sure if all was completely clear or not. I laughed with a friend last night about having almost monthly ultrasounds?! I sure hope this journey gets easier as time goes on. I had hoped that once the big gun treatments were over everything would become a piece of cake but I guess not, if anything I think this period is far worse as we are always seconding guessing our bodies. Does anyone else have a feeling that the C is in there somewhere and trying to give us early warning signs, but am I just becoming paranoid? I never used to be like this but then I hadn't had cancer. I think I would prefer to go ever few months and have a top of chemo treatment, it was easier to manage than the AIs, you knew what ever SEs you felt were temporary and I guess it kinda made me feel safe. Here I go rambling again. I think maybe that's because to everyone around me I want to show just a positive outlook but inside I am grappling with this thing.
Well must go as I have work to do, thanks goodness it's Friday, I'm soooo ready for a rest.
Love to all
Gaynor
0 -
Hey for anyone taking femara with the bone pain side effect.. A friend sent me a link about bone regeneration.. and believe it or not PRUNES are being studied. They have shown bone regrowth in rats with no estrogen.. Now that said I tried it and believe it or not I feel 100% better. After a month on Femara I felt 80 years old and now I feel almost back to my old self. So ladies give it a try and pass the word. more details any search on prunes and bone loss will give you a bunch of info.
HUGS
0 -
Gaynorl - sounds like you have a lot of depression going on and I can't say I blame you. You are living with the unknown again. It's a horrible feeling. I hope all your results come back negative so you can move on and start to live life to the fullest again. I am doing SO much better on Femara than I did on Arimidex. Depression hit really hard with me while I was on it too. I'm taking Prozac to help with that. Bone pain isn't as bad on Femara for me, but now I'm hearing about higher cholesterol and hair loss a lot. I don't think there's a drug out there for us without side effects. We just have to keep plugging along and marking off the days on the calendar. I'm praying that at the end of the 5 years - 10 years of taking an AI won't be the norm. I agree with everyone who says chemo is easier - cause they is a light at the end of the tunnel with that. I have sciatia nerve pain that comes and goes - it's back again last night and today - but then seems to lessen and go away for at least a week before it returns. Aleve is my savior for my aches and pains - it really does help me. I'm going to try prunes RHP - my husband uses them for digestive problems. I guess I'll just buy another bag or two. I'll keep you informed on my progress with them. Hopefully after the 5 years - (4 1/2 now) I will start to feel my age and not my mother's! Hugs to all you wonderful ladies out there dealing with the side effects to trying to survive!
0 -
Wblibrary, is your sciatica nerve pain is cause by femara? is it something new to you since you started femara and is the pain bearable without medication?. Was it confirm. Cause I have similar pain but doctors cannot confirm this as my lumbar spine's mri and bone scan turns out normal. so now they basically dont know what to do. my pain is not intense, i can tolerate it without pills. but I do have shooting pain in the back of my leg about 4 inches above my knee, dull aches in my lower back and coccyx, and shooting pain in my left hip near the junction of the hip and femur.
Sig
0 -
All I know is I never had this pain before I started taking Femara. I haven't been checked out by a doctor because it comes and goes so much. I know the Aleve does help and time. I also use a little heat on it and that seems to help. Mine is more on my left hip/buttocks and shoots down my leg (side and/or back) Sleeping is the hardest - I can't move without feeling like I'm being stabbed. Otherwise it's like a neuralgia pain that you realize is there when you move the wrong way. I will survive without seeing a doctor as long as it goes away longer than it is here. I'm sure there's exercises to do to help it out. I need to check on-line and start doing some. I think the only thing a doctor could do is put you in traction - and that's not an option for me. I have too much on my plate these days to do that. I wish you well - it's frustrating not having a specific answer to a medical problem. Just makes you realize how much more we really have to learn in the field of medicine. Take care - hope you feel better soon. Sue
0 -
Hello ladies, I'm going to join the Femara group now, I was taking Aromasin, but had to stop due to high BP's. I'm starting this week. All this talk of sciatic pain is kinda scary! I'll check back to see how everyone is doing. Much Love, Jessica
0 -
I also have a lot of lower back pain. Some days I feel perfect and other days I feel like I can't take the pain. I sleep well though.
0 -
Hello to everyone! I recently switched from arimidex to femara, due to an increase in depression. Hotflashes and body/joint aches are much worse on femara. I also have neuropathy from taxotere in my feet, so I was prescribed Cymbalta, which has helped. They prescribe that for fibromyalgia, so I guess that makes sense. I'll be upping my dose of glucosamine after reading some of your posts too. I hear that taking a "vacation" works but that the symptoms return as soon as you go back on. Sigh.
0 -
I wish I could eat prunes..I can't stand the taste. Can't even get them to my lips.
0 -
Thanks for you input. I've always suffered bouts of depression but with medication have been pretty much OK. Was diagnosed with a second BC in the right breast in March. Stage I ER+, no lymph node involvement. Started Femara 2 months ago. I've had depression on and off since September (before starting Femara). Am seeing a psychiatrist. What happens for me is one day I feel pretty good - almost like my old self - then the next day have really got to push to "get up, suit up, and show up". Some nights sleep pretty well - other nights awake around 2 a.m. and just a light sleep until time to get up. I have pain in my right hip and right leg which comes and goes. I can handle the pain so far - its the yo yo days that get to me. Hope to get some input. Seems like everyone on this site is braver than me! I love you all.
Carole
0 -
Hi gk2bc0 - I took a "vacation" from Arimidex when I switched to Femara. I was off all meds for about 3+ weeks - I can tell you all the aches and pains went away. AI's are definitely the cause of your aches and pains.
Caroleb - I totally understand those "get up, suit up and show up days" - they take a lot of effort lately. I am looking at reconstruction surgery come January - so I have quit my part-time job knowing I need to get some "me" time in before I push my body into another state of shock.
We are all in this together. We are definitely not alone in our effort to survive breast cancer and all that entails. No one realizes how difficult it is unless you've been through it. Doctors casually mention taking a pill for the next 5 years - they don't tell you that your life will change because of this little pill. Hugs to all - hang in there - keep your spirits up!
0 -
Is there any test to see if your body is metabolizing femara and really helping? Recently I heard a doctor say there was no test to see how well the body could metabolize femara. I have been taking femara for 18 months and had few SEs til now and arthritis is a lot worse and have lower back pain that I wake up with almost every morning. I had a test for metabolism of tamoxifen. I can metabolize that but really don't want to take it because of blood clot possibilities
If my body is not metabolizing the femara, then why am I taking it?
0 -
Hi, I am actually asking the same question, how do we know if femara is working?.. Is estradiol level remains low means femara is working? I have been taking femara for two years now with almost no side effects, dont know if my side effects are due to femara or low estrogen in my body. I had minimal hot flashes (but I had these throughout chemo also), a little stiffed fingers first thing in AM. the major side effets I have happenned about last spring (18 months on femara) is hair loss, I am losing my hair quite a lots, when I wash and comb my hair. Recently about three months ago i started having lower back pain radiating to left hip and left leg (back leg) and coccyx pain which not sure if cause by femara as I am taking femara for two years now, a question that I asked earlier in this thread and several girls mentioned that they do have similar pain as mine, so I guess that could be from femara. Thanks to them for mentionning that they have simlar pain, it is re-assuring me, at least I know what could be the cause.
Sig
0 -
wblibrary, thanks for your respeonse. I'm not sure it's depression though, just a lot of questions to ask. The arimidex pain seems to have faded which is a good thing. Hopefully I'll hear formthe onc today with news from the ultrasound then that will be taken care of, it's the waiting around that's a nuisance.
Good luck to all still taking Femara, I guess it's time fo rme to swith threads to the Arimidex girls! Hopefully I will carry on having less paunful side effects with this med and get the remaining 4 years out of the way without too many painful side effects.
Gaynor
0 -
Hello all femara ladies, I have been reading the last few days of entries and I see myself in so many of you all. The thinning of the hair--how bad has it gotten? Mine is definitely thinning some but am taking biotin and I believe this is helping. As for aches and pains, mine have really been minimal. For the past 5 years at least, I have taken folic acid, fish oil, vit. d, MSM, was taking aleve and aspirin daily, but on the blood thinner for the clot in my neck, stopped these. I do get depressed but my family doctor upped my effexor (for my nerves) and this seemed to help. I am only having to see my onc every two months, so I hope this means good!! He has scheduled another PET scan the last of dec. I really hope the femara is starting to work on the lump under my arm. Have only been taking it since July, tho.
Gotta run for now--going Christmas shopping!!
Love and prayers to all, Sue
0 -
I am so serious about the prune thing. I can't believe how much better I feel.. It has been two weeks and I have not had a day since that I felt like I just couln't get up... and I really was on the verge of saying I just can't do this. Surgery and radiation was easier than the way I felt for the first 6 weeks on Femara.. now I feel like my old self.. So give em a try and let me know..
WBLibrary I hope they work for you as well as they have for me. Honestly I was waiting for a reply from the Dr, about adding boniva to the mix and was reading about adding all those other side effects.. amazing how things are provided for us if we open our minds and our hearts. If I hadn't told my friend about all the pain she would not have forwarded the prune info..
I am so sorry Jane M I understand not over the lips.. I feel that way about sweet potatoes and if they helped I would have to forget it because they honestly make me ill to put them in my mouth.
Hugs all
0 -
RHP
I'm also trying the prunes, can I ask, do you eat them on an emply stomach away from other foods,delay and at what time during the day. I have started last week, I'm on 9 small prunes a day, and have not felt different yet,maybe I should eat more or the big ones, thanks for answering
Welga
0 -
I have the same question...how many prunes? I just started on the neratinib clinical trial, and guess what the side effects of that are? diarrhea! now, if prunes are the answer, the question is, which would I rather have, bone pain or diarrhea? there is never an easy answer!
0
