Unfortunately like every question cancer throws at us, there is no one size fits all answer. It’s nuanced by your individual risk, attitude to risk , age and severity of symptoms.
I was absolutely adamant when I started Tamoxifen 2 years ago , after mastectomy following grade 2 lobular cancer that I would complete the 5 years, terrified of distant recurrence. However after tolerating quite well at first, the past year has left me feeling like a shell of my former self, 52 going on 82! Extreme fatigue, insomnia, relentless night sweats, joint pain, hair thinning, vaginal atrophy. I’ve taken every supplement known to man, exercise regularly, eat well, but nothing helped.
After discussing with my oncologist she supported me to trial a 3 month break, I’m 2 months in and just starting to feel relief from the insomnia, night sweats and fatigue.
She said the tamoxifen was only giving me a 1% increased protection, and based on severity of my symptoms was not really worth the life balance.
It felt very empowering to be given that choice, and whilst the fear is still real, unfortunately my daily quality of life has won over.
It’s a very personal choice, and I really would recommend trying hormone therapy first, as everyone responds differently, and obviously most people don’t post the good stuff!
At least I know I gave it as long as I could before quitting, and I feel informed about my personal risk factors, especially as lobular cancer generally has a 10 year plus recurrence rate.
Really hope you can tolerate the treatment, but if you struggle do try to get information that is tailored to your cancer stats so you can make the best choice for YOU 