I am off to see my Onc next week and I will have had 5 years Tamoxifen and 5 years Letrozole by April next year.
After a MRI scan in April I was told that due to the length of time on an AI there was a “thinning” (probably not the word to describe it) of the bone marrow.
So my question to him is - will my bone marrow ever get back to normal once I stop taking Letrozole and is there anything that I can do to get it back to normal and finally if it doesn’t revert back to normal will it get worse.
I do have problems with aches and pains which was why I had the MRI in April and my Onc finally admitted that this was done to Letrozole and some of his other patients have had to change drugs so is this something that is going to stay with me.
Anybody already had this conversation with their Oncs?
I’m very surprised that your oncologist didn’t send you for a DEXA scan (the scan they use to diagnose bone thinning) as it is one of the side effects of AIs. I had mine before I began Anastrazole and already had bone thinning, but I was at risk anyway (rheumatoid arthritis and mum and gran both had osteoporosis).
Sadly, once your bones have ‘thinned’ it can’t be reversed. But you can have treatment to try and make sure it doesn’t get any worse. If your onco doesn’t refer you for a DEXA scan, ask your GP if they will do it for you. Tell them you have had 5 years on Letrozole. The scan will give your GP an idea of how advanced the bone thinning is (it’s known as Osteopenia) and he should prescribe you a high strength calcium and Vitamin D3 supplement to take. For more information about bone thinning and Osteopenia/Osteoporosis, visit nos.org.uk/
I hope you are doing well. I just finished my letrazole tablets yesterday after 5 years of religiously taking them. I have had minimal joint problems but I lost bone density. I am not sure what is meant by thinning of the bone marrow but I was able to regenerate bone density by taking less calcium supplement but increasing vit D with boron and selenium and by taking two doses a day of a good naturopathic magnesium supplement, exercise is also important, like walking 30 minutes every day. I went to a cancer retreat in Australia and inflamation prevention was discussed suggesting that taking anti-inflamatories such as two tablespoons of cold pressed flax seed oil every day or adding Turmeric to your diet either as the root or as a supplement would help ease inflamation. I have done both of these from early in the treatment and attribute my lack of joint pain to them. I did have pains in the four months before I started on them. I hope this may be of some help.