Letrozole before or after rads

Going through breast cancer treatment Hormone therapy
1

Hi all

 

saw Oncologist yesterday and he has given me a prescription for Letrozole.  No instructions either! Do I take it now or after my radiotherapy???

2

Hi Bellas Mum,
Advice on this does vary. I’m on tamoxifen & was told to start the day after rads finished. I think is was to do with not putting any rogue cells left behind to sleep, so that they were zapped by rads!
…but others are told to start immediately.
Hopefully someone will be along with the answer, otherwise it might be an idea to check with your team or the nurses here.
ann x

3

Hi Bellas Mum

I think the jury is still out on this one but having also been given my hormone prescription prior to rads last year  I did a bit of research and came up with this scholarly article

- ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4659580/  which made me decide to start taking it on the evening of the last day or rads. I believe it is something to do with zapping the cells when they are active, as Ann-m suggests.

It also meant that if there were any side-effects from either treatment they wouldn’t be happening at the same time.

You may want to check with your oncologist to be sure, but when i confessed to mine after the event that I’d started them after rads he didn’t seem too concerned. A lot of people on here say they have been given the choice anyway. I hope the next stage goes well for you. XX

4

Hi Bellas mum

I asked the same question myself on the forum a couple of months ago.
Like you I was given a Letrozole prescription by my oncologist but with no clear instructions when to start. My radiotherapy appts did not start for several weeks after.

The consensus was that the instructions on this can vary.

I telephoned the oncology department and was told to start immediately and this was 5 weeks before rads.

I had very little side effects from Letrozole in the first few weeks so really don’t worry too much about the radiotherapy.

In fairness my side effects from the meds so far are all manageable and I’m trying to stay positive long term in the hope that they settle down.

Hope this helps xx

5

Thanks Andi

Yes that does help. Reading about some of the horrible side effects some ladies are having is really scary. Thank you again x

6

Yes Bella, I remember feeling anxious about it all when reading experiences here, but understandably, those having issues will tend to post, not those who are ok, so there is a bit of a reporting bias.
ann x

7

Thanks Ann. Yes you are right with reporting bias. Suppose when we find ourselves with a diagnosis, the treatment, surgery etc the anxiety levels are raised. x

8

Thanks Sunflower
Am so confused by all this. There doesn’t seem to be any set guidance. Have taken 3 days worth now but reading what others have written it makes sense. I had very clear margins and no node involvement so perhaps that’s why they said to start. BCN has said that as I am not having chemotherapy to take them! It really is a minefield. Start my rads on the 27th. Got the letter yesterday so will be very soon. CT next week too.

Good luck with the rest of your treatment x

9

Thanks northerngal for your lovely positive reply. I guess we are all affected differently. Tip taken onboard re lots of moisturiser.
Hugs back xx