I’ve had my surgery and got my pathological results, positive news all cancer removed. Consultant has given me a prescription for 2.5mg daily letrozole which I’ll have to take for 5 years.
She’s left it up to me when to start, either now, or after RT. I’ve got an assessment in mid July for that to be discussed etc.
I’m worried about side effects. If i start hormone therapy now the side effects could impact on intensity of side effects of RT and vice versa.
For those of you who’ve been through this, in hindsight when would you have started hormone therapy, before or after?
I took Letrozolefrom my biopsy results appointment to my surgery results appointment so was off it again by the time I went to radiotherapy.
I’d advise leaving it until you feel better after radiotherapy so if you get any side effects you know what they belong to. Apart from pinkness and heat I’ve had little trouble from my 5 days of radiotherapy so far and I’m 11 days post treatment now. However I managed to collect most of the side effects in the Letrozole leaflet!
In glad the RT went well for you. The more i reflect the more i’m falling on the side of starting after RT.
Out of everything i’m most anxious about the letrozole side effects. My menopause was so horrendous, things have only just settled into some sense of normality. The thought of going back there just fills me with fear. I don’t want to feel old!
Understandable. Do go back to your oncologist if they don’t work for you. There are other options available.
I came off mainly down to the mental health side effects. I’m not generally a depressed or anxious person but they made me both these things and totally changed my personality. I decided I’d rather live for less time than be a shell of myself.
That’s what I’ve been debating with myself. I not been someone who’s taken medication for any length of time and the idea of taking something that will then have to be layered with other drugs to mitigate the side effects doesn’t sit well with me.
My menopause rage and mood swings were dreadful and in part cause the breakdown of my 35 year marriage. Don’t want to go there again.
I made the decision to get through radio and deal with its side effects before starting letrozole given that I started radio only 3 weeks after finishing chemo & deciding my poor body needed a little chance to deal with it all. I’m now a month into letrozole & doing ok-lots of aches & pains & muscle cramp etc but giving it at least 3 months to see if it settles. I did get tired & quite sore muscles (mainly on my back) after radio so pleased I’ve isolated what is causing what to some degree.
In my case I chose to start it after the Radiotherapy and would probably make the same choice again simply because I knew both going to have side effects and didn’t want to deal with two different side effects at the same time. Good luck on your journey
I’m similar to you, had surgery end of Feb results came back that they had got it all and to start Letrozole, I had four weeks of radiotherapy and decided to start Letrozole four weeks before Rads… my thinking was to just get it done and dusted and ride the storm rather than feeling crappy from radiotherapy then feeling better and then starting Letrozole….
It’s not been pleasant but I’m here… whatever you decide I’m sending you love and strength… you can do this
I also had the choice as to whether to start before or after radiotherapy. I started before my radiotherapy . It’s really a personnel choice. I have some side effects from the letrozole but I feel they didn’t make any difference to the radiotherapy. I found the radiotherapy quite straight forward and really didn’t have any issues . I went away on a c cycling holiday 10 days after finishing it. On that note I would say that Everyone is different so what was right for me may not be for you .
You are courageous whataloadof, sounds like your journey is tough.
The funny (maybe not the right word choice) thing about this is i feel i have to an extent lost my own agency and am reliant on others. As women we are resilient and brave amongst many other things but this whole cancer this has shaken my belief in myself.
So it is good to hear your pragmatism. Thank you and sending you good vibes
We are all unique and things effect us differently but it’s so good to hear what others who are on this journey have learned, because we “stand on the shoulders of giants”
I started the Letrozole before my surgery so I could go on a very special holiday. I was happy to cancel but the surgeon said go. Have I had side effects from the Letrozole yes, do they annoy me yes, do I get depressed about it NO, why because everytime the side effects annoy me I remind myself that the cancer could come back and thats even worse so I soldier on. Best of lucl with your treatment hope it all goes well
I hope your special holiday was all you wanted it to be and more.
You are very right that the idea of cancer rearing it’s head again is not one any wants to consider. Our medical teams donut prescribe these drugs unless they are effective. Your outlook is very positive and I appreciate that
Hi! I started letrozole after RT. RT in itself takes a little getting through so I was recommended to start taking letrozold a month after finishing RT. It worked for me. Good look on your journey. I’m 2 years down the line now and all ok! G
I m due to start radiotherapy on the 10 th July for 5 sessions I did start the Letrozole 15th June but every other day for 2 weeks with oncologist permission I’m now full time taking it this week Yes I get joint pains but had those anyway 1 night had night sweats but that could have been the weather
I started taking it straight away. It didn’t have any impact on radio therapy side effects at all . Hope everything goes well with radiotherapy 
