Hi everyone
I hope you can shed some light on a couple of things and give me benefit of experience/wisdom (google not helping me much)
Firstly, I was told by consultant and oncologist that I would be prescribed Anastrozole for ER+/PR+. However, today I collected my tablets (prescribed by the GP after they received the go ahead from the oncologist) and I find that they are called letrozole… are they the same thing? Should I query it?
Secondly, I asked my oncologist if I should start taking the tablets as soon as I got them or wait until after my radiotherapy treatment completed. His reply was that it is up to me! So, what do you folks advise me? I wondered if I should wait in case there are side effects and will have got radiotherapy out the way and then deal with the next thing… or should I just knuckle down and get on with it now?
Thanks for all suggestions and advice.
LM
Hi LadyM I don’t know the difference between the two tabs so hopefully someone more knowledgable will respond.I’d certainly check it out with your bc nurse though.
However I opted to take my tabs on the last day of rads as I didn’t want two lots of potential side effects. As it turned out I was OK with rads and OK on the tabs so far, but I didn’t know that at the time. As you’ve been given a choice it obviously makes no difference to the outcome when you start taking them, so just do what feels best for you. Good luck with it all. xxxxx
LadyMondegreen
I was initially told it would be letrozole as I was post menopausal, however once my oncologist had seen my dexa scan which I had had done about a month before I was diagnosed for very different reasons, which showed I have some osteoporosis in my spine, he changed it
I started taking my tablets in November 2016 and commenced rads in December 2016. I was very hesitant at first because of potential side effects, but actually not everyone gets any or all of them, so I bit the bullet and went for it.
As optimissy suggests, perhaps give your bcn a call and see if she can shed some light on it.
Helena xx
Letrozole and anastrozole are both hormones and work much the same …but I would query exactly which one is prescribed for you .
Personally having taken both …anastrozole is the easiest to tolerate.
I waited until after my rads to start the hormones as I’m much a one thing at a time person .
Xx