Cancer Survivors Network

Thanks for all your imput and encouragement . . . my doc said that for me he preferred Femara.
The downside is that it is quite a bit more expensive if my insurance doesn't cover. Canada Drugs has it for about half price if they won't and an even cheaper generic. There is no generic here in the states.
Had a bone density test about 3 years ago and I do have good bones. He scheduled me for another test next month, but since I am still the same height as in high school, I'm thinking that for my age (68) it should be fine. The hot flashes are another issue . . . maybe they will stop before I turn 90!! Chemo and rads really get your hormones raging.
Sgamtd, hope they will find an answer for your osteoporosis. In the meantime, stay off of ladders and rooftops!!!

Carol41, lol, I never get up on the roof, the ladder only when my husband is standing right there holding on to me firmly. Osteo arrived in my life in 1993, I am now 68, have lost 2.5 inches in height, so I have to be careful what meds I take due to the osteo.
I never did have hot flashes, probably because I was prescribed HRT in 93 for the osteo, stopped the HRT in 2002 or so, like alot of women did, and started the fosamax, calcium w/d which I have been on ever since. For sure all meds have a side effect, and may times we are left wondering if it's really worth it. I have never had a fracture due to the osteo.
sgamtd

I have been checking the price of the Femara and also the generic (letrozole). One company in Canada has the generic pric of 90 pills for $155.70 and the brand name Femara is 90 pills for $490. I am going to check tomorrow and see if my insurance even covers it and what my co-pay would be if I have to get the brand name here in the U.S. I appreciate the info here on Femara. another 6 weeks and I will be starting it.

I was just told today that my onc wants me stay on Femara for the rest of my life! (I am 58.) I'll do it for five years then see. (I stopped after five years of tamoxifen and ONE year of Femara the first time. I'll give the Femara at least FIVE this time.) Anybody else advised to plan on making aromatose inhibitors a lifetime partner?

hi, i've read on this website that taking femara beyond the five years does nothing.
it's the first five years that are important! look up femara on the american cancer society treatment options. good luck.

I wonder why my oncologist would want me to take the Femara after I have taken Tamoxifen for 5 years. I will look it up. Maybe I don't even need to take it?

Your oncologist probably wants to give you more protection since you had several other female cancer (on your bio site) besides breast cancer. It's added protection often given today to avoid the possibility of being stage IV.

Best,

Doris

Fosamax did nothing for me but give me acid reflux. So now I'm taking Aciphex. I stopped taking the Fosamax last Fall.

I'm a little confused...They aren't the same, are they?

M_azinggrace,
One of Femara's side effect is bone loss, so if you already have osteo it not good for the bones but good for treating the ER + breast cancer. So one has a choice to make.
Hope this helps
sgamtd

M_azinggrace (love the name),
Fosimax is for osteoporosis.
Tamoxifen and Femara are estrogen inhibitors (so I've been told)
Your pathology report will tell you if you are ER+ and one or the other is usually
prescribed for 5 years after you finish all the other therapies. I'm ready to do
whatever it takes never to have to do this again!!

hi, can you tell me if you did rads and femara concurrently? or did you start taking femara after the rads treatment.
i will be starting radiation treatment in a few weeks and was also prescribed femara at the same time. i wonder if i could start the meds after the rads to hopefully avoid double side effects! thanks.

Hi Alessia, I'm sorry I can't answer that question, maybe someone can. I hope so. Mostly from what I read others have done, they started after radiation.
I am currently taking radiation treatments, just finished # 10, have 23 more to go, and am scheduled to start femara in November when I go back to the onco doctor. I happen to have osteoporosis, so before I start femara, the onco doc wants to give me an IV infusion of an bone builder medication called reclast first, and then she said she will prescribe the femara. I was told for 5 years. Maybe I just had to wait because I have osteo.
Again, I hope someone can answer your question, of course you could also ask the doctor why ?
Good luck
sgamtd

This is a question you will definitely want to clarify with your Rads Onc and Med Onc. I was given my script for Tamoxifen but was told to hold off taking it until after my Radiation was completed. I think it depends on your individual treatments. So please ask prior to starting the Femara if you already have it filled. Keep us posted. ♥Pammy

I am on a slightly different aromatase inhibitor (arimidex)--very similar to femara. I did have rads while on the arimidex. I didn't notice any big side effects. A little queasiness from the radiation (didn't have that with radiation before but this time they had to zap part of my liver in order to treat my ribs). The arimidex made me tired if I took it in the am, so I switched to pm and have been good to go. Everyone is different though.

Marilynn, I am keeping my fingers crossed for you about the Femara!

Good luck,

Ohilly

Hi marilynn, i have been wondering about your and the Femara. How is it going? I know it is probably too soon to tell, but December is getting closer. What about the Zometa? Hope you have no bad side effects from the Femara.

Marilyn, just wondered how the femara is affecting you. I havne't been on here for a while. I am going to get a baseline bone scan friday. Then I am supposed to start the femara December 4. I have been reading and reading and hoping I don't have the side effects that some have had such as hair thinning and joint pain. Please let me know how you are doing. Anybody else that can help me decide about this Femara please I would appreciate it. I am 64. I took tamoxifen for 5 years after finishing 6 months of chemo and 6 weeks of radiation. I am not taking anything right now. Just wanted to be 'drug free' for a while. Now I wonder how much it will help me to take the Femara. Or will it? Thanks for any input. Inez

Watch it if you take fosamax, I swear that I got GERD from it. I had been on it for almost 4 years though before I realized I was getting more and more frequent indigestion!

We have to use Express Scripts with my husband's insurance. For long term use, anyway. I use CVS for short use. I already checked up on Arimidex and Femara. Both are 80.00 for 90 days. My Aciphex I take for acid reflux is also 80.00 for 90 days. So, by what i'm reading 80.00 for 90 days isn't too bad. Good luck with Femara. I'm hoping i'll be able to tolerate the Arimidex!

I've been on Femara now for 2 months, being used to reduce my tumors so I can have surgery. I haven't noticed too much in the way of side effects, mostly just night sweats. My onc said I'll be on Femara for 5 years so I'm sure I'll have to watch for bone loss. I have osteopenia, so already at risk. So far my onc has been given me samples of Femara since I'm in the donut hole with my insurance. I'm going to ask about the generic. Since Aciphex is expensive my dr. told me to try Omeprozole, which you can find otc.
Arimidex and Femara are used to suppress the estrogen level. I will find out Thursday if there is any reduction in my tumors.

Sunrae when you get out of the donut hole, check what your copay would be with an RX for omeprozole (prilosec). I think I paid $20 for otc, and copay of $10 with RX.

Wishing you a good report on thursday. please let us know how it turns out. By the way, your backyard garden should be called the serenity garden. It is beautiful. Sending hugs and prayers your way.

Natly, my primary gave me a prescription for Omeprozole and its cost was $40 for 30 pills. I bought it otc and got 42 for about $20. If you watch the drug stores put it on sale and if you can find it at a wholesale store its even cheaper. I try to pay otc as much as I can because it keeps me out of the donut hole somewhat. My primary gives me samples of Aciphex when I'm there, but its only for a month or so. Thanks for your comments on my garden. That's my passion; it keeps me busy but I love it.

Can you explain about your results with Tamoxifen test.I an going to ask my oncologist about this test on my next visit.

I also have question to everyone. Do do you or your oncologist choose between Femara Arimidex, and Aromasin.

The CYP2D6 blood test will let you know if you'r metabolizing the Tamoxifen or not. The results will comeback as positive, intermediate, or negative. My results came back intermediate, which basically means that they don't know how much benefit I'm getting from the meds, so that's why they changed me to Arimidex. They gave me Arimidex to begin with, but they want me to check with my insurance to see which one of the three meds would be the cheapest for me. I suppose I'll be on the onet hat is the most economical for me. They all the same class of medicine and work the same way. As far as the CYP2D^ blood test, I'm glad I had the test, because I wouldn't want to be taking Tamoxifen for two years and not having it do much. Hope this helps. Connie

The CYP2D6 blood test will let you know if you'r metabolizing the Tamoxifen or not. The results will comeback as positive, intermediate, or negative. My results came back intermediate, which basically means that they don't know how much benefit I'm getting from the meds, so that's why they changed me to Arimidex. They gave me Arimidex to begin with, but they want me to check with my insurance to see which one of the three meds would be the cheapest for me. I suppose I'll be on the onet hat is the most economical for me. They all the same class of medicine and work the same way. As far as the CYP2D^ blood test, I'm glad I had the test, because I wouldn't want to be taking Tamoxifen for two years and not having it do much. Hope this helps. Connie

I am on the Zometa infusion, too, and haven't had much trouble with it. I do take 2000 IU of Vitamin D a day along with a Calcium/Magnesium supplement. Have you had a Vitamin D test done? Mine was insufficient, so my doc. recommended the highest over-the-counter dose for me. The one serious potential side effect of Zometa are jaw problems, so you might want to get a good dental check up before you start.

As for metabolizing Tamoxifen, it's an important test to ask your doc. about, New Flower. You can be a poor, intermediate, or high metabolizer depending on your genetic makeup. It would be a shame to keep taking the drug if you are a poor metabolizer. Your doc. would probably switch you to an AI in that case.

Mimi

Connie, are you taking Zometa in the daily pill form, or getting the monthly infusion? The reason I asked is because my onc told me that the pills are not nearly as effective...but he didn't elaborate on the degree of difference. I get the infusion, and except for the first one, I have little to no side effects. As someone else mentioned, Zometa can cause a condition called "osteonecrosis of the jaw"...the bone dies. So you would definately want to have a complete dental exam with x-rays, and a cleaning. And then if you need dental work done, get it all finished and be healed before beginning the zometa treatments. My dr was very careful about that, and was relieved to know that I'd just been to the dentist and was okay. I hope all goes well for you. Hugs, Gracie

I'm on the monthly infusion. I just completed the first six months of the study and know will have the infusion on a quarterly basis. I had to have a dental exam before I was able to begin the study and I have one every six months anyway. Yes, they were very careful about the dental thing before I began the Zometa, also. I haven't had any problems with it other than a few bone aches and pains. I'm glad I'm on the study. I figure anything like this can only be good. Connie

I'm on the monthly infusion. I just completed the first six months of the study and know will have the infusion on a quarterly basis. I had to have a dental exam before I was able to begin the study and I have one every six months anyway. Yes, they were very careful about the dental thing before I began the Zometa, also. I haven't had any problems with it other than a few bone aches and pains. I'm glad I'm on the study. I figure anything like this can only be good. Connie

prior to the start of Tamoxifen. I am still surprised why he did not check before prescribed it.
My next visit is scheduled for NOV 30, I am going to ask.
We have been doing D and Calcium., and yes my levels were low and I am taking 2000 IU of D3 and daily Ca/Mg supplement as well.

See my thread called "Good News from my Onc" posted today.. The Femara is working well but I don't know how the cost stacks up with other aromatase inhibitors. Hope the rest of you are having good results.

As far as I know only Arimidex has gone generic. Femara and Aromasin have not gone that way nor has Faslodex. Tamoxifen has been on the market for years so it to has a generic equivalent.

SIROD

Hi New Flower,

I don't think that Tamo has the same effects as the Aromatase Inhibitors (Arimedex, Aromasin, Femara). Tamoxifen and Faslodex both given to ER/PR+ have a different make up than the AI. They all are the target treatments for hormonal positive breast cancer, but they don't all work the same or have the same side effects.

Best to you,

SIROD