On 7/3/2008
happy retirement wrote:
I am in my fifth year as a breast cancer survivor. I was not able to take tamoxifen and have been on arimides for four and half years. I was recently changed to femera. I am experiencing a lot of joint and bone pain as well as being tired all of the time. I have been on femera for 3 weeks. I am concerned about what happens if i don't take this drug or if after five years i don't need to take anything. If anyone has a comment i would appreciate it. Thanks.
Femara works much differently than arimidex. While arimidex is and estrogen-blocker that cancer cells from getting estrogen, femara is an aromatase inhibitor which keeps your bodies cells from producing estrogen. In other words, femara and other aromatase inhibitors cause chemically-induced menopause, and that's why you are having the symptoms you are having. You are not alone - MANY MANY women have difficulty tolerating anti-estrogen drugs, some to the point that they stop taking them.
A few people will tell you to counter the symptoms by eating foods high in phytoestrogens (plant estrogens) such as soy, yams, red clover, and pomegranate. Do not do that - it wipes out any good effect the femara might be having.
There are herbs, supplements and nutritional foods that can help with your symptoms, but you need to be very careful that what you take contains no phytoestrogens, or only low-strength phytoestrogens that will act as estrogen-blockers rather than estrogen-replacers. Anything that is recommended specifically as a remedy for menopause is NOT a good choice. Herbs etc that promote bone strength and health, stimulate circulation, act as powerful anti-oxidants are good choices. A lot of herbs have shown that they can be powerful cancer fighters or killers - just make sure what you consider taking is not also a high-strength phytoestrogen.
I know that people who don't have a medical background can have a hard time discerning all this and knowing what to take. http://cancerchemist.com/ is a site recommended by another poster to the Cancer Compass. They offer a download of information for $20 US. I have not looked at it, but it might be worth a try.
Otherwise, ask your dr or his nursing staff, or the chemo clinic, if they can recommend natural supplements to offset the effects of the femara. If you have access to a local reputable herbalist, naturalopath, homeopath, osteopath or nutritionist, you might talk to them for recommendations.
You can also do a web search, using terms like alternative herbal treatment for breast cancer, or complementary alternative herbal treatment for breast cancer. There's a lot of information out there - make sure if you decide you want to try something, that you have been able to verify it's effectiveness on several different sites. Many web sites like www.swansonvitamins.com offer descriptions of their products and a compendium of herbs and supplements that goes in-depth into what these products are used for.
Please note that I am not recommending herbs, supplements and natural foods as a replacement for prescription therapy, but rather as an addition to.
Should you not be able to tolerate continuing the Femara therapy, I most definitely would recomment that you at least supplement with anti-oxidants, natural aromatase inhibitors (e.g. grape seed extract, conjugated linoleic acid), very low-strength phytoestrogens that will act as estrogen-blockers. There is current research using a combination of grape seed extract, white button mushrooms and red wine that is showing promise in managing estrogen-positive breast cancer.
I am personally cannot tolerate the prescription drugs, so I am using a self-developed herbal and nutritional anti-cancer regimen based on extensive research, including the grape seed extract, mushroom (I use conjugated linoleic acid, which is the active ingredient of the mushrooms) and small amts of red wine every day. My last PET scan was encouraging.
Since every person's body chemistry is unique, and you may have other medical conditions or allergies that need to be taken into account, I would never say that you should take "this, and this, and that." But if you message me privately, I am willing to give you a list of what I take if you want to research them yourself, or ask an herbal or nutritional specialist about taking them.
I cannot caution you enough: if you want to try using herbs, supplements and natural foods to reduce or eliminate the side effects of femara, PLEASE talk to you doctor and get his ok, as there might be something you are considering taking that could have interactions with the Femara or other drugs you might be taking. Also, if you do try adding in alternatives, go slowly, adding in one thing at a time to make sure you don't have any reactions to it.
Feel free to message me if you have questions or comments.
I wish you the best of luck and the best of health.
Sincerely, Tre