12 Mar 2011

Is Femara worth it? Have no idea! Does anyone really know? I doubt it! I think you are either lucky and cancer does not return....or you're unlucky and it returns with or without the medication! Personally, Have had worsened hot flashes, chills, night sweats, frontal headaches that last for 4 or 5 days, rib cage pain, requiring muscle relaxers and pain med at times,...right sided from bottom to collar bone area and sometimes thruout back area/shoulders. Most discomfort seems to be in the muscles/tendons, etc., rather than the bones. Leg and foot cramps, mild memory loss or inability to stay focused on tasks, joint pain at knees especially right sided and shoulders, (I'm left handed! Also will add here that I'm post 15 months lumpectomy with return and now post 5 months double mastectomy and 4 months partial nephrectomy (renal cell) (found on pre-op tests for Mast....Seriously considering stopping meds for better quality, possibly shorter life. Also insurance running out & price of medication without insurance....560 dollars for 30 pills!! Only affordable for rich people. And who is rich anymore? Retirement almost gone already! People with cancer...not financially comfortable very long. Cancer surgery runs between 20,000 and 100,000 dollars each!! Chemo 1100 to 11,000 per treatment and radiation 65,000 for 35 treatments! Try finding affordable insurance after you've lost your job due to cancer! Yea....impossible....who cares if it's 10,000 deductible...might as well be 1,000,000 and cost???? 1100-1800 a month for medical insurance! Discouraging? You bet! Worth it???? Not so much! I'm told, tho, that Femara has less side effects than tamoxifen....not much experience with that...had an Aunt on it for 2 years....died of metastasized breast cancer anyway.

—Posted by Debija58