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Re: effectiveness?
I just switched from Tamoxifen to Femara. I was put on Tamoxifen and had some side effects I didn't care for. Had blood tested for post-menopausal status (which we all figured I probably was) and I am. So I switched to Femara. So far, I don't notice side effects.
Just was talking to my Oncologist about this so here are the notes I have...
Femara (and assuming all AI's) has a slight advantage on risk of recurrence percentages for post-meno women. If (*if*) one had a 100% likelihood of recurrence, taking Tamoxifen (which is ok for post-meno women to use) cuts that risk by 51%. If one had a 100% likelihood of recurrence, taking Femara cuts that risk by 54%. (Assuming we might have less than a 100% likelihood of recurrence, then the risk goes even lower, of course).
Anyway, the difference between Tamoxifen & AI is 3% advantage to the AI. May not seem huge, but 3% is 3%!
For post-meno women who cannot tolerate the AI, then going back to Tamoxifen makes sense because then, rather than taking nothing and losing all that 50+% advantage, you are getting 51% advantage.
Cheers,
Lizz.
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