HELP! Cannot tolerate Hormonal Therapy...ADVICE appreciated!

[Debbie L.]

I was going to mention faslodex also. Was that offered?

Maybe if you tell us the side effects that troubled you, someone might have more specific suggestions (although it sounds like they tried to treat them already, you never know -- for these rare things it's possible that there are solutions unknown to most (oncs AND patients), because most have not had to deal with the issue)

Have you had a referral to a comprehensive cancer center ( http://cancercenters.cancer.gov/canc...ters-list.html )? I would highly recommend that as they may have had more experience with this problem. It may well be that you simply cannot tolerate endocrine therapy but for peace of mind now and no regrets later, I think it's important to leave no stone unturned.

I doubt it's enough to solve such a bad reaction but it's kind of in the "can't hurt might help" category: quite a few women have found that supplementing with vitamin D has made the AI-pain side effects more tolerable. Have you had your vitamin D level checked?

The diet question (fats, carbs, soy, phytoestrogens, yada yada) remains an unsolved puzzle with evidence to be found that almost anything helps and almost anything hurts. It's frustrating and probably the best thing is as someone else said -- find what works for you, something moderate that makes you feel the best, and go with that. Try not to be overweight, there's good evidence that postmenopausally that is a factor. Also there is decent evidence that being physically active decreases risk of recurrence and those are categories of win/win (good for many other things, too).

Good luck, keep us posted.
Debbie Laxague