Hello and thank you for your post,

I am sorry to learn that you have been experiencing difficult side effects from the hormone treatment. This must not be easy.

The best person to discuss this with will be your breast specialist, or if you have a specialist breast nurse (CNS), you could speak with them, as they know your situation. They may be able to change you to a different aromatase inhibitor, or they might suggest changing the brand of exemestane. Exemestane is made by different manufacturers who might use different preservatives, and some people can find that changing the brand can sometimes help with side effects. You may also find it helpful to discuss this with your pharmacist.

There have been some American studies that look at a reduced dose of taking exemestane 3 times a week rather than every day in people who cannot tolerate the side effects, although these reported that this regimen was not worse; these were only short studies, and further studies are needed to clarify this.

I hope this helps in some way.

Jemma.

Thank you, Jemma, for your response. It's certainly worth trying a different brand, so I'll look into the possibility of doing that. And the American studies outcome looks interesting, for me that might a good option. At the moment it seems to be all or nothing!! S