I am sorry to hear about your troubles with Letrozole. All hormone therapis seem to have side-effects. Some people breeze through these , whilst others have severe problems with them. Have you discussed how you feel with your consultant or breast care nurse? It is always worth discussing these side-effects, as there are other meds that might be better for you.
Many people who receive a cancer diagnosis also feel depressed and, you might find that a mild anti-depressant would help you to start with.
Your breast care nurse is correct, but you have at least highlighted this to her and, this leaves the door open for you to return for help if time doesn't stop the side-effects.
Most of us manage to convince ourselves that the cancer has spread at some stage, but this seldom turns out to be the case. Do you know what type and grade of breast cancer you have? Have you had any radiotherapy or chemo or are you just taking Letrozole? If it is only 8 weeks since you had your surgery, this is very unlikely to be the case. Did you have clear margins after surgery? This is usually a good inclination that all is ok.
I had a recurrence of breast cancer in my original breast a year after my lumpectomy. Fortunately, this was another primary. My pathology results indicated that my surgeon hadn't got a clear margin, but my surgeon assured me that he had realised this at the time of surgery and he had taken away a further slither. Obviously, he still hadn't taken enough.
Having nursed my mum with secondary breast cancer in brain, bones, liver and lungs, I had convinced myself that I had secondary cancer too. This time I had a double mastectomy and, feel that I have done as much as I possibly could to rid myself of cancer's clutches.
The fear of recurrence or spread is something that everyone with a cancer diagnosis has to learn to live with, but it's never easy.
