Contact your health care provider within 24 hours of noticing any of the following: Vaginal bleeding similar to a period Always inform your health care provider if you experience any unusual symptoms. Precautions: Before starting Exemestane treatment, make sure you tell your doctor about any other medications you are taking including prescription, over-the-counter, vitamins, herbal remedies, etc.
Exemestane can cause decreased bone mineral density due to decreases in estrogen levels. Your doctor will monitor your bone mineral density and may prescribe calcium supplements, vitamin D supplements, or other medications to help prevent osteoporosis and bone fractures. Do not receive any kind of immunization or vaccination without your doctor's approval while taking Exemestane. Inform your health care professional if you are pregnant or may be pregnant prior to starting this treatment.
Pregnancy category X Exemestane may cause fetal harm when given to a pregnant woman. This drug must not be given to a pregnant woman or a woman who intends to become pregnant. If a woman becomes pregnant while taking Exemestane, the medication must be stopped immediately and the woman given appropriate counseling. For both men and women: Use contraceptives, and do not conceive a child get pregnant while taking Exemestane. Barrier methods of contraception, such as condoms, are recommended.
Discuss with your doctor when you may safely become pregnant or conceive a child after therapy. Do not breast feed while taking Exemestane. Self-Care Tips: Take Exemestane after a meal; at about the same time every day. Exemestane causes little nausea. But if you should experience nausea, take anti-nausea medications are prescribed by your doctor, and eat small frequent meals.
Such on lozenges and chewing gum may also help. In general, drinking alcoholic beverages should be kept to a minimum or avoided completely. You should discuss this with your doctor. If you are experiencing hot flashes, wearing light clothing, staying in a cool environment, and putting cool cloths on your head may reduce symptoms.
Consult your health care provider if these worsen, or become intolerable. Acetaminophen or ibuprofen may help relieve discomfort generalized aches and pains. Most of these side effects may go away within a few days or a couple of weeks. Call your doctor right away if you have serious side effects. You may wonder how often certain side effects occur with this drug.
As with most drugs, some people can have an allergic reaction after taking Aromasin. Symptoms of a mild allergic reaction can include skin rash and itching. A more severe allergic reaction is rare but possible. Symptoms of a severe allergic reaction can include:. Call your doctor right away if you have a severe allergic reaction to Aromasin. During Aromasin treatment in women with early breast cancer, joint and muscle pain can be common. Clinical studies showed the following:. In another study of early breast cancer, researchers found the following:.
If you have joint or muscle pain while taking Aromasin, tell your doctor. They can recommend treatments that may help. Hair loss can occur with Aromasin treatment. Studies show that 1 out of 4 women who took hormone therapy such as Aromasin for breast cancer had hair thinning or hair loss. Women being treated for advanced breast cancer are more likely to have hair loss than women being treated for early breast cancer.
Because Aromasin reduces the level of estrogen, hair production and growth slow down. Many women take Aromasin after taking tamoxifen for a few years. Losing hair can be upsetting. But in most cases, hair will regrow after treatment is completed.
Before you start taking Aromasin, try the following to prepare for the changes in your body hair. Aromasin may increase your blood pressure. In a study of early breast cancer, 9. In another study of early breast cancer, A study of advanced breast cancer found that the reported increase in blood pressure was similar between Aromasin and megestrol. There were no reports of weight gain or appetite changes in women who had early breast cancer and were treated with Aromasin or a comparison drug.
Having depression or trouble sleeping during your treatment may also affect your weight. You may eat poorly or feel too tired to exercise. Talk with your doctor about how you can stay at a healthy weight during your treatment with Aromasin.
They may recommend a specific diet, an exercise plan, and tips on how to best care for yourself. Depression is a possible side effect of taking Aromasin. During clinical studies of early breast cancer, depression was reported by:. The changes in hormone levels with Aromasin treatment can affect your mood. However, factors such as the diagnosis of cancer itself, aging, worries about your future, and your genetics can also contribute to depression.
If your doctor finds that you have depression while taking Aromasin, they may prescribe antidepressant medication. Or they may recommend lifestyle treatments such as exercise or mindfulness. In addition, your doctor may suggest seeing a mental health professional or going to a cancer support group.
In a study of early breast cancer, 4. Bone fractures were reported in 4. Estrogen is important for bone growth and strength. Aromasin decreases estrogen levels in your body. Over time, your bones can become thin and brittle weak , which increases your risk for fractures. Extended treatment beyond 5 years with Aromasin increases the risk of losing bone density and having a bone fracture. Your doctor will check your bone mineral density before you start and during your treatment with Aromasin.
If you already have low bone mineral density, your risk for more bone loss and fractures is higher. Vitamin D is also important for strong bones. So before you start taking Aromasin, your doctor will order lab tests to check your vitamin D levels.
They may recommend vitamin D and medication for bone loss, if needed. Dangerous heart problems such as a blockage in the heart arteries, heart attack, heart failure, and chest pain can occur with Aromasin.
In one clinical study of early breast cancer, 1. Heart failure was also reported in 0. They can give you a physical exam, run a stress test to check the health of your heart, and order heart scans, if needed. Typically, your doctor will start you on a low dosage. Your doctor will ultimately prescribe the smallest dosage that provides the desired effect. The following information describes dosages that are commonly used or recommended.
However, be sure to take the dosage your doctor prescribes for you. Your doctor will determine the best dosage to fit your needs. Or they may want you to wait to take your next dose at your usual time the next day. A medication timer may be useful, too. Aromasin is meant to be used as part of a 5- to year treatment plan.
You and your doctor will decide how long you need to take the drug. Both Aromasin and tamoxifen are types of endocrine therapy, which is sometimes called hormone therapy. Both drugs are approved to treat breast cancer that needs the hormone estrogen for tumor growth. Aromasin and tamoxifen both work by stopping estrogen from encouraging cancer cells to grow and spread. But the two drugs each work in slightly different ways.
Aromasin is a kind of drug known as an aromatase inhibitor. It stops the aromatase enzyme a type of protein from making estrogen. Tamoxifen, on the other hand, stops estrogen from attaching to cancer cells.
Both Aromasin and tamoxifen come as tablets that you usually take once a day. And both drugs have some similar side effects, including hot flashes , hair loss, osteoporosis bone loss , and headache. For more information on dosing, side effects, and whether Aromasin or tamoxifen may be right for you, talk with your doctor. Aromatase inhibitors is the name of the drug class that Aromasin belongs to.
A class of drugs is a group of medications that work in a similar way. Aromasin for male breast cancer is considered an off-label use. However, the effect Aromasin has on estrogen is similar to the natural process of aging in women, which includes producing much less estrogen. These reduced levels can cause hot flashes and vaginal dryness , and prevent you from wanting or enjoying sexual activity.
Aromasin is a type of hormone therapy that works to stop the growth and spread of certain kinds of cancer. HRT resets or replaces low levels of hormones and relieves bothersome menopause symptoms.
These symptoms can include hot flashes, vaginal dryness, night sweats , and mood changes. Yes, you will. Your doctor will also test the health of your bones. Taking Aromasin can weaken your bones. So before you start taking the drug, your doctor will order lab tests to check your vitamin D levels.
Vitamin D is important for strong bones. If your levels are low, your doctor may recommend a vitamin D supplement. You may also need to take medication for bone loss. Talk with your doctor about the best time of day to have your dose and which meal to take it with. Early breast cancer occurs only in the breast, while advanced breast cancer has spread outside the breast. This is the kind of breast cancer that Aromasin treats. Aromasin works by stopping an enzyme type of protein called aromatase from working as usual.
Enzymes help chemical reactions in your body occur. The aromatase enzyme helps make estrogen from other hormones called androgens. One example of an androgen is the hormone testosterone. At that point, the aromatase enzyme is the main pathway that your body uses to make estrogen. By stopping aromatase from working, Aromasin lowers the level of estrogen in your body.
Aromatase can start to work soon after you take your first dose. It keeps building up its effect over time. Your doctor will run different tests during your treatment to check how well Aromasin is working to treat your cancer.
Aromasin is approved to treat several types of breast cancer. Aromasin may also be used off-label for other types of breast cancer. Aromasin is FDA-approved as an adjuvant therapy of early breast cancer. And early breast cancer occurs only in the breast or the lymph nodes in your armpit. A large clinical trial studied Aromasin as adjuvant therapy for breast cancer.
Researchers found that women who switched to Aromasin from tamoxifen were more likely to stay cancer-free than those who kept taking tamoxifen.
However, over time, there was no difference in the survival rate how long they lived in the two groups. The trial looked at 4, women who were postmenopausal had gone through menopause and took tamoxifen for 2 to 3 years. Half the women switched from tamoxifen to Aromasin. Most doctors recommend taking Aromasin at the same time each day. You should not take Aromasin if you are breastfeeding, pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or if there is any chance that you could be pregnant. Aromasin may cause damage to developing embryos.
You should use an effective non-hormonal type of birth control — such as condoms, a diaphragm along with spermicide, or a non-hormonal I. Ask your doctor which type of non-hormonal birth control would be best for you, as well as how long you should use this type of birth control after you stop taking Aromasin.
The large IES Intergroup Exemestane Study trial was started in and compared switching to Aromasin after taking tamoxifen for 2 to 3 years to staying on tamoxifen for 5 years.
The results have shown that switching to Aromasin for 2 to 3 years AFTER taking tamoxifen 2 to 3 years for a total of 5 years of hormonal therapy medicine was better than staying on tamoxifen for 5 years for:.
Research published in showed that Aromasin can lower risk in high-risk, postmenopausal women who've never been diagnosed with breast cancer. Aromasin is not approved by the FDA for this use, but doctors may consider it a good alternative to tamoxifen or Evista. In , the American Society of Clinical Oncology ASCO released new guidelines on using hormonal therapy medicines to reduce breast cancer risk in high-risk women.
These guidelines recommend that doctors talk to high-risk postmenopausal women about using Aromasin to reduce risk. ASCO is a national organization of oncologists and other cancer care providers. ASCO guidelines give doctors recommendations for treatments that are supported by much credible research and experience. Because Aromasin lowers the amount of estrogen in the body, less estrogen reaches bone cells, which can lead to bone thinning and weakening and a higher-than-average risk of broken bones.
This side effect can be very troubling for some women.
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