Thank you Dr. Liz for your research. I’ve put off watching this for a while because, like now, tears well- up in my eyes. This is the most destructive drug I’ve ever been on. In May, it will be 2 years since my diagnosis. The surgery was the easy part. I was on this drug over a year and suffered every single symptom you mentioned. I couldn’t take the painful side effects, though they continue because the damage has been done. How in the world did this particular drug ever pass in the first place? Money to the big pharmas? When my doctor checked my height, he said I was 5’2” !!! I said oh no, you are mistaken. I remembered us laughing when he lifted his arms up and said “hey, don’t shoot me, I’m just the messenger “. I had lost 2 inches! That led me back to my oncologist asking for another bone density test even though I wasn’t due for another year. In that very short period of time I lost 9.7% of spinal bone mass and 6.7% in my hip. Good God. This is the part that truly saddens me and to know there are others going through the same shit. I don’t smoke marijuana but don’t judge those who do. Some people smoke their cocktails, others drink them. But how is something so innocuous as weed be illegal in most states and countries yet this highly toxic Exemestane exist? These are all rhetorical questions but it boggles the mind. God bless you. I hope you are having a good day. ❤

I watch you faithfully and I have been waiting for a video on Exemestane!! Thank you so much for all of the information you provide! Your videos have been so helpful in my recovery! ❤

Thank you doctor for your great help

I’m on exemestane since August 23… am not gonna lie it’s hard. Am only 37, Side effects, little things, but all together they make life really miserable- hot flushes, headaches, sleepless nights, dizziness, mood swings, aches bones, fatigue, legs cramps, lack of concentration, confusion … 🫤 People ask- how are you- well every day I feel bad, I don’t want to complain but it’s true . I think being on force menopause and exemestane is worse than having chemo every 3 weeks 😢

Searched high and low and could not find the information that you so deftly explained here. Bravo and thanks, it has gone a long way to help me make informed decisions.

I do really appreciate your videos and you sharing your experience with the world- it’s desperately needed. BUT I still don’t understand the difference between exemestane and the other AIs at all. Parroting that the differences are that it irreversibly binds to the receptor and is steroidal is all I’ve ever been told when I ask, and that’s incredibly unhelpful. If it irreversibly binds to the receptor, does that mean at the end of a 5 or 10 yr course that you will no longer be able to make estrogen or estradiol or whatever? You will not eventually be at the level of a normal post menopausal woman? Do these receptors die and are they replaced over time in a way that could affect cancer recurrence? If our levels are 85-95% of menopausal women’s estrogen, which is 20-30% of premenopausal, how does this not mean earlier death due to all organs needing a certain amount of estrogen in order to function properly, especially brain and heart? I have no idea if I’m properly understanding things or speaking out of my bum- I just know that it feels like most of cancer treatment is definitely still at the stage of throwing stuff at a wall and seeing if it sticks, without anyone I’ve ever spoken to being able to convey WHY a thing works. I just hear studies I’ve read paraphrased back at me- and the parameters and population of those studies are not my particular situation, so how can I feel confident in the resulting treatment choices? I’ve read many NCBI studies and learned more than I thought I was capable of learning, and discussed them with my onco team, but it’s a rare thing when I walk away feeling like I understand anything new or with a different perspective. That’s a hard pill to swallow (literally and figuratively), when I had under 2cm multi focal low grade ++- (stage 1a), upgraded to 2b post path when 2 of 3 sentinel nodes taken had 7mm macromets, and then I was told radiation and 10yrs of exemestane and monthly Lupron shots are my best shot at avoiding (delaying?) metastasis, as chemo would likely be more harmful than helpful… So if I can’t have a false sense of security like some other folks, I just wish I could find resources that can explain what my treatments actually do and what they affect in a way that a parent might explain to a small child how water becomes snow. But with way more words. And don’t even get me started on “Axillary web syndrome”. How the BLEEP are there no Google images of Axillary web dissection/anatomical pictures with labels? Why is the treatment for this thing that my team said nobody knows exactly what it is except sticky protein glue caused by surgical trauma and “a bunch of stuff” getting stuck together in cords (but 10-40% of mastectomy/radiation patients get it???) to PUSH ON IT UNTIL IT BREAKS, which often causes hematoma and who knows what other potential problems? How is science so advanced and so completely not understood at the same time… (End pointless rant. Sorry. I’m waiting for lung CT results and I don’t know where to put “it”. I get that I’m publicly talking to myself in your space, but I’ll probably hit send anyway out of…sadness/hope)

Letrozole has gone past making my life miserable. I have most of the side effects you mentioned and it is effecting my eyes, so I now have to use artificial tears five times a day. My Oncologist is switching me to Exemestane, so this information could not be more timely or useful. Thank you.

Hi I have been taking Examestane for past year and half and developed eye severe dryness and tearing. Does anyone else experience this? Thanks Dr R for wonderful videos❤

I have been waiting for this as I always wondered why I'm on this drug and although my Oncologist is great and has explained all of this my head is never in the right place during the appointments! I am so lucky so far I've been on Ex for 9 months and so far have minimum side effects compared to a few a of my BC friends I also take abemacliclib for early ER+ so would love for you to feature this.

Thank you, so much, for this clear explanation. I had such severe hot flushes on Letrozole, my oncologist switched me to exemestane. I am still getting them several times a day - I break into a sweat just picking up the broom - but they are not every fifteen minutes anymore. My bone density has been a worry, although not bad enough for an infusion. I just take calcium and vitamin D supplements to deal with it. Overall, I am happier on exemestane than I was on Letrozole.

Hi Dr.I was diagnosed as stage 3 a few months after having a clear mammogram.My 1st Dr put me on Tamoxifen and I was 67 yrs.old.I have been on exemestene for 3 yrs.I believe my 1st Dr.didn't give me the exemestene and instead gave me the Tamoxifen.I have pain in a couple of areas of my body,and I am estrogen positive.My scans come back clear,and I am thankful for that.

Thank you for your in-depth explanation. I just wonder if, as you mentioned, exemestane is a steroidal drug do you get any steroid side effects, or just those that you mentioned?