u/East_in_West

My sister is 34 and was diagnosed with ER/PR positive, HER2-negative stage 3 breast cancer about 1.2 years ago. She had surgery, lymph node removal, and radiation, and has been on letrozole + abemaciclib for the past 6 months.

She now has severe body pains (joints, jaw, ear) so bad she can barely move, plus new eye floaters. Doctors switched her to tamoxifen hoping to resolve floaters, and DEXA showed osteopenia (T-scores -1.5 to -1.9). They’re prescribing Shelcal CT (calcium + calcitriol tablets) for bone health.

She is worried her body pain isn’t being taken seriously enough. Has anyone dealt with letrozole/abemaciclib side effects this severe? What tests/treatments should we push her doctor for?

•	Pain management options beyond “it’ll get better”?

•	Stronger bone protection (IV zoledronic acid?) vs just Shelcal CT?

•	Experiences switching from letrozole to tamoxifen at her age?

Thanks for any advice.

My sister is 34 and was diagnosed with ER/PR positive, HER2-negative stage 3 breast cancer about 1.2 years ago. She had surgery, lymph node removal, and radiation, and has been on letrozole + abemaciclib for the past 6 months.

She now has severe body pains (joints, jaw, ear) so bad she can barely move, plus new eye floaters. Doctors switched her to tamoxifen hoping to resolve floaters, and DEXA showed osteopenia (T-scores -1.5 to -1.9). They’re prescribing Shelcal CT (calcium + calcitriol tablets) for bone health.

I’m worried her body pain isn’t being taken seriously enough. Has anyone dealt with letrozole/abemaciclib side effects this severe? What tests/treatments should we push her doctor for?

•	Pain management options beyond “it’ll get better”?

•	Stronger bone protection (IV zoledronic acid?) vs just Shelcal CT?

•	Experiences switching from letrozole to tamoxifen at her age?

Thanks for any advice.