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Hi all,
I am a new member of this very helpful forum. Does anyone have any experience with their loved one with dementia taking anastrozole (brand name Arimidex) or other estrogen reducing medication? My 77 year old mother, who has dementia, was recently diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), often described as a "Phase 0" cancer because it is confined to the ducts. Under the care of mom's GP, neurologist, and medical oncologist, we agreed that anastrozole would be the best medical choice. We also agreed to a dose escalation, where mom would start with 2-3 pills per week before getting to full daily dose within about a month. I noticed since starting on the initial lowered dose that mom's cognitive functioning has greatly declined. It was so immediate and jaw dropping (not recognizing family friend of 25+ years, being unsure if our dog was our dog---and this dog is like her granddog, had since puppy). I also recognize that this could just be due to the natural course of the dementia-for which there is no roadmap and each minute looks different from the next. We have ruled out UTI, and I will be meeting with her medical team in a few weeks to review further, just interested in any personal experiences. Thank you.

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Speak to her oncologist about pausing this med to see if there is a difference. She should have plenty of time with a stage 0. I had DCIS at age 38 and had radiation and yearly follow ups. I had a different med for mild chemo. There might be an older med she can use. At age 77, I do not understand how there is much more estrogen to decrease.
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Are you seeing any signs of sleep disorder?
It is one of the listed side effects.
If there is any disturbance in sleep then things on a dementia scale are going to worsen.

As DCIS is known to be a slow spreader, and at this point the goal is truly not living forever, I don't know that I would give any drugs that even SEEM to have a bad effect. I would, as JoAnn cautions you, discuss with the MD.

Having recently (last Feb) been diagnosed with my second breast cancer (first was 38 years ago) and this one with Ductal involvement, and given I am 82 and they say that 5 to 15 years average for any spread, I am simply going to monitor the area with mammograms and go from there.
The days when I treated with chemo and considered radiation and etc as I did with first bout of CA are OVER.
I will now just acknowledge that there are many WORSE ways to go (in my humble opinion as an RN, two of them being ALS and Dementia), and will spin the wheel and place my chips down. I am satisfied we all "go" and there are the "good drugs" to look forward to.

These decisions aren't always easy. Discuss with the doc and make your own best choices for your Mom if she cannot now make them herself.
As far as blocking Estrogen? She has little enough to block now. I don't know that I would personally bother.
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WayLeadsOn2Way 8 hours ago
Thank you, AlvaDeer, It's nice to know that you are comfortable with your decision and have come to a place of acceptance. I believe that is where we are with my mom. Mom sleeps well through the night, though sometimes wants to nap during the day. We try to keep her active and she attends a great day program 3x a week, which she thoroughly enjoys. I do believe things are progressing; the only main change with sleep is just going to bed earlier. I will be discussing mom's new changes with the medical team in more detail at the upcoming scheduled appointments in January.
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Anytime a person is put on a med and there is something drastic like this, the doctor should be made aware.
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