I see my oncologist tomorrow. You know the drill, the usual check in. I have to talk to him about a better way. I am having trouble distinguishing between aging and Arimidex. My joints hurt, and now that I have been on Arimidex for six months, more is accumulating in my system. At least that's what I think because the pain and stiffness is very apparent every day. It is difficult to use my hands in the morning and my feet make it unbearable to ?jump out of bed? like I used to do.

I am concerned that something is going on that will be more of an issue later on. After two or three years on this stuff, I truly think about the long-term effects. Will I be crippled from an arthritis condition 10 or 20 years down the road? Then I start to wonder, would anyone really have an answer to that for such a new drug?

The reality is that it is a balance between cancer risk and pain. I need to really determine if one outweighs the other. After all, it has to be about quality of life. The only drawback about that argument is that many of us are too young to be risking disease for quality of life. These are things I need to talk to my oncologist about.

Have you thought this through for your own treatment? Is there a better way? I could use your input.