As a breast cancer survivor, I understand why women fear ‘wonder drugs’ like anastrozole
I worry that the focus on downsides will discourage women from even starting on this potentially life-giving medication, writes breast cancer survivor Leah Hardy
In September 2021, at the age of 58, I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. It was the most terrifying time of my life. I felt sure I was going to die and leave my two teenage children without a mother. Telling my family was heartbreaking, and then I faced months of intensive chemotherapy, life-changing surgery – including a double mastectomy – and 18 sessions of radiotherapy. I have been left with complications which mean I need at least another two operations over the coming year.
But I’m also pleased to say that, two years on, I’m considered cancer-free, and I feel good. But if I could have taken a daily pill to avoid getting cancer in the first place, would I have done so?
One such drug option is anastrozole. The hormone therapy has been used for years to treat breast cancer, and has now been licensed to prevent the disease from developing in the first place. Around 300,000 postmenopausal women in the UK with a family history of breast cancer are thought to be eligible. According to NHS England, even if only a quarter of these women opt to take it, anastrozole could prevent 2,000 of them from ever getting the shattering news that they have breast cancer.