How long does aromatase inhibitor therapy take to work for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer?

Aromatase inhibitors reduce the body’s production of oestrogen after menopause. Lower oestrogen can reduce hormonal stimulation of receptor-positive breast cancer cells, but the clinical response is not judged by how you feel alone. Depending on your treatment plan, the team may use examination, breast imaging, pathology information or other scans to follow the disease. If the medicine is being used after surgery, its purpose may be to lower the chance of cancer returning over a longer treatment course rather than to make a visible lump change quickly.

Take the tablet on the agreed schedule and tell your oncology team before stopping it. Report joint or muscle stiffness, hot flushes, vaginal symptoms, low mood or sleep changes; several options can help. Ask about bone-strength assessment, calcium and vitamin D advice, and suitable weight-bearing activity. Keep a symptom record that includes when discomfort starts and how it affects walking, work or sleep. Attend planned examinations and imaging even when you feel well.

Call your care team about severe or persistent pain, a new breast or chest-wall change, marked swelling, unexplained bleeding or side effects that make daily activities difficult. Seek urgent help for sudden chest pain, severe breathlessness, new one-sided weakness or a serious allergic reaction.

Is this treatment intended after surgery, before another treatment or for cancer that has spread? Which findings will show that it is helping? How will you protect my bone health? What can we do if joint symptoms affect my routine?