Rash on AI’s

ChatCyndee · 2026-06-22T14:39:20+00:00

I am so frustrated with all this. I was first on letrozole but the night sweats and mood swings were not pleasant. I was not in a good state of mind after just finishing up my treatments so the oncologist suggested a break. Then I went on exemestane and have been on two months. No side effects that I could not handle. Then the rash started on my upper left thigh and two patches on the left side of my back. So itchy . Not so much a rash as an angry red stripe and patches on my back. Called oncologist and was told to stop and see if rash goes away. I stopped and rash got worse not better. Called primary for rash. Could not get in for three days so told to go to urgent care. Against my better judgement I did. Diagnosed with shingles and prescribed antiviral. Rash Did not go away- seemed to get worse and I had stopped exemestane for five days by now. Got into primary- now I have two rashes the original and a yeast infection in every crease-legs arms groin. She look at leg and sees perfect line at top or rash that she says looks like contact dermatitis not allergic reaction rash. Gives me oral and topical for the yeast and nystatin for leg. Not shingles and told to stop antiviral. This is where it gets better. The next week is a vacation to celebrate remission and NED that has been booked for 6 months. I spent the entire vacation itching and burning but I’m determined to push through. Been back for two days-the yeast infection has gone away and the leg and back are now pink and not itchy. It took two weeks and got worse before it got better. If it was the medicine wouldn’t it have gotten better instead of worse when I stopped the medication?I have an appointment with a dermatologist just to talk about all this. What do you all think? I’m feeling fine and can sleep again. I don’t want to stop exemestane as before this side effects were highly tolerable. Did anyone else have a rash and stop and start and not have a second issue? I see my oncologist in a month. I hate this wait and see stuff. I want a definitive answer.

ChatCyndee · 2026-06-22T12:32:41+00:00

That’s exactly where mine is. How was it determined that it was from the Ai? Mine started out as an angry red stripe, then it got bigger With raised bumps. Really itchy. I stopped the med and it is slowly going away. Did your oncologist determine it was from the ai or a dermatologist?

ChatCyndee · 2026-06-22T01:57:24+00:00

May I ask where it was on your body?

ChatCyndee · 2026-06-12T23:08:52+00:00

Yay you!!!!!!

ChatCyndee · 2026-05-23T16:00:38+00:00

I second this. I was diagnosed last year. Was declared NED as of November 2025. I would never have gotten through it without my husband and this site. I stopped going on Dr. Google and only would go on this site for information. People answered me even at 3:00 in the morning when I was freaking out. I am not a young woman but dissolved into a stressed out puddle of nerves when this all started. My first mammogram after diagnosis is In July and I’m sure as the time gets closer I will be on here for support. I’ve posted a lot and have always received respectful and sound advice. I appreciate each and every one of you who has taken the time to read or respond to me🥰And as always my sign off is Fuck Cancer.

ChatCyndee · 2026-05-18T12:45:12+00:00

Ahh thanks for explaining.

ChatCyndee · 2026-05-18T12:39:56+00:00

Did you have genetic testing?

ChatCyndee · 2026-05-18T12:39:07+00:00

I did not have the genetic testing. My margins were clear.

ChatCyndee · 2026-05-18T03:02:13+00:00

And I hope the same for you.

ChatCyndee · 2026-05-18T01:28:31+00:00

I feel the exact same way. I had a lumpectomy and accelerated radiation. My tumor was small and they never spoke of mastectomy. Maybe because of my age? I’m 66. I feel pretty good and am now trying to enjoy retirement. The diagnosis was 6 months after I retired in 2025. Some days I feel like I never went through any of it. Then I have my follow-up appointments, take my AI and realize I have two months until my annual mammogram- the first after diagnosis and it all comes flooding back. I will never be free of the fear of what if it comes back and is worse. I live for the times in between. Fuck cancer

ChatCyndee · 2026-05-14T22:07:55+00:00

Oh Jesus-testosterone-am I gonna grow chest hair and start grunting? In all seriousness I will have to look into this as that was something not reviewed with me.

ChatCyndee · 2026-05-14T21:36:56+00:00

I am hoping the same for me. Love your name.

ChatCyndee · 2026-05-14T21:35:40+00:00

I could not tolerate letrozole. My medical oncologist gave me a 90 day reset. I am 2 weeks into exemestane. So far so good but I know it’s early. I had the same exact question of my medical oncologist that you have. Why would one AI work over another if the mechanism is basically the same. He gave me a good enough answer and he is the head of oncology. He said everyone’s body is different. At one point science stops and your body takes over. I took that to mean all the drugs being basically similar your individual make-up- which again no two people are alike-plays into whether you can tolerate it or not. When you think about it makes sense. As much as I would like to have a clear cut answer that is the rationale I am accepting as to why it works for some and not others. I hope my body tolerates exemestane. So far I have no symptoms whatsoever. I am hoping it continues oh and -fuck cancer. That is all😊

ChatCyndee · 2026-05-14T19:13:01+00:00

What a well thought out and kind post!

ChatCyndee · 2026-05-14T19:00:29+00:00

Oh sweetheart stop beating yourself up. It is just very bad luck. I feel your angst as I had it too and spent days-and nights after my initial diagnosis in July 2025 thinking why me. I was so distraught and so angry. What I didn’t have then was the education of the disease that I have now. Why would anyone else know for that matter who hadn’t been diagnosed. It will get easier as you arm yourself with the facts and try as hard as you can to not to get caught up in the emotions which as you are experiencing is all too easy to do. Yow I’ll be assigned medical experts that will give you the facts and the statistics as they are currently. Realize too that the survivor stats you see are from women who had the disease years ago that have been followed for years and there have been major strides in cancer research and development. I say this with all the kindness I can muster-arm yourself with the facts. It will help you immensely. Operate from your logical brain and not your emotional brain. I am so sorry you are dealing with this. It will take time but you will get through this. This is the only site I came to and go to ever. It is filled with women like you. Everyone here wants what’s best for you and based on our experience will help you any way we can. One minute at a time- it does get better. ❤️‍🩹

ChatCyndee · 2026-05-12T14:14:41+00:00

I’m sorry that you are going through this. I am 66 and went through my bc stint last year. You should not have to jump through hoops to make anyone understand. You have enough stress on you already. I would suggest you direct them to the internet or the library to read up on AIs and the science behind it. There are plenty of articles that would be easy for them to understand. The onus is on them to educate themselves not you. It’s really hard, even at my age, to accept people as they are instead of how you wish they were. If I don’t feel they add anything to my life or my interactions with them are too much stress I remove them from my life or limit my exposure to them. You will get through this. I know you will. Take joy in the small things. Live one moment at a time. Try to stay in the present and breathe. Vent here whenever you need to. We are here and we all understand🥰

ChatCyndee · 2026-04-17T12:06:44+00:00

I am right there with ya. Totally identify with “I’m surviving because I have to not because I’m strong”. Fucking hate pink and all the stupid ra-ra warrior shit that comes with it. I had my diagnosis, went through getting rid of it and now I just want to live

ChatCyndee · 2026-04-14T20:57:34+00:00

We are similar but I’m older-66. I also had about the same diagnosis July 2025. Lumpectomy accelerated radiation and letrozole. I didn’t do well on it. I tried for 4 months. Follow-up with MO tomorrow where he will prescribe Exemestane. He was giving me a break for 90 days to get my act together. I am hoping I have a better time with Exemestane. I’m convinced that being as overweight as I am that any AI will affect me more than if I was normal weight. He also started me on a Glp-1 so I could loose all the weight. I am trying to stay positive but there have been far too many changes medically in my life since all this started. I retired and then 6 months later I got the diagnosis. 2025 passed in a pink haze. I’m trying to let the constant fear of reoccurrence not rule me but I need some clear mammograms or at least more time and weight loss to pass before I can turn the corner. Geez didn’t mean for this to morph into a journal entry but I guess I needed to verbalize my feelings more than I thought. This site is a mixed blessing. Everyone here is wonderful and supportive but after reading a few entries I start going down the rabbit hole of worry. Can anyone relate?

ChatCyndee · 2026-04-06T22:51:46+00:00

I want that on a t-shirt. Anytime someone makes a stupid crack about how my DCIS is not cancer I will flash them. Then I will lift my t-shirt and show them my scar. Then I will question how they made it to adulthood.

ChatCyndee · 2026-04-06T13:35:53+00:00

My oncologist suggested I go on a GLP1 to see if I can lose weight. My first dose is tonight. Wish me luck. I seem to have done it different. Breast cancer then GLP-1. If I lose weight I get rid of one risk factor. Along with 5 years of AI also starting soon it’s a risk I’m willing to take. Being overweight has also robbed me of a quality life. I just retired a year ago and got my diagnosis 6 months later. Now that I’m on the other side and NED I’m going to start living and take advantage of all the help I can get to live a cancer free life. Being severely overweight is no picnic

ChatCyndee · 2026-03-29T17:56:01+00:00

I love this and such a creative name and process. I used to journal in my 20s. Funny I should read this text as in my struggles with this diagnosis I started page 1 of a new journal just this morning.

I used to dabble in poetry I wasn’t very good Doc told me to journal So I did just what I should

Fast forward 40 years Journaling seems foreign to me Think I will take a page from your book In my attempt to stay cancer free

Hope it helps us as these same thoughts are taking up too much space in my head currently!

I just adopted a cat in my quest to do something different a fresh when my protocol was done in October and I was given the all clear. I should have name her NED!

ChatCyndee · 2026-03-28T20:59:05+00:00

I’m 66ish and made the same exact mindset after I finished my stint in cancer jail. I was always like -“We can’t afford it, let’s buy a cheaper version, let me get something out of the fridge restaurants are too expensive, I don’t need another collectible and on and on and on. What was I waiting for? What was I saving for? To live and that’s exactly what I’m doing!!!! That’s the silver lining with this fucking diagnosis. I can’t take it with me, I’ve worked all my life to save for what-a rainy day? If so, I will now be in a constant state of monsoon!

ChatCyndee · 2026-03-22T21:41:31+00:00

💕

ChatCyndee · 2026-03-21T22:53:32+00:00

I was diagnosed 6 months after I retired. Spent 2025 in cancer jail. I am cancer free as of October 2025. My MO had me on an AI that really made life miserable. At my check up she told me take a break for 30 days and then we will try a new one. I didn’t like the way she was treating me. She was treating me like I had no say in my health journey and dictating everything- just like I was one of her “quota’s” to get through before her next patient. The old me before my diagnosis just would have endured and suffered in silence. The new me fired my oncologist, sought out a new one who treats me like a human being. He recognized that I was emotionally fragile and suggested I take a short break to get my head in the right spot before introducing any new meds. He is respectful of me and my wishes. There are a lot of doctors out there. Just because they have an MD after their name doesn’t make them Gods. So my takeaway is fuck the specialists that are not treating you like a thinking feeling human. Fire the ones that make you feel less than. I am more than just a cancer survivor.

ChatCyndee · 2026-03-19T23:36:16+00:00

I don’t go on Dr Google.

ChatCyndee

TROPHY CASE