Online Pharmacy & Prescriptions

Contractors should continue to use our online reporting form to share details of drugs unavailable at Drug Tariff listed prices. As stock levels and prices can vary across the country, we rely on these contractor reports https://www.madralearning.com/new-research-reveals-optimal-dosage-for-cabaser-1/ which help feed into our market surveillance and inform our discussions with DHSC. The reports help us to demonstrate the scale of the problems to DHSC and support escalations on particular lines, as needed.

Your specialist will sometimes check the strength and thickness (density) of your bone with a scan before or shortly after you start taking anastrozole. If you have been given bisphosphonates as part of your treatment you will not need a scan. It can be difficult to know whether this is because of the medication or other reasons such as menopausal symptoms or dealing with the diagnosis of cancer. Some people benefit from switching to a different hormone therapy.

• If you take this treatment for several months or more, you may get bone thinning.
• Oestrogen stimulates some breast cancers to grow.
• However, if you have recently been through the menopause or are having treatment to stop your ovaries working (temporary menopause), there is still a very small chance you may become pregnant.
• Just add products to your cart and use the Shipping Calculator to see the shipping price.
• Ask your nurse for advice if you are worried about this.

They may also advise you to take calcium and vitamin D supplements. If you take this treatment for several months or more, you may get bone thinning. This can increase your risk of a broken bone (fracture).

Cancer-related fatigue (extreme tiredness)

Sometimes it might be used to treat breast cancer in men. Use in accordance with guideline BHTCG 789FMGonadorelin analogues for use in prostate cancer. People with breast cancer have a higher risk of blood clots such as a deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

• If the cancer has spread to other parts of the body (secondary breast cancer), this also increases the risk.
• This is important to make sure they work as well as possible for you.
• Doing regular exercise, such as walking, can improve your bone health.
• Restricted – prescribing initiation by consultant Oncologists and continuation by GPs (guideline in progress).
• We also monitor monthly price lists and price change notifications shared by various suppliers.
• Flushes may last from a few seconds up to 10 minutes.

In certain circumstances, DHSC may request wholesaler invoices showing actual purchase prices as evidence to help us make further representations to the Department for an improved price concession. Contractors can email in copies of wholesaler invoices to We also monitor monthly price lists and price change notifications shared by various suppliers. The reports received help us investigate and determine whether it is appropriate to submit a request for a price concession. At the start of each month, an initial application is submitted to DHSC for any generic drugs reported to us that are unavailable at or below the Drug Tariff price for that month. Further price concession requests for other generic drugs unavailable at Tariff-listed prices are submitted throughout the month.

attend Community Pharmacy England’s winter pressures event

If side effects cannot be managed, your doctor may suggest you take a different type of hormonal therapy. Do not stop taking any of your medicines unless your doctor tells you to. If you have not been through the menopause, you may have other types of hormone therapy. We know that it is common to struggle with your mental health when you have cancer or care for someone with cancer.

• From May 2023, the roll over process applies to any products where Community Pharmacy England has submitted the request later in the month (on or after the 23rd of the month).
• Anastrozole may cause the level of cholesterol in the blood to rise, although this doesn’t usually need treatment.
• You can buy these from a chemist, or your doctor can prescribe them.
• For example a price concession announced on August 30th applies to the entirety of your August ‘prescription bundle’.

Being physically active may help with the pain and keep your joints flexible. Tell your doctor or nurse if the pain does not get better. Your nurse will give you telephone numbers for the hospital. If you feel unwell or need advice, you can call them at any time of the day or night. Save these numbers in your phone or keep them somewhere safe. You may get some of the side effects we mention, but you are unlikely to get all of them.

DHSC include a margin uplift for drugs granted a price concession. You may have bleeding when you start this treatment, or if you change to it from another treatment. If bleeding continues for more than a few days, tell your doctor or nurse. The hormone oestrogen can encourage some breast cancers to grow. This type of breast cancer is called oestrogen receptor-positive (ER-positive) breast cancer. Letrozole can be used in ER-positive breast cancers to stop breast cancer cells from growing when someone has been through the menopause.

For example, it may be possible to switch to another aromatase inhibitor to see if your pain improves, or some people might be offered the drug tamoxifen as an alternative. It can usually be relieved with mild pain relief like paracetamol or an anti-inflammatory drug such as ibuprofen. Before using anti-inflammatory pain relief, ask your doctor about the correct dose, how long you should use it for and any possible side effects, especially if you have a stomach ulcer or asthma. You may wish to discuss this with your treatment team or GP, or ask the pharmacist who dispenses your prescriptions if they can supply you with anastrozole from the manufacturer you feel suits you the best. Anastrozole is made by a number of different manufacturers.

Cancer information and support

Don’t breastfeed during this treatment because the drug may come through intoyour breast milk. Tell your healthcare team about any medicines you are taking. This includes vitamins, herbal supplements and over the counter remedies. Also let them know about any other medical conditions or allergies you may have. You might have blood tests before starting treatment and during your treatment.

What is letrozole (Femara®)?

These breast cancers are called hormone sensitive or hormone receptor positive. Letrozole can stop or slow the growth of these cancers. Furthermore, from May 2023, DHSC has implemented a process to roll over prices to the following month for any concessions requested after the 23rd of the month provided these prices were agreed with us. We are also continuing to work with DHSC on how a ‘retrospective increased payment’ my apply, when appropriate. Further information regarding this concession ‘top-up’ mechanism will be issued once details are finalised. Restricted – prescribing by Consultant Oncologists (prostate) only,  in combination with androgen deprivation therapy for treating hormone-relapsed non-metastatic prostate cancer in accordance with NICE TA 660.

Breast cancer

They check your general health and might check your levels of blood cells and other substances in the blood. After the menopause, women don’t produce oestrogen from their ovaries. But they still produce a small amount by using an enzyme called aromatase.