Despite the obvious benefits of taking daily medications every day -- especially for those fighting cancer -- you may be very surprised how many folks are skipping or stopping them altogether. Try more than half, according to a study of some 8,800 female patients fighting stages 1-3 hormone-sensitive breast cancer who stopped taking hormone therapy on their own.

Just 49 percent of the women surveyed over the 11-year span of the study completed their regimen of hormone therapy, and 72 percent of this smaller group completed it on time. Among the interesting commonalities shared by patients who took hormone therapy for 4.5 years: They were married, had undergone therapy before, had longer intervals between prescription refills and were of Asian/Pacific Islander descent.

Conversely, patients gave up on hormone therapy for a variety of reasons, including high costs, not understanding the benefits and side effects (hot flashes, fatigue and joint pain). The latter isn't surprising at all, considering some 40 percent of female patients taking aromatase inhibitors experience joint pain and the side effects connected with taking tamoxifen (especially in tandem with other drugs) may be severe, lead researcher Dr. Dawn Hershman told USA Today.

Even worse, patients under age 40 were more likely than any other group to drop therapy, even though their life expectancy was the longest. Some experts point out children -- wanting them or caring for them -- may be a factor in recidivism rates among younger patients too.

I don't mind sounding like a broken record when reminding you to go see your doctor before make any changes to your treatment… Please?

Journal of Clinical Oncology June 28, 2010

healthfinder.gov June 29, 2010

USA Today June 28, 2010