Taking exemestane: timing, food and daily routine

Exemestane is taken as one tablet once a day, at the dose your doctor prescribes, and it is best taken after a meal. Food helps your body absorb the medicine more consistently, so many women take it straight after breakfast or dinner. Swallow the tablet whole with a glass of water. The exact time of day matters less than keeping to a similar time and always taking it after eating, because a steady routine keeps oestrogen levels reliably low and makes it much easier to remember. Keep the tablets in their original pack, at room temperature, away from heat, damp and direct sunlight, and out of the sight and reach of children. If you forget a dose, take it later the same day if you remember, or skip it if your next dose is nearly due; never take two together. Exemestane can usually be taken alongside calcium and vitamin D, bone-strengthening medicines and most everyday treatments, but check anything new with your pharmacist, and avoid products containing oestrogen, such as hormone replacement therapy. If you are premenopausal, exemestane is only started once your ovaries have been switched off with injections or surgery, and your team may check hormone levels first. For early breast cancer, it is usually taken for several years, so building a simple habit from the start really helps. If side effects make taking the tablet hard, talk to your team rather than stopping.

After a meal, once a day

Take one tablet after food at roughly the same time each day.

Store it safely

Keep tablets in their pack, somewhere cool and dry, away from children.

Check before adding anything new

Most medicines are fine, but oestrogen products and some herbal remedies are not.

A good routine solves forgetting, but it does not solve everything that makes long-term tablets hard.

Side effects need their own help

If joint pain, hot flushes or low mood make you want to stop, a reminder app will not fix that. Your team can offer treatments or a different tablet.

Small timing differences are fine

There is no evidence that taking exemestane an hour or two earlier or later on some days makes any difference.

What this page cannot tell you

It cannot replace the instructions for your own situation, especially if you take other medicines such as everolimus or ovarian suppression injections.

Many women take several medicines. A few simple points keep things safe.

Calcium and vitamin D

These can be taken at the same meal as exemestane, as your team advises.

Bone medicines

Bisphosphonate tablets have strict instructions, often on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, so take exemestane later after a meal.

Everolimus in advanced cancer

If you take everolimus too, follow the timing and food advice given for that combination, and keep up the regular blood tests it needs.

Anything containing oestrogen

Avoid HRT, hormonal contraception and most vaginal oestrogen unless your oncologist has agreed.