weezie's Cancer Blog
March 28, 2008
| BISPHOSPHONATES -bone thinning or secondary cancer treatment | Views: 326 |
Anyone had your Dr. prescibe a drug for bone thinning or treatment to secondary cancer – metastasis in the bone? Briefly, I have received 2 treatments called Aredia or via I.V. which is about a 3 hour treatment. It is done on an outpatient basis and requires you to go monthly perhaps for the rest of your life as Cancer really is a lifelong project. Since my veins roll and it is quite hard to get a person to do the I.V. insertion properly I was advised to have a portocath inserted. Well not too happy about that one so I went onto a website – google the name(cancerbackup) you will find it. Found out that there are a group of drugs under Bisphosphonates and that one of them was in pill form. Well you guessed it. I just saw my Oncologist this week to ask him about the alternative since I was not comfortable with knowing a portocath would be with me for ever. I can see it while you are doing chemo but not for ever! Well he said I could do this and that the results would be basically the same. So now I am on a drug called Clodronate – 2 pills taken orally twice daily. 1600 mg. daily, in other words. He felt that it was easier taking an iv once a month. Perhaps that is true – not for me. I would rather take the pills daily than go through the travel, parking & costs plus my time. I go every month anyway for blood tests. Just thought if anyone was being given this you might want to know that it is for life. Also I am bemused that my Oncologist never gave me that alternative in the first place. Be vigilant about getting all the facts. Thank god for the internet. Take care everyone. Weezie from Canada eh
BISPHOSPHONATES -bone thinning or secondary cancer treatment, 
4 comments)
06.22.08 - 
Thanks for your support -
That is wonderful, Weezie. I don’t blame you one bit. I would much rather take the pills than have the IV. It just burns me up that your oncologist did not tell you about both and let YOU MAKE THE CHOICE. That is awful that he just took it on himself to make the choice for you. The info you can get on the internet is just wonderful. How did we ever get along without it?
Well, I hope you have a good weekend. My love and my prayers will be with you. Talk to you again soon. Love and many hugs, Joyce
the more you know the more you can tell your Doctor. Hug Sherri
Hi Louise, I am sorry it took so long to get back to answer your questions of March 28. I am been feeling a little under the weather.
No, I didn’t take anything for my Osteopenia except the 1500 mg of calcium and of course Vitamin D. They mentioned me taking something else but decided to wait and see how my next bone density test turned out.
I have had many, many full bone scans over the years until I have lost count of just how many. They gave me one everytime I mentioned a new pain in my back or anywhere. I had them after surgery and year for a long time. I had 2 bone scan last year in 2007. The one in January, 2007, showed a spot on my breast sturnum. The oncologist said he didn’t think it was anything to worry about but I had a MRI just to be sure. The MRI was fine. I had another one in August, 2007, and it was fine.
I am sure he did the bone scan after surgery just as a precaution to make sure. It is better to be safe than sorry.
I hope all goes well with you, my friend. Keep in touch and let me know how you are. I REALLY CARE. You will be in my prayers always. Love and hugs, Joyce
Dear Joyce; I’m sorry to hear you haven’t been up to snuff lately. I hope everything is going to be better very soon. I guess we just have some of those days regardless of how well our progress goes. Update: I am now taking Clodronate which is the pill form for a week. Seems it gives heartburn which is not great but will monitor this for the next couple of weeks. Can’t figure out why, however I may call the drug company just to find out if this is rare or standard. I have never suffered from that so it feels uneasy. Better than the weekly trip for i.v. My surgeon who I saw on Monday said both mammogram and ultrasound look fine. Just a small amount of fluid where surgery was done but he said that is pretty common. Wants me to do another ultrasound in 6 months. Bone scan scheduled for next week and will find out if the spot on my spine has shrunk, stayed the same or progessed. That will be the true tell story but will not be seeing surgeon for another week after that to find the results. Here we go again with the wait game. I think that is more trying than the exam. Pretty stange in this modern medicine that they can’t tell if it is cancer or an old injury or arthritis. Thanks for all your support it really means a great deal to me. I try not to talk about this as it just makes the people in your life feel sorry for you or just plain uncomfortable. Love this site for support. Keep on plugging all you wonderful members. Love from Weezie from Canada eh.