Zometa

here is one article -

Hi,

I started my Zometa after I finished my chemo. I was node negative but had a high oncotype score, thus I had chemo.

My bone density was not great so the onco felt that Zometa could not hurt and might prevent a recurrence in addition to improving my bones.

I am not familiar if others have taken it with chemo. It is a short infusion. I had no side effects at all after it.

Go for whatever might prevent a recurrnce. My insurance did pay totally for it.

Hugs,

Francine

HI Kimber

There is also a study that shows getting WITH chemo can help increase teh effectiveness of the chemo. The girls in the study hada 100% response to the chemo which increases long term survival.

I am talking about this today with my oncologist as I am couldn't do it up to this point b-c of being prego but  I am hoping to do it with the taxol.

yeah at the very least though it prevent ostroporisis (spel?) and my mom got that really bad after being on tamoxofin for 5 years.

Christine - I too would not have known about it if not for these boards. Great to hear you have got the ball rolling for yourself!

It is funny, as when I first asked for it, my onc said "where did you hear about it" too, as if I was overstepping a line somehow. 

As for SE's - my Onc doesn't seem to think they are of any concern at all. She thinks it is pretty safe. When I got my infusion, the nurse (employed by Norvatis) seemed more concerned with renal failure than the jaw thing - she just said no extractions. Norvatis requires bloodwork from me checking kidney function before each infusion. 

There is an article in prevention magazine that I was reading at the gym this am about "dr.google"  They did a survey on colon cancer survivors and those that did research on their own had more agressive and targeted treatments than those that didnt.

duh.

I also learned about the Zometa on these boards and my onc initially didn't want to pursue it. But I have had 1 infusion ... like KerryMac, done at home by a nurse sent by Zometa. My insurance won't cover it, the hospital won't administer it (which would then cover the cost) but Access Zometa is subsidizing 50%. I don't know why, in Ontario, Zometa is such an issue and not part of standard treatment considering the proven effect. But thanks to folks here, I was able to bring the issue up, ask good questions, and now am receiving the treatment. The onc told me about the potential se's .. my dentist (my brother) called her and he's ok with follow up. The onc has 2 patients with severe se's but both of them have been on Zometa for more than 3 years.

My oncologist says that it isn't yet proven that Zometa works and that the women in the Austrian trial didn't have chemo, so you can't infer too much from it.  Can any of you smart women out there tell me of other trials showing the effects of Zometa or have any rebuttal to his statement? I do trust my onc to be very up-to-date on all the trials- he is the head of the norwegian committee to set the breast cancer treatment standards for the country. But when I see so many women on these boards getting Zometa, I don't want to be left behind. I'm already getting every treatment in the book, I wouldn't even notice getting one more!

From the Austrian study, which involved more than 1000 women, none had osteonecrosis of the jaw when receiving 8mg every 6 months.  That would seem to put this serious side effect into the category of no more than 1 in 1000 for women at that dosage.  The current clinical trial though does give the drug at more frequent intervals for the first 6 months.  You need a clean bill of health from your dentist to get into the clinical trial, as there is an association between the problem and recent dental work involving the bone, like extractions and root canals.  It would probably be wise should a problem occur with your teeth during the treatment period, to explore less invasive alternatives to avoid disrupting the jaw bone.  Other serious side effects include kidney problems, and you need to have your creatinine clearance tested to get in the clinical trial, and probably during it, to ensure proper kidney function as it stresses the kidneys.  My wife Bev is in the clinical trial.  I am hopeful that positive results will be seen, esp in light of the new data (Women's Health Initiative) that other bisphosphonates given for osteoporosis treatment appear to have a preventative effect in breast cancer becoming invasive.  This adds to the evidence that bisphosphonates have some direct effect on the cancer cells themselves, regardless of whether in soft tissue or bone.

I'm not in a clinical trial but was able to get it through Access Zometa. My onc wrote the prescription. While the results may be too soon to be 100% conclusive, there is enough good data there that has been replicated that convinced me to give it a try.

I  will be starting a clinical trail for Zometa along with chemo treatments . I noticed several of you have about the same stats as myself . I would like to be your friend as we take this journey together . Today is not a good day . Today is one of those scared shitless days . Most of the time Iam very positive . My sister in a law had BC in 1992 with 18 nodes involved and she is doing great today .

Diagnoised 10 /09  er+ pr+ her-  3.4 cm stage IIIb  9nodes out of 20 involved

Thanks Linda

What day isn't a scared shitless day? I just try to put one foot in front of the other as each day goes on. Some days are better than others but for me, it doesn't go away.

I was given a Zometa infusion for the first time with my very first chemo treatment, then I got another one 2 weeks ago.

KerryMac- I had my ovaries removed when I was 45 and will be going on AI after rads, so I would imagine I am at risk of osteoporosis (sp?). I will definitely give it a try with my onc. Thanks for the suggestion!

There are some new studies that came out recently that show that Zometa upfront in women on an aromatase inhbitor is better for preventing bone loss than delayed Zometa (which means not giving the drug until there is a decease in bone density). So, any of you on an aromatase inhibitor can make a good argument for Zometa that way. I will try and see if I can paste in a suitable abstract....