More Zometa Drama!Help Requested!

Hi Pure,

 I just had this conversation with my onc yesterday.  I asked about it because I started Femara last month and am concerned about bone loss (my mother has ostopenia and my grandmother had osteoporosis). They are ordering a bone density test and will only prescribe if I have signs of either...

Hi! 

I had a hysterectomy right after chemo (instant menopause) and went on tamoxifen.

I begged my doc for Zometa based on early studies and was going to try to get into the study but my onc decided it would be easier to give it to me as a preventative for osteoporisis BECAUSE of the hysterectomy (even though she didnt feel too strongly about it because she felt tamox may actually protect bones and didnt feel too strongly about the early Zometa studies) So - in a nutshell - she gave me 2 years of Zometa every 6 months and said no more. AND THEN...

I had a dexa scan and at 41 have osteopenia AND border line osteoporosis in my back.  We were all floored.  I am a runner, I lift weights AND have been on zometa for 2 years!!!

So I get to keep Zometa indefinately - hopefully it DOES reduce recurrence as well as protect me from my back breaking.

I am now taking calcium 2xs a day as well.

IT is a mystery how I developed osteopenia/porosis so young even with preventative zometa (which it is approved for so I don't know why doc told you it wont do any good) and tamox but after I started thinking about it I probably had a problem PRE cancer.  At 16 years old I was 5 foot 7 and a half.  At 35 I was 5 foot 6.  Pre chemo at 39 I was 5 foot 5 and half.  I mentioned it to my GP at the time and he said it was likely due to a car accident I had and two pregnancies but now I wonder....

long story short I got my zometa!

my onc never suggested zometa to me evern though she was doing clinical trials for zometa.

my bone density was way high prior to starting chemo....etc....i had been a serious runner and drank a lof of milk for 30 years... (  had a baseline when i was 49..right before dx for cancer)  over the course of five and half years while on arimidex....my bone density went WAY down...i had it checked every 2 years. after finishing the armidex....adding calcuim and starting to walk 45 minutes every day....my bone density totally went back up and improved to what it was when i was 49...prior to armidex...etrc.  i was shocked it had improived but my bone doc said that it improved because i was off the arimidex..(he said you needed to be that drug) of the walking and all the milk i drink. 

additional note; i was in surgical menopause at age 43 and had been on estrogen patch 5 years prior to my diagnosis of BC.  clearly, the estrogen i was taking for 5 years highly likely fueled my breast cancer. 

take care** 

My onc wasn't very enthused about Zometa back in 2009.  She ordered a bone density test after chemo and it indicated I needed Zometa for my crappy bones.

I do think more oncs are being cautious about the use zometa due to the serious side effects, such as the jaw bone crumbling, which seems to be happening at much higher rate than originally thought. 

I'm willing to take the risk because at stage IIIC, I've told my onc I'm willing to try almost anything.

I'm probably not much help here, I've never been offered a BMD test or Zometa even though I'm on AI's.  My last dr said at my age we could just watch it and add vit D & calcium.  I just met my new onc yesterday so I'll be asking about this...thanks girls, love this site! 

My onc is also in the "no Zometa" camp. My bone density scans have been OK, showed a very slight loss since starting Arimidex, but not enough to be concerned about, he said. I'm not osteopenic, yet., so insurance won't cover it.



My own feeling is, I have some dental repair work I really should have done before I get into possible problems with jaw bone necrosis. Better to get that out of the way before anything else. I'm hoping when I have another bone density scan in a year it hasn't tanked.

I have a question about Zometa and hoped someone could shed some light.  As I posted previously in this thread, my onc is doing a bone density before initiating any bone strengthening treatment.  In our conversation he did not say Zometa, though, he said it would be Reclast (? on spelling).  Does anyone know if this has the same potential benefits in terms of mitigating recurrence as compared to Zometa?

Thanks!