[NSTEWART]

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Re: Zometa before bone issues

by NSTEWART on Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:23 pm

Marvin-
Your question about how to monitor your bones if you decide not to do the Zometa infusion is a very good one. Many people get periodic CT/PET scans and MRI's of the bones since they are better at showing damage to the bones and/or active lesions than the skeletal x-rays. When I was first diagnosed there was no evidence of damage to my bones by x-ray. A year later I had a pathologic fracture of my left arm. X-rays done at that time showed that I had lesions throughout my body, including my skull. Would an MRI or CT/PET scan showed the lesions even if the x-rays didn't? Who knows. I just wish in hind sight that I had had the other scans sooner. Maybe I could have avoided a fracture.

I was on Zometa infusions every month after the fracture for a year. Now I have it every 6 weeks. I can tell when it is coming to time for the next infusion because some of my bones begin to ache a little, especially in the healed fracture site. For me the risk of ONJ is worth being somewhat assured that I won't develop more bone problems. But, I don't have any kidney issues to deal with. Do lots of research concerning the kidney risk of both Zometa and Aredia. You are in a very special situation since you only have one kidney and don't want to lose its good function.

Nancy

[Stann]

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Re: Zometa before bone issues

by Stann on Sat Jan 21, 2012 8:06 pm

Hi Marvin,
I had a skeletal survey done with Xray and everything looked great. I then had a PET scan and it showed numerous, small lesions in a lot of areas.
I would recommend you have a PET scan before making any decisions...I'm just playing doctor here.

[NotAgain]

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Re: Zometa before bone issues

by NotAgain on Mon Jan 23, 2012 2:13 pm

My husband had Zometa infusions every three weeks for the last four years of his life. He had prostate cancer with widespread bone mets. The first treatment caused him fatigue and aches but then after that he actually felt better after his infusions. It helped keep his bone strong to resist the tumors. He had kidney issues and liver issues since his cancer was in every organ but was still able to have Zometa up until the last three weeks of his life. I believe the Zometa helped a great deal with his bone pain and progression.