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I asked my Onco today about Zometra and he said "if I could get your insurance to pay for it I'd definitely recommend it for bone strength and is shown to lower the chance of metastasis in post menopausal women. If you were my wife I'd have you do it!" I said "F the insurance!! My husband would say we'll pay for it ourselves!" It's a 1/2 hour infusion 2x/yr for 3 years. At $1000 per infusion it isn't cheap but compared to the cost of future progression (or worse) the insurance should be forcing… read more
Not sure about protection against progression/mets as far as studies go. better to ask onc then to rely on my chemo brain to remember... I guess I'm still going very strong so it can't hurt ah!
This is just my opinion on this drug, take it or leave it, but do the research. I've worked as a surgical assistant for an oral surgeon for the last 12 years. Zometa is a class of drug called bisphosphonate. It works great at protecting long bones. However, should you need any teeth extracted while on this drug can cause what's called bisphosphonate osteonecrosis of the jaw bone. Meaning it can cause portions of your jaw bone where the extraction was to not heal and die off. You see this more often with iv bisphosphonate vs. oral. Please note that I am not a Dr. I have only worked in the profession for a long time and have seen this happen numerous times. Please do your research prior to starting this. I don't mean to scare you but i just thought you might like to know a bit about those drugs from an oral surgery stand point. Again, I'm NOT a dr and am not trying to give medical advice. I wish you the best of luck.
I was on Tamoxifen for 5 years before that and he wanted me to take something else that had showed promise in helping to block the estrogen. I have no issues with bone density, I play a lot of racquetball so that probably helped over the years. I had BC also in 1995 and was on Tamoxifen for 5 years back then. Femara is used to block all estrogen from forming in the body it blocks receptors similar to Tamoxifen and studies have shown that taking both are very good in the long run. I had to have my ovaries removed before I could get Femara as you have to be in full post menopause or it could cause ovarian cancer so I decided that I would do anything that he suggested. It's been almost 2 years and I am no worse for ware.. still do the things that I like and I am still doing recon... body rejected implants so I am using fat graphs to build the foobs... last one coming up in may... I can see light at the end of the tunnel.. I started this in 2006 so hang in there and stay positive. Jill
I took Zometa for about 4 sessions and then my Onc said that the studies were disappointing as far as the promise it showed compared to the side effects. I had a lot of joint and muscle pain for a few days after each treatment. I didn't finish the last 2 sessions per his suggestion. I am currently on Femara and it seems to be fine overall.
@A MyBCTeam Member. I have metastatic disease from my original bc. My cancer came back in my bones. I have zometa once a month. At the beginning my only side effect was being a little tired and achy. I've been taking it for over 12 months and don't notice a thing now. I also went to every other month in taking it. . I need it to strengthen my bone cancer. Good luck.
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