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09-12-2008, 07:46 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Southern California
Posts: 900
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Zometa and arthritic pain?
Have any of you that are receiving Zometa had new joint pain or a worsening of pain you already had?
Since my first infusion of Zometa on Aug 11, I have had an increase of arthritis-type pain in my knees (nothing new, just worse than before), my hips (same) and the joints in a few of my fingers are swollen and quite painful - this is new. Less than a week after my infusion my right knee swelled quite a bit and I had to have fluid drained. The orthopedic surgeon recommended that I see a rheumatologist.
I saw the rheumatologist today and he is running several tests on me to see if I have rheumatoid arthritis or gout; blood work for lupus came up negative. He said that several cancers, including breast cancer, can trigger arthritis or other autoimmune diseases. However, his gut feeling is that the Zometa has caused these symptoms since they started/worsened within a few days of my infusion. I will get my results in two weeks.
Has anyone experienced this or been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease after bc?
__________________
Gerri
Dx: 11/23/05, Lumpectomy 12/12/05
Tumor 2.2 cm, Stage II, Grade 3, Sentinel Node biopsy negative
ER+ (30%) /PR+ (50%), HER2+++
AC X 4 dose dense, Taxol X 4 dose dense
Herceptin started with 2nd Taxol, given weekly until chemo done
then given every 3 weeks for one year ending on March 16, 2007
Radiation 30 treatments
Tamoxifen - 2 yrs (pre-menopausal)
May 2008 - Feb 2012 Femara
Aug 2008 - Feb 2012 Zometa every 6 months
March 2012 - Stop Femara, now Evista for bone strengthening
********** Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. - Robert Brault
Last edited by Gerri; 09-13-2008 at 01:55 PM..
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09-13-2008, 08:37 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: I live in Christmas, MI - located on the shores of Lake Superior.
Posts: 606
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I had one shoulder that was sore for about a year after starting Zometa (and would worsen after each treatment) but it seems my body has compensated and it no longer bothers me.
__________________
Barb
10/03 Radical Mastectomy 3 cm tumor - 1/17 Nodes Stage II B, Her 2 +++ ER-/PR- 11/03 4 AC 4 Taxol 12/05 Stage IV - Lung met , Bone mets - Carbo, Taxotere, Herceptin 9/06 - 2 cm brain tumor 10/06 - Tumor removal surgery - Herceptin Halted 12/06 gamma knife tumor base.1/07 Navelbine/Herceptin 4/07 Rads to R femur 5/07 Stereotactic - new 2 cm brain tumor 4/07 Start Xeloda 5/07 Tykerb added 7/07 Brain MRI clean 10/07 .055 cm brain met found. 12/07 Stereotactic -1 cm brain tumor Start Tykerb 11/07 Abraxane/Herceptin 5/08 Cisplatin, Gemcitabine/Herceptin 6/08 Stereotactic to 1cm 9/08 Stereotactic repeat (growth). 11/08 Pet Scan Good but new tiny met on L lung/dead Brain surgery (no cancer cells found/scar tissue) 1/09 Chemo restarted 2/09 Pet Scan Bad - R larger very active/active L active lymph nodes both sides of chest MRI- mets slight increase 2/09 Start Doxil/Tykerb Treatment
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09-13-2008, 09:17 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 3,519
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I have been on monthly Zometa infusions since May, so I have had 5 of them, and I have had no aches or SEs at all. I am starting to think that my body is made of cast iron... LOL.
__________________
Brenda
NOV 2012 - 9 yr anniversary
JULY 2012 - 7 yr anniversary stage IV (of 50...)
Nov'03~ dX stage 2B
Dec'03~ Rt side mastectomy, Her2+, ER/PR+, 10 nodes out, one node positive
Jan'04~ Taxotere/Adria/Cytoxan x 6, NED, no Rads, Tamox. 1 year, Arimadex 3 mo., NED 14 mo.
Sept'05~ micro mets lungs/chest nodes/underarm node, Switched to Aromasin, T/C/H x 7, NED 6 months - Herceptin only
Aug'06~ micro mets chest nodes, & bone spot @ C3 neck, Added Taxol to Herceptin
Feb'07~ Genetic testing, BRCA 1&2 neg
Apr'07~ MRI - two 9mm brain mets & 5 punctates, new left chest met, & small increase of bone spot C3 neck, Stopped Aromasin
May'07~ Started Tykerb/Xeloda, no WBR for now
June'07~ MRI - stable brain mets, no new mets, 9mm spots less enhanced, CA15.3 down 45.5 to 9.3 in 10 wks, Ty/Xel working magic!
Aug'07~ MRI - brain mets shrunk half, NO NEW BRAIN METS!!, TMs stable @ 9.2
Oct'07~ PET/CT & MRI show NED
Apr'08~ scans still show NED in the head, small bone spot on right iliac crest (rear pelvic bone)
Sept'08~ MRI shows activity in brain mets, completed 5 fractions/5 consecutive days of IMRT to zap the pesky buggers
Oct'08~ dropped Xeloda, switched to tri-weekly Herceptin in combo with Tykerb, extend to tri-monthly Zometa infusion
Dec'08~ Brain MRI- 4 spots reduced to punctate size, large spot shrunk by 3mm, CT of torso clear/pelvis spot stable
June'09~ new 3-4mm left cerrebellar spot zapped with IMRT targeted rads
Sept'09~ new 6mm & 1 cm spots in pituitary/optic chiasm area. Rx= 25 days of 3D conformal fractionated targeted IMRT to the tumors.
Oct'09~ 25 days of low dose 3D conformal fractionated targeted IMRT to the bone mets spot on rt. iliac crest that have been watching for 2 years. Added daily Aromasin back into treatment regimen.
Apr'10~ Brain MRI clear! But, see new small spot on adrenal gland. Change from Aromasin back to Tamoxifen.
June'10~ Tumor markers (CA15.3) dropped from 37 to 23 after one month on Tamoxifen. Continue to monitor adrenal gland spot. Remain on Tykerb/Herceptin/Tamoxifen.
Nov'10~ Radiate positive mediastinal node that was pressing on recurrent laryngeal nerve, causing paralyzed larynx and a funny voice.
Jan'11~ MRI shows possible activity or perhaps just scar tissue/necrotic increase on 3 previously treated brain spots and a pituitary spot. 5 days of IMRT on 4 spots.
Feb'11~ Enrolled in T-DM1 EAP in Denver, first treatment March 25, 2011.
Mar'11~ Finally started T-DM1 EAP in Denver at Rocky Mountain Cancer Center/Rose on Mar. 25... hallelujah.
"I would rather be anecdotally alive than statistically dead."
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09-13-2008, 02:11 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: East Central Illinois
Posts: 89
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Sorry to hear of your extra pain. I now have lupus that the rheumatologist thinks may be caused by the chemo given to me. I am currently on ixempra and I have lots of joint, muscle pain for several days after treatment. When Zometa is given with the ixempra I feel even worse--can barely move. My onc says it is hard to know what is causing the pain--chemo or lupus. However for a while he has decided to not give me the Zometa with the ixempra. Gerri, hope you can get some help with this problem. Becca
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09-14-2008, 03:48 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Southern California
Posts: 900
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Thanks for the responses ladies.
Barb, I am really hoping that my pain turns out to be like yours, probably due to the Zometa.
Becca, I'm so sorry to hear that you now have lupus to deal with on top of bc.
Brenda, it does sound like side effects do not mess around with you - way to go! For me, if an SE is listed in the 'Possible but not likely catagory', I have more of a chance experiencing it than the run of the mill SEs. Go figure.
Guess I will have my answer in two weeks - I hate waiting!
__________________
Gerri
Dx: 11/23/05, Lumpectomy 12/12/05
Tumor 2.2 cm, Stage II, Grade 3, Sentinel Node biopsy negative
ER+ (30%) /PR+ (50%), HER2+++
AC X 4 dose dense, Taxol X 4 dose dense
Herceptin started with 2nd Taxol, given weekly until chemo done
then given every 3 weeks for one year ending on March 16, 2007
Radiation 30 treatments
Tamoxifen - 2 yrs (pre-menopausal)
May 2008 - Feb 2012 Femara
Aug 2008 - Feb 2012 Zometa every 6 months
March 2012 - Stop Femara, now Evista for bone strengthening
********** Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. - Robert Brault
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