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Cheryl,
Besides the possible causes of bone density problems mentioned by Hopeful,taking Femara seriously raises the risk of osteoporosis. Even if you were carefull to consistantly supplement with vitamin D & calcium, Femara is such a strong estrogen suppressor that in some patients it can nevertheless cause severe osteoporosis. You should have bone density scans at long intervals of time & at shorter intervals, serum or urine tests for bone resorption markers such as N-Telopeptide. These latter markers do not measure bone density. Consecutive marker tests at 6 to 8 weeks intervals provide an indication of the trend of bone density so as to monitor the side effects of cancer treatment on bone & the efficacy of counteracting bone strengthening drugs.
Relying only on bone density scan at the rate of one per year may not always catch in time a quickly deteriorating bone condition.
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