Any concerns with Zometa and Osteonecrosis? My dentist scared me.
I had my teeth cleaned today and mentioned to the dentist that I was having a bone density test, because my doctor wanted me to take twice-yearly Zometa infusions. He was very wary of this when I told him it was based on a small study that examined the benefits of the drug to prevent bone metastases and proceeded to tell me about a USC study (he gave me the oral surgeon's name) and went into details about positive and negative-charged atoms and how it binds to the bone. He went on further to say that the old-time bisphosphonates didn't have the osteonecrosis problem due to the addition of this atom. It all got pretty technical, but he showed me a laptop photo and it was a horrible image.
I told him I didn't think it was as much of a problem if you weren't on chemo, and he said that infusions of bisphosphonates were the problem, and not the pill form.
Secondly, when I saw my gyn., she mentioned a drug called Fortera (or something like that; I'll put a call into her next week) that is bone-building, like Zometa, but doesn't have the osteonecrosis problem. She started explaining the osteoblasts and osteoclasts.
Apologies for not having all the information, but do any of you have concerns about this and what, if anything, have your doctors and dentists said about Zometa and bone-building drugs?
Thanks,
Vicki
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Diagnosed 12/03 at age 53
1.5cm tumor, ER-PR-, Her2 3+(rt side)
Stage 1B, Three negative nodes from Sentinel Node Biopsy
Paget's of the nipple, Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma and DCIS of the rt breast
Bloom-Richardson score 8/9, P53+ 60-70%, Ki-67+ 30-40%
Skin-sparing mastectomy with immediate lat-flap reconstruction and saline implants, 1/04
Chemo: FAC, five sessions every three weeks Feb.-May 04, then switched to HTC weekly for 12 weeks, June-Aug 04
Zometa every 6 months for osteopenia, started April 09
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