Early stage breast cancer put on bisphosphonate (Zometa)

Curious how long they will have you on reclast -

I was found to have an invasive lobular carcinoma in left breast last August. Had mastectomy to remove large tumor and 29 lymph nodes. Scan following was clear of cancer. I am post menopausal at 86 years old, but quite active and healthy. Over the past decade I have been diagnosed with osteopenia and have taken raloxifene to prevent further deterioration. It worked. Now with my post-mastectomy prescription of letrozole inhibiting what estrazone was still in there protecting bones and no more raloxifene allowed, doctor is giving me Zometa infusions every 6 months to stave off any further bone loss. I also have completed 29 radiation treatments. I could not tolerate pill Verzenio, the third treatment recommended. No chemo. Doc will find something else for that, I guess. Seems to be a good tested plan to me. So my thinking is yes, for goodness sake, if you are on estrogen blockers of any kind, get the infusions. Osteoporosis is nothing to shrug off! Best wishes to all of us, doing the best we can with our new little misbehaving cancer cells!!

Don't know about Zometa, but I am on Prolia (2 yearly injections) for osteoporosis. I have been for 7 years. I recently had a consult with Mayo Endocrinologist for advice on whether I should continue with Prolia or change to a different drug. I have lung cancer and know that some osteoporosis drugs were used in bone cancer. The Mayo specialist told me they usually see women with breast cancer, and they have them on Prolia for 12 years now because of its anti-bone tumor properties. He advised me to continue on Prolia for another 5 years before changing drugs. I am glad I asked the question!

I’ll definitely be asking my doc about Prolia! Thank you.

My first osteoporosis medication was Fosamax. After 5 years or so I stopped also because I was to do some dental work and was concerned about the risk for jaw necrosis. My doctor put me on Evista (raloxifene) which I continued for many years, then switched to Prolia injections. The local place that did my recent bone density test suggested I consider switching to Fosamax. My Primary Care doctor advised me to see an Endocrinologist since he did not have the expertise for such a decision. As a person with cancer, always wondering about metastasis, I was very pleased to learn from Mayo Endocrinologist about "extra" benefit of Prolia.

I was on Prolia for 8 years but my endocrinologist changed it to Reclast (once yearly infusion ) a lot of my BC friends were put on Zometa instead. It seems weird that the 2 infusions of Reclast, 2 months later, I have had a recurrence of my TNBC. Surgery on 3/8/24 with chemo & proton therapy to follow 🙏🏼

One has to consult with expert specialist in the matter. The goal is to select the best solution for the person considering their complete clinical picture. That is what the expert is supposed to do.
In my case I do not have breast cancer but lung cancer and was already on Prolia, so Endocrinologist had me continue.

Just googling I find "Zoledronic acid (Zometa) is a type of drug known as a bisphosphonate . You might have zoledronic acid to: prevent problems with the bones such as breaks in the bones (fractures) in myeloma and cancers that have spread to the bone (advanced cancers) lower high levels of calcium in the blood (hypercalcaemia) which can happen in secondary bone cancer"

One has to consult with expert specialist in the matter. The goal is to select the best solution for the person considering their complete clinical picture. That is what the expert is supposed to do.
In my case I do not have breast cancer but lung cancer and was already on Prolia, so Endocrinologist had me continue.

Just googling I find "Zoledronic acid (Zometa) is a type of drug known as a bisphosphonate . You might have zoledronic acid to: prevent problems with the bones such as breaks in the bones (fractures) in myeloma and cancers that have spread to the bone (advanced cancers) lower high levels of calcium in the blood (hypercalcaemia) which can happen in secondary bone cancer"

I have to admit I don’t know much about the range of options for building bone. It could be that with osteopenia you might not need a bone builder. Part of that answer is probably what is causing the osteopenia. Going into menopause you’re likely to lose more bone because of lower estrogen, but you might be able to control that with diet/exercise. Some people have a family history of osteoporosis and it seems to be some other body process that is causing it - even with a good diet and exercise the bone just loses density.

If you need a bone builder, then you’ll want to take it, but with some of those drugs you HAVE to stay on medication because when you stop the bone loss starts up again at a rather fast pace.
My sisters were able to do 4-5 years on alendronate and then stop. They are 71 and 75 yo now. I waited to take anything and dropped into osteoporosis. Fosamax caused stomach problems so I did Reclast last year. The oncology rheumatologist says I should do Reclast again this year then maybe every other year. Within 6 months of taking Reclast my spine recovered 6% of bone. But that isn’t enough for some people.

You just have to make the best decision you can based on health history, diet/exercise history (bone density drop in spite of good food/exercise?), past chemical exposures (lead, cadmium, etc), expected future hormone levels (low estrogen), and the doctor’s explanation of what is currently recommended, and what she expects in the next 20 years for keeping your bones strong.