Zometa. Anyone?

[Mkeman]

Bone mets regressing from Eligard and Zytiga but osteoporosis is progressing. Next week I start infusions of Zometa. Can anyone tell me what to expect?

[Tall_Allen]

Ask your oncologist if you can take Celebrex with it. The combination of Zometa + Celebrex was recently shown to increase survival by 22%

[Peterd110 in reply to Tall_Allen]

Tall_Allen, I’m due for my first injection of prolia in February with my second dose of trelstar. I don’t find any reads suggesting that it has beneficial effects on survival when combined with Celebrex like Zometa/Celebrex. (I know it’s not a biphosphonate like zometa. ) Do you know of any trials that indicate that Prolia/Celebrex may also improve survival ?

[Tall_Allen in reply to Peterd110]

Prolia is only given to non-metastatic men, and the study ONLY showed a benefit for metastatic men.

[Waubesa94]

My husband had a Zometa infusion last year (on his MO's advice) and did not respond well: flu-like symptoms that had him 'out of it' for about two days. After that, he swore 'never again,' but that turned out to be a very stubborn mistake on his part as the bone meta and erosion increased (rib, shoulder, femur and thoracic areas) as well as his pain levels. He recently had the Zometa infusion for the second time -- I expect that more will follow -- and I'm happy to report that he tolerated it quite well with no ill side effects. Wishing the same for you. BTW, is MKE for Milwaukee (WI)?

[Waubesa94 in reply to Waubesa94]

*mets* - not meta. No spell-check or 'edit' buttons here.

[Mkeman in reply to Waubesa94]

I stand typographically corrected. Thanks.

[Waubesa94 in reply to Mkeman]

Actually, it was my typo, Mke -- 'my bad' not yours. Good luck with the infusion. We are in Madison, btw.

[Mkeman in reply to Waubesa94]

It is. Thanks for response. I get first dose on Thursday.

[Mkeman in reply to Waubesa94]

It is. Are you in the area?

[ontheroad589]

I was on quarterly infusions of Zometa from June 16 through December 17. I tolerated it fairly well, with about two days per infusion of bone pain as the drug settles into the marrow. Once you get past those couple of days, there was no ill effect. Once I hit December and my bone mets got a little more out of control, the MO started me on 6 week intervals since 1/22 of this year. I am concurrently on Docetaxel chemo, so every other chemo infusion is followed by the 15 minute Zometa infusion and then a saline flush. Since it is now being given with the chemo, it is hard to judge the SE of the Zometa alone...let's just say the recovery is about three days longer on Zometa cycles than with Docetaxel alone. Those extra days include at least one or two of very tough bone pain and overall body aches like a very bad flu. I have not had Celebrex with it- I am going to ask the MO if we can add next round.

[Mkeman in reply to ontheroad589]

Thanks. My MO warned me about “some discomfort” but said not everyone gets it. She did say that in her experience, Zometa had the lowest incidence of jaw problems.

[toml77]

I have been getting a quarterly infusion of Zometta for the last 10 years. Expect some bome bone/joint discomfort for a few days and I usually have mild digestion problem for a day or so. Plan on eating lite on the day of the infusion.

[Mkeman in reply to toml77]

Thanks. Ten years! I hope I can make the same statement someday.

[ctarleton]

I had lots and lots of bone mets and a PSA of 5,006 at first diagnosis at age 65 about 4 1/2 years ago. I had about 29 monthly IVs of Zometa and experienced no adverse side effects whatsoever. At about the 3 year point with added Xtandi and lower PSAs, I backed-off on the Zometa IVs to every 3 - 4 months.

(I met a man who did feel some flu-like symptoms when he first tried Zometa. He switched to Xgeva (denosumab), and is a 12 year survivor with advanced prostate cancer.)

Charles

[Cynthgob]

How do you know osteoporosis is progressing??? Worried as my husbands knees hurt!

[Mkeman in reply to Cynthgob]

I had a bone density scan about six months ago as part of a study. I had it repeated two weeks ago and the T scores were all worse. The T score measures your bone density as it relates to the average of a group of 30 year olds. If your T score is worse than -2.5 you are considered to have osteoporosis. My right hip went from -2.4 to -2.7. My left hip went from -2.1 to -2.4, which is considered osteopenia. Fortunately. My spine was in the normal range. If you Google “osteoporosis “ or “bone density scans” you will find many articles on the subject. Every ADT treatment plan should have a bone density plan with it since the lack of testosterone causes bone density loss. Actually, I had no plan but, after reading about the need for one, I persisted until I got one. Next I will pursue a muscle mass loss plan as that is also a significant side effect.

[Cynthgob in reply to Mkeman]

How long have you been on ADT? My husband has been on it since last August so I’m wondering if that’s enough time to develop bone loss?

[Mkeman in reply to Cynthgob]

Started in September so mine happened quickly. They scan the hips and spine so there was no specific information on the knee. You might want to see an orthopedic specialist since knee pain can be caused by a number of things.

[Gary94]

Had one infusion of zometa. That night I ended up in the ER with excruciating pain in my ribs. It felt like all my ribs were broken. After that adventure they gave me injections of xgeva (denosumab). Much better!