high calcium

[Praising]

has anyone dealt with high calcium. ? Does it mean cancer is growing. I have low vitd but it needs to be higher. Afraid with high calcium. I have bone Mets.

[Kerryd22]

I’m on Xgeva which sucks the calcium from the blood stream into the bones but it’s very effective and without a daily supplement my calcium is too low. If you’re already on Xgeva then high calcium and low vitamin D would be concerning but other things aside from cancer cause high calcium levels including excessive supplements. An Xgeva injection is the fastest way to resolve the problem but your doctor needs to be certain of the underlying cause. More tests! Yay! 😪 healthline.com/health/hyper...

[Praising in reply to Kerryd22]

Yes I’m on xgevia. I’ll mention it but they have never told me to take Vit d3 or calcium

[Kerryd22 in reply to Praising]

If you have high calcium on Xgeva then you don’t need a supplement. If I miss a couple of days of the supplement I have low calcium. It’s very reactive for me but it’s obviously not for you.

[Hazelgreen]

If you google "calcium and bone mets", you'll learn that bone mets do cause a release of calcium into the blood stream. Thus, you would expect your calcium levels to be high. Ask your doctor to have your cancer antigens measured when your blood work is done. That way, you'll know whether or not any increase in your calcium levels is related to additional cancer mets.

[Praising in reply to Hazelgreen]

Yes my ca27-29 has been going up. I have an enlarging lyric lesion. Du take d3

[Flowerfriend]

When first dx w/ breast CA w/ met in 2005 serum Calcium and Alkaline Phosphatase were elevated due to met to bone. It's most likely that is the case with you. Drinking a lot of water and not taking Calcium supplements is important to preserve kidney function when serum calcium is high However, in my case, with treatment I had NED in bone, alkaline phosphatase went down, but serum calcium remained high. Fortunately, my PCP was an endocrinologist and she tested me for intact PTH (parathyroid hormone). Turns out I had a non cancerous tumor on 1 of the 4 parathyroid glands, which was surgically removed, and serum calcium has remained normal since for me, as my bone met in recent years is minimal.

Best wishes that your current treatment reduces your bone met and that you can get your questions answered by your oncologist.

[Praising in reply to Flowerfriend]

Yes I had parathyroid surgery after my 1st bc as it was high. I had all 3 removed as they were all inflamed which dr said was rare. I don’t have the typical 1 adenoma. What is your current treatment since you’ve been a long timer w bone Mets!! So happy to hear. Gennene

[Flowerfriend in reply to Praising]

What a surprise to hear from you that you had surgery of the Parathyroid in the past, and that Sarajukebox did too. Makes me wonder how often it is diagnosed.In answer to your question, Gennene, I start my 8th cycle of Xeloda this week and receive a Zometa infusion every 12 weeks. My greater concern is met to the liver. I had a liver biopsy in May which indicated mutation of the original breast CA, so I'm no longer strongly estrogen positive. That helps explain why the Ibrance/letrozole combination, followed by Kisqali/fluvestrant combo, stopped working. My CA 27-29 had climbed to 1600+, where it still hovers. Liver mets hadn't improved at last scan, so I'm hoping scans scheduled for next week show improvement🤞.

I'm a lucky thriver and my CA doesn't seem to be aggressive. For 10 years an aromatase inhibitor (Anastrozole), after the initial mastectomy and chemo w/ A/C, was all I needed to be NED.

I wish all the thrivers were as lucky as me, and I hope your met doesn't progress further. Best, Gwen

[SaraJukebox]

I had high calcium levels after my initial IV chemotherapy several years ago. I found out that I had 2 of my parathyroids that weren't working properly. I had surgery to have them removed and my calcium levels have been good ever since. It might be something for you to have checked. Best wishes!

[Praising in reply to SaraJukebox]

I had 3 removed! Thanks

[SwedishSissi]

May I ask what is considered high Calcium? I had extremely low calcium since doing one course of Xgeva, then it stabilised, but now it is up to 2.62 mmol/L (expected 2.15 - 2.50, not sure how it is measured in other countries). But after reading this, I asked my doctor and she said not to worry about it. It has to be much higher to be a warning sign.