Zometa Intravenously for 85 year old Dad

[Guest guest]

Just got back from appointment with my Dad's Oncologist. He wants

to start my Dad on Zometa next week to strengthen his spine where

the cancer has spread. Is anyone currently receiving this

treatment? The handout gives a laundry list of possible side

affects that almost made my Dad say he wouldn't take it.

Also, the oncologist said my Dad's PSA had dropped to 41 which is a

small drop but I am grateful. I asked what Dad's testosterone level

was and he said 16 which is under 20 and then he commented that he

hoped it had been higher because that would make the Casodex work

better? I didn't understand that. I also had heard from one of the

members about the side affects of Zoladex which my father had:

Fuzzy, unclear thinking, depression, very emotional, lack of

concentration. He shared that he had had these symptoms after being

on Zoladex for 18 months and an Estrogen patch made him feel much

better. I asked the oncologist about putting my Dad on estrogen to

help with the side affects and he said he could but would prefer not

to at this time. He indicated that the Estrogen would cause such a

great risk of a blood clot that he would have to put my Dad on

Cumadon (spelling?) blood thinner too. I asked him about using

Estrogen instead of Casodex and he said he wanted to hold off on

switching too much at this point.

Also my dad is on Decadron. I can't imagine having so many

medications plus high blood pressure and cholesterol medicine.

My Dad will start external beam radiation tomorrow and will receive

18 treatments to his spine. I pray that the side affects aren't too

bad.

Thanks for all your support and knowledge.

Barbara Nichols

[Guest guest]

What kind of quality of life will he have with this medication? Or without this medication? At 85 I would think that quality of life would be the decision maker.admirableone wrote: Just got back from appointment with my Dad's Oncologist. He wants to start my Dad on Zometa next week to strengthen his spine where the cancer has spread. Is anyone currently receiving this treatment? The handout gives a laundry list of possible side affects that almost made my Dad say he wouldn't take it. Also, the oncologist said my Dad's PSA had dropped to 41 which is a small drop but I am grateful. I asked what Dad's testosterone level was and he said 16 which is under 20 and then he commented that he hoped it had been higher because that would make the Casodex

work better? I didn't understand that. I also had heard from one of the members about the side affects of Zoladex which my father had: Fuzzy, unclear thinking, depression, very emotional, lack of concentration. He shared that he had had these symptoms after being on Zoladex for 18 months and an Estrogen patch made him feel much better. I asked the oncologist about putting my Dad on estrogen to help with the side affects and he said he could but would prefer not to at this time. He indicated that the Estrogen would cause such a great risk of a blood clot that he would have to put my Dad on Cumadon (spelling?) blood thinner too. I asked him about using Estrogen instead of Casodex and he said he wanted to hold off on switching too much at this point. Also my dad is on Decadron. I can't imagine having so many medications plus high blood pressure and cholesterol

medicine.My Dad will start external beam radiation tomorrow and will receive 18 treatments to his spine. I pray that the side affects aren't too bad.Thanks for all your support and knowledge.Barbara Nichols

Talk is cheap. Use Yahoo! Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls. Great rates starting at 1¢/min.

[Guest guest]

Barbara

Zoledex and Lupron work to stop testosterone production by the testes.

Casodex blocks the testosterone so that it is not available to encourage growth of the cancer cells. This applies to all testosterone ie that produced by the testes and, as sometimes happens, that produced by the adrenal glands.

I haven't had Zometa but it is reputed to have lower side effects that oral bisphosphonates, possibly others on the group have. If not try Don Cooley's advanced group, which specialises in cancers at this stage.

Is dad in pain? If he is it is important that he gets help with pain control!

Best wishes

Zometa Intravenously for 85 year old Dad

Just got back from appointment with my Dad's Oncologist. He wants to start my Dad on Zometa next week to strengthen his spine where the cancer has spread. Is anyone currently receiving this treatment? The handout gives a laundry list of possible side affects that almost made my Dad say he wouldn't take it. Also, the oncologist said my Dad's PSA had dropped to 41 which is a small drop but I am grateful. I asked what Dad's testosterone level was and he said 16 which is under 20 and then he commented that he hoped it had been higher because that would make the Casodex work better? I didn't understand that. I also had heard from one of the members about the side affects of Zoladex which my father had: Fuzzy, unclear thinking, depression, very emotional, lack of concentration. He shared that he had had these symptoms after being on Zoladex for 18 months and an Estrogen patch made him feel much better. I asked the oncologist about putting my Dad on estrogen to help with the side affects and he said he could but would prefer not to at this time. He indicated that the Estrogen would cause such a great risk of a blood clot that he would have to put my Dad on Cumadon (spelling?) blood thinner too. I asked him about using Estrogen instead of Casodex and he said he wanted to hold off on switching too much at this point. Also my dad is on Decadron. I can't imagine having so many medications plus high blood pressure and cholesterol medicine.My Dad will start external beam radiation tomorrow and will receive 18 treatments to his spine. I pray that the side affects aren't too bad.Thanks for all your support and knowledge.Barbara Nichols

[Guest guest]

,

Thanks, I am learning a little more each day. Yes, my

Dad is having some pain, usually not intense. He does

have difficulty standing and walking (doesn't feel

very steady).

I think I meant to post my message on the hrpc group

site.

Thanks,

Barbara

--- Metcalf wrote:

> Barbara

>

> Zoledex and Lupron work to stop testosterone

> production by the testes.

>

> Casodex blocks the testosterone so that it is not

> available to encourage growth of the cancer cells.

> This applies to all testosterone ie that produced by

> the testes and, as sometimes happens, that produced

> by the adrenal glands.

>

> I haven't had Zometa but it is reputed to have lower

> side effects that oral bisphosphonates, possibly

> others on the group have. If not try Don Cooley's

> advanced group, which specialises in cancers at this

> stage.

>

> Is dad in pain? If he is it is important that he

> gets help with pain control!

>

> Best wishes

>

>

> Zometa

> Intravenously for 85 year old Dad

>

>

> Just got back from appointment with my Dad's

> Oncologist. He wants

> to start my Dad on Zometa next week to strengthen

> his spine where

> the cancer has spread. Is anyone currently

> receiving this

> treatment? The handout gives a laundry list of

> possible side

> affects that almost made my Dad say he wouldn't

> take it.

>

> Also, the oncologist said my Dad's PSA had dropped

> to 41 which is a

> small drop but I am grateful. I asked what Dad's

> testosterone level

> was and he said 16 which is under 20 and then he

> commented that he

> hoped it had been higher because that would make

> the Casodex work

> better? I didn't understand that. I also had

> heard from one of the

> members about the side affects of Zoladex which my

> father had:

> Fuzzy, unclear thinking, depression, very

> emotional, lack of

> concentration. He shared that he had had these

> symptoms after being

> on Zoladex for 18 months and an Estrogen patch

> made him feel much

> better. I asked the oncologist about putting my

> Dad on estrogen to

> help with the side affects and he said he could

> but would prefer not

> to at this time. He indicated that the Estrogen

> would cause such a

> great risk of a blood clot that he would have to

> put my Dad on

> Cumadon (spelling?) blood thinner too. I asked

> him about using

> Estrogen instead of Casodex and he said he wanted

> to hold off on

> switching too much at this point.

>

> Also my dad is on Decadron. I can't imagine

> having so many

> medications plus high blood pressure and

> cholesterol medicine.

>

> My Dad will start external beam radiation tomorrow

> and will receive

> 18 treatments to his spine. I pray that the side

> affects aren't too

> bad.

>

> Thanks for all your support and knowledge.

>

> Barbara Nichols

>

>

>

>

>

> There are just two rules for this group

> 1 No Spam

> 2 Be kind to others

>

> Try to delete old material that is no longer

> applying when clicking reply

> Try to change the title if the content requires it

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

You may have to register to access these pages below but it is free and there are no restrictions. It just takes a second. Zometa has loads of pretty severe potential side effects. Bonefos seems to be less so, and is also available by intravenous injection. Zometa (zoledronic acid)http://www.bnf.org/bnf/bnf/51/106146.htm

Prof. Dearnaley at the Marsden did a study with sodium clodronate (don't know if he used Bonefos or Loron - Loron upset my stomach, Bonefos did not. Some of Dearnaley's pts had upset stomach. See below). Dearnaley used 2000 mg/day but the BNP mentions use of up to 3200 mg/day or double the normal dose. With adequate vitamin D support (see Vieth, Holik for recent recommendations for daily dosage of cholecalciferol up to 10000IU per day) I feel the sodium clodronate route is probably the safer one to take.Bonefos (sodium clodronate)http://www.bnf.org/bnf/bnf/51/4454.htm

J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003 Sep 3;95(17):1300-11. Comment in: J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003 Sep 3;95(17):1262-3. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003 Sep 3;95(17):1273-4.A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of oral sodium clodronatefor metastatic prostate cancer (MRC PR05 Trial).Dearnaley DP, Sydes MR, Mason MD, Stott M, CS, AC, PM,Moffat LE, Naylor SL, Parmar MK; Mrc Pr05 Collaborators.Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, UK.BACKGROUND: The most frequent site of metastases from prostate cancer is bone.Bisphosphonates reduce excessive bone turnover while preserving bone structureand mineralization in patients with other tumor types. We conducted adouble-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial to determine whether thefirst-generation bisphosphonate sodium clodronate could improve boneprogression-free survival (BPFS) times among men with bone metastases fromprostate cancer. METHODS: Between June 1994 and July 1998, 311 men who werestarting or responding to first-line hormone therapy for bone metastases wererandomly assigned to receive oral sodium clodronate (2080 mg/day) or placebo fora maximum of 3 years. The primary endpoint of the trial was symptomatic BPFS.Secondary endpoints included overall survival, treatment toxicity, and change inWorld Health Organization (WHO) performance status. Time-to-event data wereanalyzed using the log-rank chi-square test and Kaplan-Meier curves. Allstatistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: Baseline characteristics werebalanced across the two groups. After a median follow-up of 59 months, thesodium clodronate group showed statistically nonsignificant better symptomaticBPFS (hazard ratio

---

= 0.79, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.61 to 1.02; P=.066) and overall survival (HR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.62 to 1.03; P =.082) than thecontrol group. Patients in the clodronate group were less likely to have aworsened WHO performance status (HR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.56 to 0.92; P =.008).However, the clodronate group reported more gastrointestinal problems andincreased lactate dehydrogenase levels and required more frequent modificationof the trial drug dose (HR for any adverse event = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.21 to 2.41;P =.002). Results of subgroup analyses suggested that clodronate might be moreeffective the sooner after diagnosis of metastatic bone disease it is started.CONCLUSION: These results suggest that further studies of the effect of newergeneration bisphosphonates on BPFS in men with metastatic prostate cancer arewarranted.Publication Types: Clinical Trial Multicenter Study Randomized Controlled TrialPMID: 12953084 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]Free full Text :http://jncicancerspectrum.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/jnci;95/17/1300

Re: Zometa Intravenously for 85 year old DadWhat kind of quality of life will he have with this medication? Or without this medication? At 85 I would think that quality of life would be the decision maker.admirableone wrote: Just got back from appointment with my Dad's Oncologist. He wants to start my Dad on Zometa next week to strengthen his spine where the cancer has spread. Is anyone currently receiving this treatment? The handout gives a laundry list of possible side affects that almost made my Dad say he wouldn't take it. Also, the oncologist said my Dad's PSA had dropped to 41 which is a small drop but I am grateful. I asked what Dad's testosterone level was and he said 16 which is under 20 and then he commented that he hoped it had been higher because that would make the Casodex work better? I didn't understand that. I also had heard from one of the members about the side affects of Zoladex which my father had: Fuzzy, unclear thinking, depression, very emotional, lack of concentration. He shared that he had had these symptoms after being on Zoladex for 18 months and an Estrogen patch made him feel much better. I asked the oncologist about putting my Dad on estrogen to help with the side affects and he said he could but would prefer not to at this time. He indicated that the Estrogen would cause such a great risk of a blood clot that he would have to put my Dad on Cumadon (spelling?) blood thinner too. I asked him about using Estrogen instead of Casodex and he said he wanted to hold off on switching too much at this point. Also my dad is on Decadron. I can't imagine having so many medications plus high blood pressure and cholesterol medicine.My Dad will start external beam radiation tomorrow and will receive 18 treatments to his spine. I pray that the side affects aren't too bad.Thanks for all your support and knowledge.Barbara NicholsTalk is cheap. Use Yahoo! Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls. Great rates starting at 1¢/min. There are just two rules for this group 1 No Spam 2 Be kind to othersTry to delete old material that is no longer applying when clicking replyTry to change the title if the content requires it

[Guest guest]

Sammy,

Thank you for the information. I will check it out.

Also, I found some info on Ipriflavone which I am

attaching.

Best Regards,

Barbara

--- Sammy Bates wrote:

> You may have to register to access these pages below

> but it is free and there are no restrictions. It

> just takes a second. Zometa has loads of pretty

> severe potential side effects. Bonefos seems to be

> less so, and is also available by intravenous

> injection.

>

> Zometa (zoledronic acid)

> http://www.bnf.org/bnf/bnf/51/106146.htm

>

>

> Prof. Dearnaley at the Marsden did a study

> with sodium clodronate (don't know if he used

> Bonefos or Loron - Loron upset my stomach, Bonefos

> did not. Some of Dearnaley's pts had upset stomach.

> See below). Dearnaley used 2000 mg/day but the BNP

> mentions use of up to 3200 mg/day or double the

> normal dose. With adequate vitamin D support (see

> Vieth, Holik for recent recommendations for daily

> dosage of cholecalciferol up to 10000IU per day) I

> feel the sodium clodronate route is probably the

> safer one to take.

>

> Bonefos (sodium clodronate)

> http://www.bnf.org/bnf/bnf/51/4454.htm

>

>

>

>

> J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003 Sep 3;95(17):1300-11.

>

> Comment in:

> J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003 Sep 3;95(17):1262-3.

> J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003 Sep 3;95(17):1273-4.

>

> A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial

> of oral sodium clodronate

> for metastatic prostate cancer (MRC PR05 Trial).

>

> Dearnaley DP, Sydes MR, Mason MD, Stott M,

> CS, AC, PM,

> Moffat LE, Naylor SL, Parmar MK; Mrc Pr05

> Collaborators.

>

> Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden

> Hospital, Sutton, UK.

>

> BACKGROUND: The most frequent site of metastases

> from prostate cancer is bone.

> Bisphosphonates reduce excessive bone turnover while

> preserving bone structure

> and mineralization in patients with other tumor

> types. We conducted a

> double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial

> to determine whether the

> first-generation bisphosphonate sodium clodronate

> could improve bone

> progression-free survival (BPFS) times among men

> with bone metastases from

> prostate cancer. METHODS: Between June 1994 and July

> 1998, 311 men who were

> starting or responding to first-line hormone therapy

> for bone metastases were

> randomly assigned to receive oral sodium clodronate

> (2080 mg/day) or placebo for

> a maximum of 3 years. The primary endpoint of the

> trial was symptomatic BPFS.

> Secondary endpoints included overall survival,

> treatment toxicity, and change in

> World Health Organization (WHO) performance status.

> Time-to-event data were

> analyzed using the log-rank chi-square test and

> Kaplan-Meier curves. All

> statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: Baseline

> characteristics were

> balanced across the two groups. After a median

> follow-up of 59 months, the

> sodium clodronate group showed statistically

> nonsignificant better symptomatic

> BPFS (hazard ratio

---

= 0.79, 95% confidence

> interval [CI] = 0.61 to 1.02; P

> =.066) and overall survival (HR = 0.80, 95% CI =

> 0.62 to 1.03; P =.082) than the

> control group. Patients in the clodronate group were

> less likely to have a

> worsened WHO performance status (HR = 0.71, 95% CI =

> 0.56 to 0.92; P =.008).

> However, the clodronate group reported more

> gastrointestinal problems and

> increased lactate dehydrogenase levels and required

> more frequent modification

> of the trial drug dose (HR for any adverse event =

> 1.71, 95% CI = 1.21 to 2.41;

> P =.002). Results of subgroup analyses suggested

> that clodronate might be more

> effective the sooner after diagnosis of metastatic

> bone disease it is started.

> CONCLUSION: These results suggest that further

> studies of the effect of newer

> generation bisphosphonates on BPFS in men with

> metastatic prostate cancer are

> warranted.

>

> Publication Types:

> Clinical Trial

> Multicenter Study

> Randomized Controlled Trial

>

> PMID: 12953084 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

>

> Free full Text :

>

http://jncicancerspectrum.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/jnci;95/17/1300

>

>

> Re: Zometa

> Intravenously for 85 year old Dad

>

>

> What kind of quality of life will he have with this

> medication? Or without this medication? At 85 I

> would think that quality of life would be the

> decision maker.

>

> admirableone wrote:

> Just got back from appointment with my Dad's

> Oncologist. He wants

> to start my Dad on Zometa next week to strengthen

> his spine where

> the cancer has spread. Is anyone currently

> receiving this

> treatment? The handout gives a laundry list of

> possible side

> affects that almost made my Dad say he wouldn't take

> it.

>

> Also, the oncologist said my Dad's PSA had dropped

> to 41 which is a

> small drop but I am grateful. I asked what Dad's

> testosterone level

> was and he said 16 which is under 20 and then he

> commented that he

> hoped it had been higher because that would make the

> Casodex work

> better? I didn't understand that. I also had heard

> from one of the

> members about the side affects of Zoladex which my

> father had:

> Fuzzy, unclear thinking, depression, very emotional,

> lack of

> concentration. He shared that he had had these

> symptoms after being

> on Zoladex for 18 months and an Estrogen patch made

> him feel much

> better. I asked the oncologist about putting my Dad

> on estrogen to

> help with the side affects and he said he could but

> would prefer not

> to at this time. He indicated that the Estrogen

> would cause such a

> great risk of a blood clot that he would have to put

> my Dad on

> Cumadon (spelling?) blood thinner too. I asked him

> about using

> Estrogen instead of Casodex and he said he wanted to

> hold off on

> switching too much at this point.

>

> Also my dad is on Decadron. I can't imagine having

> so many

> medications plus high blood pressure and cholesterol

> medicine.

>

> My Dad will start external beam radiation tomorrow

> and will receive

> 18 treatments to his spine. I pray that the side

> affects aren't too

> bad.

>

> Thanks for all your support and knowledge.

>

> Barbara Nichols

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Talk is cheap. Use Yahoo! Messenger to make

> PC-to-Phone calls. Great rates starting at 1¢/min.

>

> There are just two rules for this group

> 1 No Spam

> 2 Be kind to others

>

> Try to delete old material that is no longer

> applying when clicking reply

> Try to change the title if the content requires it

>

>

>

>