Best Of

Mara Checking in on ya, you still dealing with humidity? It's been pretty swampy here all day, we have a storm brewing now. We can certainly use the rain that's for sure. I waited to water my flowers so hopefully we get a good soaking! Pretty quiet day, I made a chocolate chip banana bread this morning and visited my mil this afternoon.

HI to all here ,hope your having a peaceful night.

I'm back after a long respite. I was initially diagnosed nearly 14 years ago with ILC Stage IIIC. I did 10 years of Letrazole. I've moved around a bit and am currently living in a place where I get tumor marker testing. My CA 15.3 went from the top of the range ~29 in February to 89 currently.

I've been having pain in my left leg for about four months that was diagnosed as sciatica. I don't know whether this is related or not.

My onco appointment is Monday.

I am, of course, nervous, and I wondered if anyone else had been in a similar situation and how it turned out. I'm not very familiar with the CA 15.3, having not had tumor marker testing over most of the lasts 14 years (or scans for that matter).

Thank you!

@boneonboneinnola I'm really sorry to hear about your diagnosis and all you have been through. I don't know about whitening, but I have a very good dentist who instantly understood what a cancer diagnosis means, including the consequences of taking a bone strengthener like Xgeva or Zometa. She had all my teeth specially xrayed so that any future change could be noted. So I guess my advice is to make sure you have a really good dentist who can give you the low-down.

Sorry to hear about the bone mets. I was on semiannual Prolia shots for osteopenia for 3 years; 2 years later developed osteoporosis so am now on semiannual Prolia 10 years-to-life. Before beginning Prolia I had thorough dental exam and cleaning every 6 months; I now see my dentist every 3 months. I was warned about ONJ should I get extractions, implants or very deep root planing. So far, so good. I also underwent Invisalign orthodontia at 68 and still wear a retainer—which keeps my teeth stable and less likely to loosen & fall out.

Whitening—even professionally under UV light—is superficial and limited to the enamel. Ask your dentist, but I doubt it would pose any ONJ risk—even though Xgeva is monthly. (Same drug, different name, different indication). FWIW, when I thought I would be getting bisphosphonate infusions (Zometa/Reclast) because my GERD precludes the oral versions (Fosamax, Boniva, etc.), the dental pre-clearance was not required. I couldn't tolerate the Zometa, so that's why I switched.