Metastatic breast cancer (MBC; also called stage IV) is breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, most commonly the bones, liver, brain, or lungs. Metastatic breast cancer can be treated but not cured. Metastatic disease is NOT hopeless. There are a wide variety of treatment options for metastatic breast cancer, and new medicines are being tested every day. More and more people are living life to the fullest while being treated for metastatic breast cancer.
Intro medically reviewed by: Brian Wojciechowski, M.D.
Last review date: November 22, 2020
Posted on:
Jun 26, 2007 05:04AM
PERTH, WA, Australia
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Jan 2007
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Jul 28, 2009
ozzie2
wrote:
Hi all has anyone here taken or are taking Bonefos (Clodronate)
I have just been put on it for my bone mets..As Yet I havent got the tablets but I have the script..
Finally got to see and Onc today..Not bad since I have been Dx with Mets to the bone since DEC06 and this is the 1st time I have seen and ONC..Dont got back and see him how till Sept ...
What I would like to know is ..is this Drug the 1st line of treatment for bone mets? along With Arimidex this is all I am taking...suits me...
is there anything else I should be taking? or doing to help?
What bugs me is today was my 1st apppointment with this OBC it cost me $133 Aus dollars.. and I didnt get to ask him anything....like my time frame etc..Its so confusing when I dont know what I am up agains..I have read that sometime u die two yrs after the dx ? well I know I have had the mets for one yr now even if they werent dx till DEC last yr..the bone mets were on a CT scan in July last yr but werent mention..
Thanks for any help given..
DCIS and IDC 96. ER/PR + HER2- bone skin mets06 ,Lung mets May08
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LuAnnH
Cincinnati, OH
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Jun 26, 2007 08:34AM
LuAnnH
wrote:
ozzie, I don't put much faith in the stats. I know plenty of ladies 5 or more years out with mets and still thriving. I was dx 7/06 with bone mets and was on Arimidex & Zometa up until last month when I had a progression. I am currently on Faslodex, Zometa & Herceptin. As long as the mets are bone only they are usually not fatal. When it starts traveling to soft tissue organs then your onc will probably ramp up tx to chemos to help keep the cancer at bay.
Is it normal to take that long to get into the onc in Australia? I see my onc every month and we have been doing scans to follow my progress every three months so far. If I am not having any problems we will let the scans go longer.
LuAnn
LuAnn --
Dx
7/2/2006, IDC, 2cm, Stage IV, mets, ER+/PR+, HER2+
katie11
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Jun 26, 2007 10:21AM
katie11
wrote:
I haven't had this treatment so can't help you there. My advice to you re. stats - IGNORE THEM! Many of the current stats are out of date as soon as they're published and you are an individual, not a statistic! I like to read Kathy's post about her 14 years with mets over and over again - it does me so much good when I'm feeling down and shows that we can all beat the odds.
Take care and good luck with the new treatment,
Katie xx
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst!
Dx
7/15/2006, ILC, 2cm, Stage IV, Grade 2, mets, ER+/PR+, HER2-
jonimb
Chestermere, AB
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Jun 26, 2007 11:40AM
jonimb
wrote:
Ozzie2, I was just put on Bonefos Clodronate on June 13th. I'm also on Tamoxifen. I have 1 liver met, and they also have seen something on my left hip. This is a usual 1st line of defense in Canada for bone mets. Good luck to you, and feel free to PM me if you need anything.
Joni, Chestermere, Alberta, Canada
Joni, Chestermere, AB, Canada, Today is the BEST day of my life EVER!!
Dx
9/25/2006, IDC, 4cm, Grade 3, 1/15 nodes, mets, ER+/PR+, HER2-
debstitches…
Ajax, ON
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Jun 26, 2007 01:48PM
debstitchestoo
wrote:
Hi Ozzie
I too am on Bonefos. I am taking Femara for mets and the Bonefos counteracts the calcium draining effects of this drug as well as bone building and perhaps inhibiting the growth of new bone tumours. Joni is right, it is th e1st line of defence here in Canada. I've been on the Bonefos for almost 3 months without any of the reported side effects. I go for my 1st bone scan Friday since beginning the treatment and I'm hoping for stabilization or better. Give it a try...and don't worry about the stats.
Debbie
Dx
2/28/2007, IDC, 1cm, Stage IV, Grade 1, 0/8 nodes, ER+/PR+, HER2-
Maya1
Newfoundland
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Jun 27, 2007 11:11AM
Maya1
wrote:
Hi Oz,
I have had mets for 3 years now and am doing very well. I'm currently on Arimidex and Aredia, which is also a bisphosphonate like Bonefos but is injected. This combo is working very well for me. My bone mets are stable and my liver tumour shrank by more than a cm.
There are many many women here with mets who are doing very well. Please don't worry about the statistics.
Take care,
Pray to God but row for shore..... Russian proverb
Dx
6/30/2004, IDC, 3cm, Stage IV, mets, ER+/PR+, HER2-
ozzie2
PERTH, WA, Australia
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Jun 28, 2007 01:37AM
ozzie2
wrote:
Hi Girls thank for the replies... as for the mets I have mets to the bones two...and mets to the skin..thats it ..
Stats well they are a worry at times ..one doesnt know who to believe half the time..ah!
Good to hear that u have had no side effects with the Bonefos Debbie thats great..
Katie I also think that Kathys 14 yrs post is the best..she has given so much hope to all of us just by that one post ..what a woman..
Normally it doesnt take this long to see an ONC..just that right from the start with this mets thing the Right Hand isnt telling the left hand and its making me sooo mad.I still havent been told my treatment plan..lovely ah..
thanks girls..
DCIS and IDC 96. ER/PR + HER2- bone skin mets06 ,Lung mets May08