New drugs

Hi everyone:

Kathleen underwent an MRI of her right hip this morning to determine whether the "spot" they found there is yet another incidence of the spreading of her cancer. She has been experiencing a fair amount of pain in her hip (as severe as the pain in her back), so it's worrisome. She expects to have conclusive answers within 48 hours.

She will be starting on two new drugs. One, Zometa, is an intravenous treatment administered every 3-4 weeks; it is designed to protect the bones against abnormally high levels of calcium sloughing out of the bones and into the blood, which often occurs with those who have cancer in their bones. The second drug, Faslodex, starves cancer cells of estrogen in postmenopausal women; this is particularly true of cancer that has originated in the breast. By preventing the cancer from attaching to estrogen, the progression of cancer may be slowed. Faslodex is typically prescribed to women who took tamoxifen and still experienced a recurrence of cancer. Some women actually realized a reduction in tumor size from this drug. Faslodex is given by injection once per month. The only real downside from what we've read is that the body develops a resistance to the drug, typically in about 18 months.

We'll post again as soon as we hear more.

Love,
Patty & Brian