Helping make decisions

Jemmy

Hi, my Mum is 78 and was diagnosed with hormone positive breast cancer in 2023, she has had her surgery and radiotherpay and is now on her hormone blockers. She now needs to make a decision about taking zometa, weighing up side effects with quality of life in your later years. 
She wants me to help her make a decision she is really struggling with, anyone have any tips on making decisions when your elderly and for loved ones they rely on to assist them. 

cactusk

Hi @Jemmy
Similar to your mum, I had surgery and radiotherapy, and am now on hormone blockers. Of all my meds, the zometa is the least worrisome in terms of side effects. Although I am somewhat younger than your mum (55), as I've read on this forum since I joined, everyone's experience with meds is just so different. Can she give it a go and see how she feels? Is her bone health otherwise OK? Can your BC nurse provide any help? If you search zometa on this forum, I'm sure that there will be a bunch of comments too of people who are considering or already taking this drug. Absolute best wishes to you and your mum - she's so lucky to have you with her during the tricky decisions. 
Kx

Blossom1961

The only problem I had on Zometa was slight bone ache. I started taking Vit D and calcium tablets and haven't had issues since. My Vit D was high enough as was my calcium, but for some reason this extra boost to those stopped my aches. 

Abbydog

I've had no problems at all with Zometa. It doesn't take long to be administered. My bone density has improved as wanted.The only precaution is to make sure her teeth are in as good a condition as possible. And all dental work is done before commencing. 

June1952

Hi @Jemmy.  If you put Zometa in the search bar you will see quite a few discussions.
Is the drug being recommended as a precaution due to taking the other medications or is it because her bones are thin already ?
It is hard to make the decision for oneself but added stress when trying to assist one's mother.