Bone Scan

Public Archive
1

Hi,
I had a letter from my doctor today saying my bone scan showed that I need to start taking Calcium and Vitamin D supplements as a matter of urgency. Is this different to the tablets they give you when you have bone mets please? He only wanted me to have a scan because of the Arimidex.
Im very confused - this doesnt mean its spread to my bones does it?

Thanks
kaj
xxx

2

Hi,
no it doesn’t mean bone spread, don’t worry.Lots of people without Bc take calcium supplements due to bone density reducing or osteoporosis. Its to try to keep your bones strong so they don’t break easily if you have a fall. The AI tablets, like you are taking, increase it so they are counteracting that by building them up with calcium.
Hope this helps
Lily x

3

Kaj
I don’t know anything about your history but I know that calcium and Vitamin D are for osteoporosis and not bone mets. As you’ve been on hormone suppressants your bones may be a bit weaker and these will help to build them up. Nothing to worry about - most women should probably be taking those supplements all the time and we don’t even know it.
Hope that stops you worrying.
Love,
Kathleen

4

Hi Kaj
I agree with the others, and I do have bone mets! The hormone tablets can cause bone density loss so I expect your scan showed yours are a bit weak in places so need a bit of strengthening. This is to avoid any fractures later in life which are actually a big problem for older ladies. Also research has recently shown that hardly any of us get enough vitamin D these days as we are indoors so much and therefore don’t get the bone strengthening effect from the sun as much as we used to.
Nicky

5

Hi,
Thank you lovely ladies for taking the time to put my mind at rest. I feel like on 21/12 I got uprooted to a whole new universe, with new language and so much to learn -the Breast Cancer universe. To think I thought my life was complicated before!!! Im still learning all the time - and every new thing throws me off course a bit.

Thanks again
kaj
xxx

6

Like Nicky, I have bone mets (and seem to follow her posts round here at times!). I am on arimidex too which is known to cause bone thinning and so have a calcium/vitamin D tablet daily. I also have a bone strengthening drug zometa for my bone mets but this is used to treat osteoporosis as well - my OH has the tablet form of it to counteract the bone thinning effect of steroids and has to have calcium/vit D too. Not to mention that anything which supresses the hormone production causes bone thinning…along with the lack of sunshine here. So don’t panic - it sounds like doc is on the ball.

Liz