What can be done if the calcium released from the bone causes high blood levels of calcium?
The treatment of high blood calcium (hypercalcemia) usually involves the use of fluids containing sodium chloride given intravenously, often with the addition of other drugs by vein such as the bisphosphonate drugs, pamidronate or etidronate (Didronel), or other drugs such as gallium nitrate (Ganite) or plicamycin (Mithracin). Sometimes salmon calcitonin, (Calcimar and Miacalcin), another drug which inhibits thinning of bone, is given intravenously or by injections under the skin. Steroid medicines such as prednisone or cortisone are sometimes used to treat hypercalcemia, but generally the bisphosphonate drugs mentioned above are the first choice of therapy. What can be done to prevent the spread of breast cancer to bone? The use of certain forms of chemotherapy or hormone therapy called “adjuvant” chemotherapy, beginning after the breast cancer is removed surgically, decreases the risk of breast cancer spreading to other organs including bone by 25-30 Radiation therapy given to the br
