In addition, an older physician I spoke to suggested I take the herb horsetail as a supplement. He indicated that thinning is a natural progression of aging however ones bones should not be brittle. Horsetail contains silica and he contends that this will help the thinning bones retain elasticity. The following indicates that scientific evidence is in it’s infancy: “Silicon may be beneficial for bone strengthening. Because horsetail contains silicon, it has been suggested as a possible natural treatment for osteoporosis. Preliminary human study reports benefits, but more detailed research is needed before a firm recommendation can be made.” .

My own experience with Actonel was very severe and I actually discovered the causality between the afib and the bisphosphonate before my physician was alerted to it. My body reacted to Actonel with severe muscle cramps, atrial fibrillation and severe TMJ. I am convinced that prior to osteonecrosis occurring there are many people who are getting an early warning through the development of TMJ. I had an MRI of my mandibular and I had a 15% bone loss on the left side. I have since developed a questionnaire and am collecting data to substantiate my theory. Anyone on bisphosphonates with TMJ that appeared after starting medication and are interested in documenting their experience, can request a copy to complete and return to me.

As a former patient who has followed the herceptin trials from the beginning, I really enjoyed seeing this.

The big question I have about FinHer is why is a trial that showed excellent results at St. Gallen in spring 2009 struggling so much. O.K., a ‘patient group’ seems to have driven it out of New Zealand, but I notice that it now no longer seems to be recruiting in the UK either and, because it is having to rely on Finnish recruitment the completion date has now been pushed back to 2015. Admittedly the initial trial was a small trial, but that only 9% of the women treated developed distant recurrences at the five year mark is impressive. Hurley et al. also had very good results with similar study of extremely high-risk patients in Florida.

I have noticed some really odd attacks on FinHer in strange places (like in U.S. newspapers, which I didn’t know cared that much about small trials in Scandanavia and New Zealand), which makes me suspicious.

You might have also mentioned that Genentech/Roche have not been particularly good at full disclosure on their trials, such as not releasing the 2 year arm results of HERA.

jeffrey dach md