Trying to find how I can purchase Bonista!

I saw the breast cancer question posted by a member here mention she was taking Bonista, the medication for Osteoporosis. As far as I have researched, the only serious risk known for the  teriparatide is bone cancer, not breast cancer. Hope this helps!
As for myself, I am a patient suffering from severe osteoporosis. My doctor, realizing I cannot afford Forteo ($950 per month!), has suggested I try to find how I can take the equivalent, generic version, which is Bonista.
Please, if anyone can tell me how to get ahold of this medication, any address, emails of sellers, etc! I would be so grateful!



This discussion is related to Bonista-side effects.

[bluebutterfly2222]

You would contact the patient assistance program of the drug maker. Your doctor  (after consulting his PDR, if necessary) or your pharmacist should be able to  provide the name and address of the pharmaceutical company that makes the drug in which you are interested. (Or you could do an Internet search for it, if you don't want to bother them.)

You might also want to contact the National Osteoporosis Foundation for more information about that diagnosis, and possible sources of assistance for treatment of it.

Best wishes...

[Cheerpul]

You should be able to find patient assistance forms and information on over 4600 drugs on the free website: needymeds.com.  I have worked with this site for many years assisting people to get the medicines that they need.  You should check and see if you qualify for the Forteo assistance program: http://www.needymeds.org/drug_list.taf?_function=name&name=Forteo

Good luck!  I am a breast cancer patient in a drug study taking the osteoporosis drug, Zometa.  There is some promising data that suggests osteoporosis drugs may help prevent breast cancer patients having recurrances of cancer as bone cancer.    

[Ammethyst]

I will keep trying my hardest to get ahold of such info-- thank you both for your tips!

p.s. Cheerpul, what did you mean by "osteoporosis drugs may help prevent breast cancer patients having recurrances of cancer as bone cancer?"
Because i thought the opposite seemed more likely (?)

[bluebutterfly2222]

There is some evidence that biphosphonate drugs may help prevent invasive BC, although some researchers feel clinical trials are needed to prove this, since women taking bone-protecting drugs may already be at lower risk for BC.

There is also some evidence that these drugs may help prevent BC recurrence.

Below is an excerpt from one report:


"Oral bisphosphonate drugs used for postmenopausal osteoporosis apparently offer protection against invasive breast cancer, according to 2 hypothesis-generating studies presented here at the 32nd Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS).

A huge analysis of data from several Women's Health Initiative (WHI) studies, which together involved more than 150,000 generally healthy postmenopausal women, showed that those who were taking bisphosphonates to protect their bones had a 32% reduction in invasive breast cancer.

A smaller study from Israel, which involved 4575 postmenopausal women, found a 34% reduction in the relative risk for breast cancer.

Previous data suggesting that bisphosphonates have antitumor properties have come from trials in women who already had breast cancer, which showed a reduction in breast cancer recurrence, as previously reported by Medscape Oncology."

Best wishes...
bluebutterfly