More Collateral Damage

I was told when I finished treatment for cancer that I could expect to get back to normal, but to just expect a different normal. That may have been the best advise that I was given. As a result of the treatments that I did, I am at a greater risk for a myriad of health problems that I wasn't fully prepared for when I was making treatment decisions (The truth is that most of the decisions were made for me, and I was told what I needed to do rather than given choices.) Still, while I was told that there was a chance that the treatments may affect my heart and that because I had cancer I was at a greater risk for getting cancer in the future. I wasn't told about the host of other things that could possibly go wrong in the future. One of the things wasn't discussed with me was the possibility that the treatments may rob my bones and leave me susceptible to fractures. I had figured it out when my primary care doctors started asking for bone density scans and my "cancer" friends started having hip fractures and needing hip and knee replacement surgery. But today I read this article stating the obvious. Honestly, considering that the study only included six women, I'm surprised that it's getting any press. But I don't disagree with the claim that it makes. I just hope that it will be studied further. The most disturbing thing about this article is that it points out that even though I have had a clear bone density scan, it may not have picked up the problem that is causing the hip fractures. It leaves me feeling like a sitting duck once again.