Treating a raised blood calcium level (hypercalcemia) resulting from secondary bone cancer

If you have a secondary cancer in the bone, this may cause calcium to seep out of the damaged bone and into the blood. High levels of calcium in the blood (hypercalcaemia) can make you feel nauseous, drowsy and unwell. You may need to spend a few days in hospital for treatment to reduce the calcium levels in your blood.

Your doctor or nurse may ask you to start drinking plenty of liquids. You are also likely to have a drip (intravenous infusion) of fluids into a vein in your arm. This will increase the fluid/liquid content of your blood, and encourage the kidneys to get rid of the calcium from the body in the urine. Your doctor will also give you drugs such as bisphosphonates that reduce the level of calcium in the bloodstream. These may be given through a drip over a few hours, however newer bisphosphonates can be infused over 15 minutes. This treatment can be repeated if the calcium levels rise again. You should feel much better within a couple of days.

Bisphosphonates can also be taken as tablets and may be used to maintain normal levels of calcium in the blood.