Cancer Diary: 🧠 Carl’s Story: Hypercalcemia in Real Life

 

For Carl, hypercalcemia didn’t just show up in lab results—it appeared as brain fog, confusion, and instability. He fell several times, a common outcome when calcium disrupts muscle and nerve function. These symptoms led him to the ER repeatedly, where doctors gave him IV infusions to quickly lower calcium levels.

💉 What’s in the ER Shots or Infusions?

According to clinical guidelines, ER treatment for hypercalcemia of malignancy typically includes:

• IV fluids (saline): The first step, flushing calcium through the kidneys.
• Bisphosphonates (pamidronate, zoledronic acid): IV drugs that block bone breakdown and reduce calcium release.
• Denosumab: A targeted antibody used when bisphosphonates aren’t enough.
• Calcitonin injections: Fast-acting hormone therapy that lowers calcium within hours, though only short-term.
• Steroids: Sometimes used in lymphoma-related hypercalcemia.
• Dialysis: Reserved for severe cases with kidney failure.

Carl received IV bisphosphonates/denosumab alongside fluids. That usually brought him around rather quickly. 

🍎 Foods That Can Help or Harm

Diet plays a supportive role but cannot replace medical treatment.

Foods that may worsen hypercalcemia:

• High-calcium foods: Dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt), fortified juices, calcium supplements.
• Vitamin D–rich foods/supplements: Fatty fish, fortified cereals, or high-dose vitamin D pills (since vitamin D boosts calcium absorption).
• Dehydration risk foods: Excess caffeine or alcohol, which increase fluid loss.

Foods that may help support recovery:

• Hydrating foods and fluids: Water, broth, fruits with high water content (melon, cucumber).
• Plant-based proteins: Beans, lentils, nuts, seeds—nutrient-rich without excess calcium.
• Whole grains and fiber: Oats, brown rice, whole wheat—support gut health and reduce constipation, a common symptom.
• Anti-inflammatory foods: Olive oil, avocados, walnuts, which help overall resilience during cancer treatment.

✨ Closing Reflection

Carl’s experience shows how hypercalcemia can suddenly change behavior and mobility, turning everyday actions into risks. Recognizing brain fog, instability, or falls as possible signs of high calcium is crucial. ER care—whether IV fluids, bisphosphonates, denosumab, or calcitonin—can stabilize patients quickly. Meanwhile, avoiding calcium- and vitamin D–heavy foods and focusing on hydration and balanced nutrition helps reduce strain on the body until the underlying cancer is treated.

Carl had a triple whammy that made hypercalcemia episodes frequent and hard to fight: multiple sources. His Cancer of Unknown Primary included lung cancer, stomach cancer, and bone cancer, all of which contributed to the appearance of hypercalcemia, chief among these being bone cancer,

(For an overview of hypercalcemia, see last week's Cancer Diary post. For a detailed explanation of how bone cancer produces hypercalcemia, see next week's Cancer Diary post.)

For other Cancer Diary posts, click HERE.

Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Carl, and simply because it is truly needed, MSI Press is now hosting a web page, Carl's Cancer Compendium, as a one-stop starting point for all things cancer, to make it easier for those with cancer to find answers to questions that can otherwise take hours to track down on the Internet and/or from professionals. The CCC is expanded and updated weekly. As part of this effort, each week, on Monday, this blog will carry an informative, cancer-related story -- and be open to guest posts: Cancer Diary. 

Sign up for the MSI Press LLC monthly newsletter

(recent releases, sales/discounts, awards, reviews, Amazon top 100 list, author advice, and more -- stay up to date)

 

Follow MSI Press on Twitter, Face Book, and Instagram. 

Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? 

We help writers become award-winning published authors. One writer at a time. We are a family, not a factory. Do you have a future with us?

Turned away by other publishers because you are a first-time author and/or do not have a strong platform yet? If you have a strong manuscript, San Juan Books, our hybrid publishing division, may be able to help.

Check out information on how to submit a proposal.

Planning on self-publishing and don't know where to start? Our author au pair services will mentor you through the process.

Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book in exchange for reviewing a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com.

Want an author-signed copy of this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com.

Julia Aziz, signing her book, Lessons of Labor, at an event at Book People in Austin, Texas.

Want to communicate with one of our authors? You can! Find their contact information on our Authors' Pages.

Steven Greenebaum, author of award-winning books, An Afternoon's Discussion and One Family: Indivisible, talking to a reader at Barnes & Noble in Gilroy, California.

   

MSI Press is ranked among the top publishers in California.
Check out our rankings -- and more -- HERE.