PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age: 16 and over Performance status: ECOG 0-3 Life expectancy: At least 6 weeks Hematopoietic: Not specified Hepatic: Not specified Renal: Calcium less than 29.9 mg/dL Cardiovascular: No symptomatic congestive heart failure or hypotension (systolic blood pressure less than 100 mm Hg) Pulmonary: No obstructive pulmonary disease (asthma, chronic bronchitis, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) Other: No known sensitivity to pilocarpine No active oral candidiasis No Sjogren's syndrome No acute iritis or narrow-angle glaucoma Not pregnant or nursing Effective contraception required of all fertile patients Must be fluent and possess sufficient cognitive ability to complete quality of life questionnaires in either English or French without assistance from a caregiver