If you are not Stage IV but have questions, you may post here
Comments
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Hi Blondie, please try and take a deep breath and calm down a little. To be told there is a 'something' in your lung and know that you have BC is a terrifying thing but let me assure you that it is very possible it's not mets. As Shoppygirl says, Granulomas are quite common and totally benign. I had one appear in my right lung a long time ago, and that was before I was dx stage IV, it is still there with no change.
You can also have calcium deposits as well as scar tissue from a bad chest infection or from pollution and the list goes on. Please try not to worry too much as only the CT and even a biopsy can tell you exactly what it is. Your doc is being very cautious and taking good care of you.
Hoping all turns out well but please do let us know.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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Chrissy! You are so lovely, knowledgeable and helpful! I knew you would chime in with your amazing advice!!!
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Ok, one last plea for experiences.
Is pain from spine mets consistent or does it come and go?
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Hi Nettie, as with all mets pain, once started, can be consistent with growing intensity. Depending on what is causing the pain as in compression fracture, pressure on a nerve or just the deterioration of the vertebrae will dictate what type of pain is felt.
Sometimes there is no pain at all for quite some time.
Hope this has helped.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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nettie, I was wondering the same thing. Mine has been coming and going, for the most part. If I understand Chrissy correctly, she is saying that -
a) if it is from the bone mets itself, it would be consistent and growing over time
b) if it is from the bone mets causing a nerve impingement or something like that, it might vary.
Is that right?
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Thanks shoppygirl and chrissyb. I just don't think I will ever stop OVER worrying because of the past. I am happy that I have a very busy week next week to hopefully keep my mind off of thinking about it.
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Hi Ladies, had Xray thus morning, just got the results back. MY arm, neck, shoulder and fingers seems fine. Did not show any inflammation or sign of arthritis. How accurate is xray? does bone met show up on Xray?thanks ladies
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soriya, I'm glad your x-rays were clear, but to answer your question, x-rays normally do not show bone mets. I
had two separate sets of x-rays done around the holidays because of excruciating
rib pain in conjunction with a bad viral infection. Long story short,
neither one showed
anything suspicious, and both times I was reassured that I was simply dealing with
a really bad viral infection and rib inflammation. But then my
blood work surprised everyone with some elevated levels that made my onc order a CTScan, and
those results turned out to be much more concerning.Chances are
the arm & hand pain you're having are being caused by something
other than bc mets, so I don't want my experience to alarm you in any
way. But no matter what the cause, if the pain continues and the cause
for it hasn't been identified with x-rays, then you should ask for
additional imaging, like an MRI. (((Hugs))) Deanna0 -
thank Denna! i can feel like theres a knot on my left shoulder. i can feel that knot when i pressed on it. i cannot do MRI till mid May cus i still have TE. I just had CT n PET scan done in January but that for my stomach n liver issue...but all clear. Now my shoulder, arm n fingers. when i am going to feel normal again? there always one thing after another
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soriya, I believe they would. I was having some knee issues, which I for a change did NOT think was anything scary (but I thought I might have torn something). PCP said that it would show up, but I guess we did an xray b/c we were looking for a fracture. I would be interested to know if I am mistaken. So, tentative congratulations!
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- Soriya, we do xrays all o1zx
0 - Soriya, we do xrays all o1zx
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Soriya I'm glad your X-rays came back clear, that's such good news! As to mets showing up on xray, all I can say is mine always have.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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thank you ladies! will talk to my MO about the next step, what causing the pain.
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Ladies, i would really appreciate your advice or thoughts. My tumor showed up as about 2.5 cm on the post-diagnosis MRI, but by the time they took it out over a month later, it was 4.8 cm in the largest part. (The length of time between when I was diagnosed and when I had my surgery is another irritating story....) I don'lt know if it grew that much, if it did not show up on the mRI, or if it was just the way they read the MRI, and I have never been able to get a clear answer on the subject. I find it unnerving that there does not appear to be a stage for women who have tumors larger than 5 cm and are node negative. (I was node negative.)
I had a bone scan and a CTscan in february 2013, after i finished rads, and everything was clear. However, that was only a few months after i finished chemo. Now i am scheduled for a bone scan, but wouldn't it make more sense for me just to have a PET scan just in case, as long as we're at it? Ihave been having tenderness in the rib area on the right side (cancer side) and have been feeling a lot of congestion in my lungs. Both of these things are almost certainly other things but it jsut seems like while I'm at it we should just scan everything. Also, unnervingly, Ihave been struggling a bit to walk up a flight of stairs, do my usual workout, etc. Again, could just be allergies disrupting my breathing. Could even be a herceptin problem showing up late....
Any thoughts on that? Sorry for such a long post.
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Hi cypher...
I have never understood how or why the oncologists choose certain scans over others. For instance, I was diagnosed stage iv with mets to bones and liver in 2010, but never had a bone scan until last month, after having rib pain like you. But as a stage ii patient, I would think they would choose a pet/ct or an mri to be sure you're completely clean! I'm now having an mri, after my bone scan was clean. Grrr... working my way through the scans! I would question your oncologist about this. You're the boss, and you deserve complete answers. I hope the source of your pain, and other symptoms are something totally benign, and that you'll feel better very soon!
Rose.
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Can any one tell me if their pain from spine mets or rib Mets was helped by soaking in warm water.
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cypher,
If your mo doesn't want to do a PET/CT, maybe you could ask about a chest x-ray. It's a lot less radiation and less expensive, but it would show if there is a pleural effusion that's causing your shortness of breath. It sounds like this is different from your run-of-the-mill allergies, and it's worth checking out. There are lots of possibilities for SOB, but since you're a cancer patient, your docs should take this seriously.
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I have an US scheduled for Thursday, they've also put in for an aspiration if neccesary. BS thinks that there is fluid where my left breast was, but she is not sure about the lump/mound. The pain is getting worse. I posted before, but as crazy as it probably sounds, I'm worried this is mets. Mets while getting chemo...yeah I know nuts. The lump/mound is hard and unmoving so I don't know if it is connected to the fluid. Anyway...it is just wait and see for now. All of this is alot of wait and see with cancer0 -
if you have a small liver tumor like i did, it did not show up on pet, mri revealed the 5mm tumor-it was too small for pet to pick up. also, move your shoulder mri up if you can as you are her2 +
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Nettie,
Bone mets are generally constant pain that does not come and go. A warm bath would probably improve muscular pain by helping the muscles relax. There are tons of small muscles around the spine and ribs that can cause you pain.
If you pain is constant (mine feels like a burning spot, like a bruise that is getting pushed on, small areas that I can put a finger on) for more than 2 weeks, you should talk to your doctor.
Karen
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infrared sauna has helped my bone painimmensely! i am no longer taking opiates because of it, i go 4-5 x a week to my local gym and i sit in 151 degree sauna for 45-50 minutes while drinking water the entire time to clear lymph channels
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Hi Cypher, PET scans are a lot of radiation. Likely your doc doesn't want to subject you to that. Too much radiation has been known to cause cancer ;-)
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Petjunkie,
First I love your screen name.
My pain has never been constant, but it is certainly aggravating and scary. MO says no need to scan, but guess I'm going to have to get someone to order so that I can find peace. The pain is not bad enough to warrant meds, but it's bad enough to think mets.
I also wonder if this is from damage from chemo and rads.
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rose, thank you, and I hope your rib pain is nothing. I did have that before around the time I had a CT scan, and nothing showed up. It kind of came and went. I might have pulled it trying to do sit ups to help with the leg pain, which might just be a sciatic problem (in fact it has been bothering me a lot less since I started doing the exercises I was given way back when when I first injured it). FYI, there are various women on a thread I am usually active in that have had rib pain which, upon investigation, turned out to be nothing. Or apparently nothing. This is a sneaky ass disease so who knows?
carpe diem, ugh. I got some homeopathic allergy stuff today as well as some sushi with a big pile of wasabi. Stinging nettles are supposed to be great for allergies, and they grow like a weed (well, as a weed...) in my yard, so I am going to make myself some stinging nettle tea. Hopefully it is all something like that but I will mention it to him if none of this helps.
pajim, is a PET scan more radiation than a bone scan? I've tried to google it but without success, though you'd think it wouldn't be that hard to find the answer.
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cypher,
You might find this website useful: http://www.xrayrisk.com/calculator/calculator-nor...
It gives the radiation dose for common procedures measured in mSv (millisieverts), ranging from 0.001 mSv for a DEXA bone density up to 14.1 mSv for a whole body PET scan. These can add up pretty quickly: if you have a chest CT, that's 7 mSv, but if you have a CT of chest, abdomen, and pelvis you're up to 21 mSv. A bone scan is pretty close to a chest CT, at 6.3 mSv, while a chest x-ray is only 0.1 mSv and a mammogram is 0.4 mSv.
I also found this: In a 2009 study from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, researchers estimated the potential risk of cancer from CT scans in 31,462 patients over 22 years. For the group as a whole, the increase in risk was slight — 0.7% above the overall lifetime risk of cancer in the United States, which is 42%. But for patients who had multiple CT scans, the increase in risk was higher, ranging from 2.7% to 12%. (In this group, 33% had received more than five CT scans; 5%, more than 22 scans; and 1%, more than 38.)
I would say that the younger you are, the more you would like to avoid the high dose scans if some other test will give the information you want. Ultrasound and MRI's use no radiation.
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My bone scan was clear but I have to come off Tamoxifen for two weeks to see if that helps with the pain I'm having. I am booked in for a MRI scan in two weeks to see if that can tell us anything. I really thought I had bone mets and I could have kissed my onco for giving me good news.
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Ali, that is wonderful news that your bone scan is clear! It is possible that the Tamixifen is causing your pain so hopefully the mini break will give you some relief.
Love n hugs. Chrissy
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Carpe! thank you for that wonderful link! God, i would have to go back to twenty, when i first got massively xrayed, cause i was in a car accident on the way home from my third date with my first boyfriend, he passed away on the third day after because of the injuries he sustained...
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carpe diem, thank you, that was really helpful. He has said on multiple occasions that he doesn't want to see me in there with secondary cancers b/c of unneeded scans.
ali, congratulations! I am so happy for you. hopefully you will get some clarity from your tamox vacay... It can build up over time like that? I notice that you've been on it for a year and a half.
kathec -- it wouldn't surprise me. ugh.
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we got hit by a carful of drunken teenagers, rainy night, ... it pretty much destroyed his family. he was sweet, his mother told me that he was thinking about asking me to marry him, i was such a child, still, in so many ways. i got a broken pelvis.
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