Bone Mets Thread
Comments
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ranger...I second the opinion that u shouldn't wait till tues. call the oncs office ASAP and tell them u didn't go to er, but r still having symptoms. Reason I'm so concerned is the BM issues. I did a brief stint as a Soc. Sec. atty, and remember reading about 2 types of nerves --- sensory and motor nerves. Tingling, burning, etc are symptoms of sensory nerves being affected, while problems like weakness and BM/urinary difficulties are related to motor nerves being compromised. As someone mentioned above, the docs are usually more concerned about diagnosing and treating neural deficits involving motor nerves because there is a greater risk of permanent damage (which goes down if it's diagnosed and treated promptly).
Not trying to scare you (well, guess I am a litte if it'll prompt u to call your doc ASAP), but I did have a client who waited too long and did have permanent damage. Please,please call your onc right away and don't wait till tomorrow! And let us know the good news when it turns out OK!!
Just realized should probably PM u also in case u don't think to check threads.0 -
Update, called onc this morning. I'm trying to hang in there till the MRI's tomorrow instead of gonig to the ER for that $150 copay and hours of waiting. I've already spent $200 in copays this month and I;m just not a money tree for all of this. If I can just make it one more day. I also asked they if there are any MRI cancellations today at any of the offices I could get my scans in today instead of tomorrow. Pain is still high, but I can walk a bit more upright today, BM and urinating are better today. So maybe the weekend bedrest made a difference. I'm on steroids, and neurontin plus vicoden and they are not making a dent on this. I'll keep you posted. My concern in to be in good shape to be there when my grandbaby is being born, which could be any day now. her due date is Nov. 4th and she's having contractions right now, braxton hicks I hope. I need to get better quickly.
Want to add to the tumor markers question. My onc doesn't do them at all and from what I've seen here on the boards of those who do have them, they seem rather challenging to be reliable. I would insist on scans to go along with tumor markers. Just my biased opinion, I'm can be a demanding you know what when I have to. I want answers and I want to know everything going on in my body. Its the only way I have peace of mind. I need to know and then I can process it and let it go.0 -
Anyone else get xgeva?0 -
Hi Beth, I've been getting Xgeva shots for two years now. They don't bother me at all. I do worry about ONJ but every dental checkup has been fine so far.0 -
don’t forget the danger of femoral fractures with prolonged bisphosphonate use.0 -
Update, they got me in for STAT MRI's today and I've got a fracture vertebrae and a mass pressing on my spinal cord from t7 to t10. I've got stronger pain drugs now to help me through till I find out the next step. What is usually the next step, surgery? Just picked up results at 4 tonigt and haven't heard from the onc, probably tomorrow I would think. Does this have some urgency to it?
Linda0 -
Ranger, I would call your onc's on-call #, tell them you have an appt tomorrow but that the facility showed you your results and you wanted to make sure that this isn't something that needs to be stabilized immediately before you see your doc0 -
sorry, I should've prefaced that by saying so sorry you have this fracture and mass, but I'm glad they were able to get you in early and get you some pain relief!!! Don't know what they'll do next, but I'm assuming some kind of surgery to stabilize the fracture. I think if its a compression fracture they can just inject bone cement into the vertebra to "plump" it back up to it's original height and take pressure off the spinal cord. I'm guessing they'll probably also do some rads to shrink the mass if it's pressing on the spinal cord. Hopefully someone will come along who's been through this and can tell you firsthand. But again, hon, so sorry you're having to struggle with this. Sending gentle cyber hugs!!0 -
Thanks Mary, I'm sure I'll hear from my onc tomorrow. By the time tests were read, it was about 4pm. She may have been gone for the day and nothing can be done anyway. I've got oxycotin and morphine to help me get through. The timing on all this is kind of sucky since my grandbaby is soon to make his appearance any day now. I just need to be able to be there for her. I'm so excited about that. I'm actually relieved tonight to know what the scans said. I hate not knowing what's going on.0 -
Hi Rangermom, sorry to hear the news. I believe if it's pressing on the spinal cord they'll probably want to do rads as soon as possible to reduce the pressure before it causes permanent nerve damage. They did that in my case. I was given rads to my tumor the same day (and for 9 more sessions) after I received the MRI and CT scans results because they thought it was necessary to prevent further complications and to relieve my pain.0 -
I've already had rads from T6 to T10 so I'm wondering if they can do rads again? I hope so, but so that it won't cause any internal damage to lungs or something. I've already had 33 rads to the chest and 10 to the lumbar spine. Wouldn't you think it will be cement or something for the fracture? I know I shouldn't speculate, just so glad to know that there is a cause for this pain and i'm not going crazy0 -
Rangermom, so sorry to hear what's happening to you. I agree with all that's been said. I'm sure they will want to address this immed. As for more rads once already radiated, I was told not to the same area; however, cyberknife is possible. Not sure if they will want to "cement" area or do some other kinds of stablization and/or brace. Thinking of you and keep us posted. hugs.
Bethcon1 - I've been on xgeva and zometa before that ... no problems with either.
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Rangermom,
Just catching up on this thread - have been reading all you've been going through! I don't have any sage advice to add to the conversation, but just wanted to let you know that you are in my thoughts and prayers. I hope the pain meds are helping and that they can do whatever they need to about this AND that you can be there for that new grandbaby!
Love and hugs, Amy0 -
Rangermom, I'm thinking about you too. I'm so sorry you have to deal with all of this while you are awaiting a grandbaby. Just tell those doctors they need to figure out a plan right away because you have extended kissing and cuddling duties coming up soon.
I hope the painkillers are working and you aren't hurting. ((hug))0 -
rangermom,
So sorry this happening but I know what you mean about knowing what's going on vs. not knowing. I have no experience with this but know I am thinking of you and hoping thst get going on tx soon do you can enjoy thst baby!
Caryn0 -
I hope they can zap it, shrink it and stabilize it, so you can meet your Granddaughter! How exciting. Glad the pain meds are working. Praying for some results and soon!0 -
Rangermom, Sorry to hear that your vertebrae is fractured and that there is a mass on your spinal cord. I am glad they have given you something stronger to help cope with the pain. I will be praying that your doctor moves quickly to come up with a plan to help resolve these issues before your grandchild is born. Thinking of you!0 -
Praying for you Rangermom! Hope you feel better soon so you can spoil that new grandbaby rotten. That's what grannies are for.
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baby therapy is the best! Got to hold my 5-week old grand-nephew a few weekends ago (fighting off various grandmother/aunts) --- he's a snuggler and it was pure heaven!! My niece and nephew always gave me first dibs on holding/feeding him the entire weekend..I was so grateful to them even though I know they did it cuz we live far out of town and no one's sure if I'll get the chance to hold him again. Sometimes that cancer card can come in handy!!
Sorry for the OT ramble...new pain med dosage!! But ranger I hope they get that d@ng tumor taken care of so you can get YOUR much-needed baby therapy!!0 -
Hi RangerMom,
I just finished 3D rads on my thoracic (T3-12) today. Had a total of 20 treatments. I asked the same question to my RO (is it possible to radiate the radiated?) and he said no. The reason for my rads was because:
I had surgery in August due to large T8 tumor and lesions on other T discs close to it. Upon discovery, I had to have emergency fusion surgery a few days thereafter. MO and RO didn't want me to get paralyzed or to "spiral down". The neurosurgeon told me that he wasn't sure what he would find until he opened me up. They ended fusing T6-T10 and so now I have 2 rods, 8 screws and a cage to my T8. Kyphoplasty (cement) was not an option for me due to the size of my tumor. Fortunately, my surgery went great. I was asked to "walk" ( with some aid) the next couple of days. So far, so good and am walking and able to go up and down my (17 steps) staircase.
Good luck and hopefully you get the best treatment available for you the soonest possible.
PS - if it turns out that your best option is surgery, please make sure that you get the best neurosurgeon....our backs are very delicate so you want to get it done right the first time.
HUGS....0 -
RangerMom - just now catching up here. My heart goes out to you. I don't have any wisdom to share, but lots of prayers. I hope that your onc gets back to you first thing in the morning so you know what is the next step. It is nice that you have something to look forward to - that new grandchild that will be here soon. Let's hope that this won't get in the way any more than it has.
About tumor markers and scans. The tumor markers pointed out that I had mets and the scan confirmed. My onc says I am lucky that the tumor markers are so receptive to my cancer (if you can look at it that way!) so I am definitely keeping an eye on them. I am newly diagnosed; the markers are still going up although I was told to expect that for the first few months. I am on Femara and Xgeva. So far haven't had much in terms of side effects. I had diarrhea and several days of headaches after the first shot, but that could have just been a coincidence. Just had my second shot and a few hours later my tooth hurt, but I really think that is the stress from work as I've had the tooth issues before.0 -
Rangermom, I hope you can get everything resolved quickly, and with as little pain as possible. Thank goodness for good meds. That new baby will be needing some granny loving soon, so you have a great goal to shoot for! Sending prayers your way, and gentle hugs.0 -
Nature Gal,
Were you having symptoms? Is that why they scanned you w early stage?
Vi
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I have a question and I'm honestly not sure where to post it. I tried doing a search and nothing came up, and I kind of think it might be related to the cancer in my spine? Anyway, The past few weeks I've been getting a horrible pressure on the sides of my neck, veins bulging out all of a sudden. Its incredibly uncomfortable, it feels like someone is trying strangle me and if I bend over to pick something up it feels like my neck is going to pop. It's not every day, but when it happens it lasts for a few days. I'm thinking it probably has something to do with my spine, but I'm not sure. Anyone ever have this horrible sensation? Any ideas as to what it is or how I can avoid it? I was in the hospital earlier this month and asked the doctors and nurses there and they just said "huh" and couldn't give me an answer, they thought maybe I was retaining fluid because I had been dehydrated and they were pumping me with fluids for days. After I got out of the hospital I asked my oncologist and he was also unsure of what it could be. My blood pressure is always normal/low, when I was in the hospital they had me hooked up to a heart monitor and that was fine also. I've hears some people suggest maybe a thyroid issue and I've heard some people say it could be pressure on the spine.Any help would be appreciated, it's a horrible feeling and it's making me nervous.0 -
Beth my first thought was BP but you say that is fine so the next thought was Thyroid and you mentioned that as well but have you ever had your thyroid function tested? It's just a blood test but can give you a whole lot of information. I doubt very much of what's going on with your spine is a cause but at this point, anything is possible. Sorry I can't be much more help.
Love n hugs. Chrissy0 -
How are you doing, RangerMom? Many hugs to you.0 -
Beth,
I have not heard of this but hope your medical team can figure out what's going on quickly.
Terri0 -
Thinking of you today, RangerMom.
My good news on PET scan showed healing of C1 met - most other bone mets "less active" than in January, and no new lesions. I'll take it! I'm doing pretty well on letrozole (Femara) and Afinitor, just the usual fatigue and pain issues that everyone seems to have, but no major SEs that would make me discontinue the meds. Also am on Xgeva, had #2 yesterday. Had done 3 treatments with Zometa and had the horrible flu syndrome, so MO changed me to Xgeva, which also means we don't have to go fishing for a vein! Hooray! Now if we could only do something about this miserable lymphedema I would be nearly functional! OK, I do exaggerate a bit - I am functional but have lots of difficulties with daily tasks that utilize my dominant arm and hand. *sigh*
Hugs to all, special lovingkindness to RangerMom.0 -
Great News Linda-n3!!! I am currently on Femara and get my 2nd Zometa infusion next Wednesday, I had the horrible flu-like symptoms too after the first one. Hoping for better result next week.
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Howdy to the MacyHen 111 the post above. Yep the first zometa was like having the flu, fever aches and pain.. dreadful. The second one is better, just a wee mild case of the flu. Then after you are through with your 3rd or 4th it won't bother you at all. No symptoms. Have them slow the infusion down until you get used to it. Take care. Wishing you the best.
Linda n3 great news on the scan, hope it continues. I second the lovingkindness to RangerMom.0
