Bone metastasis or osteoporosis. Very anxious.

believe60

Hi everyone. I was diagnosed with Stage 1a, Grade 3 IDC in August 2020. 3 tumors all about 1 cm each. 1 of 4 nodes had a micromet. Onco of 34. Had a double mastectomy 4 rounds off DD AC and 4 of DD Taxol. Then right on to arimidex which I still take despite aches and pains.

I fell at the beach in August and then lifted a lot of stuff last weekend. Back pain suddenly markedly worse. CT Scan at ER showed fractured lumbar spine. CT scan at radiology place notes mention “lyric abnormalities” and “concern about bony metastatic disease”. My MO will commit to nothing, as if there are other possibilities, until after the PET scan of my bones, followed by biopsy.

I started this whole journey well into osteopenia, I’m tall and on thinner side, and my gyn once told me I really needed to look out for my bones. Arimidex doesn’t help all this! I guess I’m asking has anyone else been through something like this? Can what the regular CT scan sees turn out to be different on the bone scan with iodine?

I always knew becoming metastatic was a real possibility. I just never thought it would come so soon. 1.5 years after ending chemo. But, as we all know, there are no rules for any of this.

Thank you for listening.

Nanc

exbrnxgrl

Nanc,

It's not that your mo will “commit to nothing", it's simply that CT alone is not enough to make a dx! A PET will provide more info and if warranted and physically possible, a biopsy provides definite confirmation. A biopsy also confirms the hormonal profile as bc can change from your original breast tumors. Imaging alone is generally not enough to make a diagnosis.* Take care

*Sometimes it is not physically possible to perform a biopsy. In those cases your radiologist and mo will make a determination based on what can be seen or known.

believe60

Thank you so much for the information. It is really helpful. I will try to remain calm while waiting. PET and biopsy are scheduled. I’ve been so achy on the AI that I just thought a lot of this was that side effect. Thank you again. Deep breaths.