Freaking Out about return of cancer

nsfevers

I am so worried that my cancer has spread. Its consuming all of my thoughts. I stared having lower back pain a couple of weeks ago. I went to the doctor and she thought it was due to my new office job. I was given muscle relaxers and that it did take the pain away. I have minor pain off and on now. So after that I thought it was okay but now I am having leg pain. I started having pain in my left ankle. Now the pain is coming into my calf. I also think there may be a small lump in my ankle. This I just found out last night. I fininshed treatment of her-2 about 5 months ago. I thought I was done with the constant appointments. I thought the cancer was gone.  Now I feel like like its all back again. I know no one else with cancer so I was hoping this forum would help. Its so hard not having anyone who knows how hard it is.

kcshreve

I am so sorry you are overwhelmed right now.  I agree that this can be scary, for so many reasons.  Is there a doctor you can see immediately in order to rule out some of these symptoms?  In the meantime, possibly you could pop in to one of the groups which matches your stage and see what those postings are like.  Maybe something already written can give you some peace for your situation.  One thing is for sure - you are NOT alone. This is a great place to come to.  I'm glad you've found all of us here and that you are writing.

SenseMind

I'm so sorry for how you feel... I know how scary it is. I've been there, I thought I had mets to my bones. I had very similar symptoms, but it turned out it was more of a nerve problem than anything else, (side effects of taxotere). But you need to go to your doctor and ask to get full examination including scans. Meanwhile try to relax, it could very well be nothing, but I know it feels very scary, because I felt exactly like you feel right now. 

 Also if you ever feel so overwhelmed that you don't know what to do, check out another website called www.networkofstrength.org. There's a phone number there that you can call 24 hours for some emotional support. All the people who answer the calls are survivors... They are as great as this website in different ways.

I'm glad you came here, and that you are writing to us.

Lots of love your way... 

ravdeb

I can relate. I finished all my treatments in 2006. During radiation treatments in the spring of 2006 I was sure I had mets to my spine or hip. My onc sent me to the ortho onc right away to ease my mind. He sent me for an urgent, on the spot, x-ray, and he consulted a specialist over the phone with me sitting there, to prove to me it was a benign problem..herniated disks in 2 places.

 It's not unusual. And it won't be unusual for your onc to be extra cautious with you. This year I've had 2 biopsies which were negative. To follow up the neg biopsy, they sent me for a breast MRI.

Now I'm playing another waiting game and more appts (to ease my mind, my onc says!!!) because on the MRI they found a spot that lit up on my ribs!

I'm just sayin'...sometimes this stuff never ends. We need to learn to turn our minds into a huge filing system and try to file some of these things into certain places back there so they don't take over our lives.

That being said...seeing the doctor and perhaps a scan, really could ease your mind. If this helps... now that I have that spot on my ribs, my entire body hurts! I'm sure it's the tension!

Be well....

nsfevers

Thank you for the advice and support. It helps so much to hear from people who know what it feels like to be in my situation. Its hard when there is no one around you that gets it. I am going to the doctor on Wednesday so hopefully that will answer some of my questions.

nsfevers

Thanks for the website information. The site is one that I think will be very helpful. I never heard of that site before. I live in a small town and work late so I cant really do any support groups. Thanks for the warm wishes. I really do appreciate it.

Fearless_One

Nsfevers, I feel EXACTLy as you do!   I completely understand your fears and frustration!  Every little twitch, I think it's mets.  You just need to remind yourself that for every little pain we feel there are probably 100 different things it can be, most of them not serious at all.