Signs of Mets

As with everything concerning cancer-there is no rule. I had no symtoms and was diagnosed with mets purely by chance. All I can suggest is that you try to remain rational, and not panic over every ache and pain. You will have things which happen in your life that have no connection to a previous cancer diagnosis. Try to remain as calm as possible, otherwise you run the risk of panicking over everything-and if you do that, then the cancer has truly won, as it dominates your thoughts.Don't go looking for trouble, where there may be none to be found. Even if you do get a mets diagnosis at some stage, a few weeks/months delay in having it confirmed makes no difference to the overall picture. But I would urge you to try and put this behind you as far as possible-dwelling on when/if you may gets mets is not good for your mental health and emotional well being. A degree of fear is natural-but don't let it run out of control.

That is the rule I follow too.  I found that every ache and pain had me wondering for the first few months after tx was over.  I think this is pretty common.  A lot of people dx with mets by routine scans are symptom free for years.  

That disturbed me when I was first dx as stage III.  However, I have decided that I prefer this approach.  The medical information tells us that there is no advantage to treating mets earlier than it becomes symptomatic.  That makes sense to me as it is a very different beast than the original tumour is.  And, I have decided that I will chose to live as stage III, even ignorantly, as long as I can.  I am one of those people who think that it is ridiculous to think that a stage IV woman is in the same emotional or physical place as a lower stage.  I don't want to be there.

I have always found that my doctors are very accommodating when I have concerns.  They will give me the necessary scans in a timely matter when I have symptoms that 'could' indicate mets.  

And getting regular scans really doesn't change anything except give someone what might be a false sense of security.  My friend who was stage II received annual tests that were quite extensive since she is also in a study group.  Two months after her clear scans, she was having symptoms that required rescanning where mets were discovered.  

Pure, you are also in a situation where your hormones may play havoc on you, emotionally and physically.  So please, try to resist the temptation to assume mets right away. I know, hard to do.

"The hard thing the docs don't scan unless you have symptoms."

Ok, let's start the rational process here. Imagine if everyone who had ever had a cancer diagnosis was routinely scanned-what would your preference be? Once a year? The system would grind to a halt. So often we read on the boards about how people get impatient and stresed over having to wait for a diagnostic test-imagine how much worse it would be if there were "routine" tests added to the mix! It's actually neither practical nor desirable-and prettyinpink has explained very well why this is the case. I hope you have no further problems-but if you do ever get a mets diagnosis, then speed of diagnosis is not a major concern, unlike a primary cancer where early detection can be important. Remain vigilant-but don't imagine that every headache=brain tumour, every backache=bone mets, every stomach upset=liver mets, etc.....

I stick by the 10 day rule I read on this board, if it still hurts after 10 days then get checked.

I worry about every ache and pain that I get in my lower back and hip.  Always think what if it's mets??  I guess it's normal to worry after what we've all been thru.

Does anyone understand the total meaning of k-67 and p53 ?  I saw it on my pathology report after my core biopsy and wondered what it meant in relation to risk of reccurence.

mmm5  the pain could be from your workouts, but sometimes I get like a deep throbbing pain inside my hip bones and I guess it could also be weather related. 

The K-67  on my path report says "low proliferation" so it must be slow moving type of cancer like they told me.  My p53 was also low.  Not sure what that means.

"I stick by the 10 day rule I read on this board, if it still hurts after 10 days then get checked."

I like this.

I had a full panel of scans (except MRI) at my one-year post chemo anniversary. I wanted to know how I stood then because I planned to move forward with reconstruction, but if there were mets, I planned to scrap the recon...I'd use the money for something else on my bucket list.

Well, after a slight delay due to a death in  my family, the recon is set for next month. I won't ask for scans again unless I have symptoms that last. Two weeks seems a little short for me...I've had colds that lasted longer than two weeks and my arthritis certainly comes and goes for periods longer than that. But generally, if the symptoms are unusual FOR YOU, have them checked out.

i think just getting used to your post treatment body is part of all of this.  i have a lot of aches that i didn't have before....and the first few years after treatment i was worried all the time about relapse. i found that the chemo, rads and arimidex caused a lot of "inflamation" in my body .and i had a hard time with that. even tho i was cycling and working out..during pretty much the whole time...i was still dealing with arimidex Sx ...etc.  i think now...and after a few years...i could pretty much tell what was really related to inflamation ...aging...etc.  now, i know which body parts ache. lol  and aren't cancer....however...my onc and i both decided that IF i really sense something going on...over a period of time...scan it.. but, i also know that there are many people wout there who have mets and never knew it.  so, i guess that is where the follow up and blood work..and regular looks at breasts..or other problem areas come in. 

 diana50

Pure, I said I would HATE to burst your bubble.....

Shana said-"I do every day, and hearing someone say something negative, that makes my hopefulness diminish, especially when someone here says it, can be upsetting or depressing."

Therein lies the dilemna, of pondering on the possibilty of mets. It can be hugely dispiriting to hear that despite all treatments, a good prognosis, and every other thing going supposedly well, that mets still happen. It's for these reasons that I often urge non-metsters not to dwell (more than can be helped), on what may or may not happen. We are all so unique, that there is no straightforward equation which can show us how we will fare-and as Shana said, hearing bad news only serves to deflate and cause excessive worry.Please girls-live your lives to the full-hope and expect that cancer has been a dreadful experience that you have dealt with, and which won't return to cause you further problems. You could spend a lot of time worrying, when you could be enjoying life. Conversely, if you continue to worry excessively, and then do have further problems, you'll be filled with regret for the time that you've wasted worrying about what may happen. Plus, cling to the fact that each year new drugs are being found which can help-none of these will take the worry away completely, but may help it stay at a manageable level.

I don't think Barbe meant it the way everyone is taking it, I have seen her all over the board and she is always helpful and sweet.