DCIS - Hip pain?

You cannot get bone mets from DCIS.  DCIS is non-invasive.  Only invasive cancer metastasizes to bones, or anywhere else.  So if you only had (and have ) DCIS, you can't have bone mets.  If you're anxious, mention this to the doctor.  But I think it's important to remember that our bodies are still subject to the normal aches, pains, illnesses, etc. of life.  It's natural that we read everything in terms of DCIS, but not everything is DCIS related.  For example, I got really woozy yesterday.  If I had been in the middle of my radiation treatment, I would have thought it was a side-effect of radiation.  The only problem is, I haven't started radiation yet.  Woke up this morning with a stomach virus, which is not fun at all, but probably explains yesterday's wooziness and is clearly unrelated to my DCIS. 

Austin2k3:

   Please listen to 3monstmama: For your own peace of mind, go to your doctor!   I had my surgery 2 years ago, and the first year I had every ache and pain imaginable-- my oncologist didn't take my concerns very seriously-- stress, anxiety, and middle-age, she kept insisting (and she was right-- but that doesn't mean my cancer will never come back or be invasive when it does).  Fortunately, my GP said, "hey, why worry?"-- and when I said I have a pain in my rib, which lasted 3months, she sent me for an ultrasound and then a CT scan. Of course, we don't want to overdo tests which have radiation risks, but I was convinced I had bone mets.  Now 2 years later I do have lower back pain-- yes, I'm 45, but I never had it before-- but it is positional, so I'm learning to tell what is a red flag and what is part ofthe aging process.  The point is, don't hesitate to insist on getting things checked-- it's scarier not to know then to get to the source of any pain.-- Please keep us  posted on what happens.-- Julie

I had deep, intense pain in my left hip for about 2 months this spring. The pain would wake me in the middle of the night, crying.
Onc was useless - mentioned it at checkup.

Saw an orthopedist who specializes in knees, hips, and ankles. She offered me a CT scan immediately, but said that since the pain was in the joint, rather than in random place in bone, that it was more likely to be bursitis, brought on by my bad knee, which had flared up while DH was undergoing treatment for esophageal cancer, so I hadn't paid any attention. NSAIDs (lots), ice on both knee and hip, brace and cortisone injection for the knee. Within a week, the hip pain was gone.

And I spared myself that "radiation from 30 X-rays" that a CT scan equals.

Personally, I was terrified, and am so glad it's over.

If my orthopedist weren't married with a couple of kids, I would adopt her. Best doc ever.

iHEARTu,

Anyone with invasive cancer faces the risk of mets, even if they are node negative.  DCIS cancer cells are confined to the milk ducts, so they can't enter the lymphatic systemic or the vascular system and travel into the body.  But invasive cancer cells are sitting in open breast tissue and can move around anywhere.  Most often, if an invasive cell leaves the breast, it travels out through the lymph nodes.  That's why everyone with invasive cancer, even just a microinvasion, gets their nodes checked.  But if only a few cells went through the sentinel node (the first node in the string of nodes), it's possible that they may have gone through undetected, i.e. without leaving any cancer cells behind to be found.  Cancer cells can also travel outside of the breast through the bloodstream.  

According to Dr. Susan Love, in approx. 20% - 30% of cases where women are diagnosed with node negative invasive cancer, in fact a few cancer cells have made it outside of the breast prior to surgery.  This risk increases as the tumor size increases and is higher for those who have more aggressive tumors (grade 3, HER2+, for example).  And all this gets to why even node negative women who have invasive cancer are often given chemo and prescribed Tamoxifen or an AI.   If the size of the invasive tumor is small (generally considered to be less than 1cm in size), then usually the risk is judged to be low enough that chemo won't be prescribed, unless the cancer is particularly aggressive.  Tumors between 1cm and 2cm are sort of in the grey zone - sometimes chemo will be prescribed and sometimes it won't be.  But certainly once a tumor is 2cm in size, chemo and hormone therapy will almost alway be recommended, even though the nodes test negative.

I hope my explanation makes sense.