Fractured Rib.. Mets?

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Ohbother
Ohbother Member Posts: 34
edited June 2014 in Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned

Hello.. A couple of months ago, I was having rib pain..I could get comfort by lying down and getting still..

 I haveconstant back pain so I have a Ortho that I see regularly... The Ortho scheduled me for a Bone Scan yesterday..It took so long to get into the scan that my ribs stopped hurting..

 Went for the Scan- Taken back several times for more angles and finally an xray... they kept asking me.. "have you had an injury"..

My Ortho's nurse called late yesterday to say that the test revealed a non displaced fracture with no evidence of metastasis.

I was initially relieved but then went on to read that mets often causes fractures.

Are the doctors easily able to distinguish from fracture and mets?

Does anyone know?

Thanks,

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  • ElaineD
    ElaineD Member Posts: 2,265
    edited June 2010

    Yes, they can distinguish! Bone mets follow two forms-they either grow bony spurs, or they wear away!

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  • carcharm
    carcharm Member Posts: 486
    edited June 2010

    ElaineD your comments cause me great concern. I had neck pain for months after my chemo. I am 50. They did an MRi and found bone spurs in my cervical neck which I did not have when I had neck pain after an accident in my 30's (MRI). Are you saying that my bone spurs are mets? The radiologist and oncologist said it was negative for mets but showed bone spurs which are integral to arthritis.

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  • Frankie_
    Frankie_ Member Posts: 422
    edited June 2010

    Good Q-Ohbrother, I had the same Q upon my initial staging diagnostic scans. I had ALL the staging tests and a small focal uptake was seen on my 7t left rib (details in profile). My Onc told me that they were NOT able to determine whether it was mets or from a previous fracture unless a biopsy was done. One was not done in my case as my Onc felt that it was likely from a previous fracture. After chemo was completed I had a CT scan and a bone scan which did NOT show the focal uptake -which worries me because I am not sure if it was a met and if it was treated successfully or a previous fracture that perhaps healed after 5 months??? I now wished that I had pushed for that biopsy. Onc cannot give me a definite answer one way or another now. Could you push for an MRI? It is better at detecting more accurately.



    Frankie

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  • diana50
    diana50 Member Posts: 2,134
    edited June 2010

    i had four fractured ribs.....6years out from treatment and of course i thought cancer.  the fractures were from rads....arimidex.  my onc did many different tests....blood work...scans...etc...and it wasn't from mets.  of course the rad onc said not from rads either. lol....well, i didn;t have any injury...i did have a cough from the flu..which started the first couple of fractures..they were on ribs 2,3,4 and 5. right where my rads was on the cancer side.

     it took 6 months to heal. two of the fractues were displaced fractures and one of the ribs punctured my lung and i ended up with a collapsed lung and a tube placed.  it was all a HUGE pain...but not from cancer.

     funny, but i was relieved that it wasn't cancer...but really had a hard time with the fractures because it was soo painful. nothing i could do but wait and let them heal, i am cyclist and of course all the docs thought i had fallen off the bike...but that wasn't the case.

    i didn't want a biopsy because all the blood work didn't indicate it was cancer so i just waited to see how they healed and also how time....6 months showed on the scans.  i am sorry you are having these issues. it is very diffiuclt...hang in there. i am fine now***Cool

    diana50

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