Question about nodule on MRI "suspicious for metastasis"

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wyliec7
wyliec7 Member Posts: 15
edited June 2014 in Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned

I am wondering if anyone can help me with this. I am forty years old, one year out from diagnosis wtih triple-negative followed by mastectomy and reconstruction and eight months past finishing eight dose-dense cycles of chemo. I have had back pain for many years and my onco recently ordered an MRI to check it out. In addition to a hemangioma, multiple bulging discs, and a Schmorl's node, there is a 5 mm nodule at T8 that the radiologist deemed "suspicious for metastasis". I am supposed to wait four months and then have it rechecked. I am wondering if anybody else has had any findings similar to this and what this nodule could be other than cancer? I feel like I am losing my mind and the though tof waiting four months for a retest just doesn't seem feasible to me. If anybody has any insight I would really appreciate it!

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  • leggo
    leggo Member Posts: 3,293
    edited March 2011

    I would "demand" a bone scan. Four months seems an awful long time to wait when something is read as "suspicious for metastasis". The NODULE part confuses me, though. That could be almost anything, I think. Mine read "lesion suspicious for metastisis."

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  • wyliec7
    wyliec7 Member Posts: 15
    edited March 2011

    I had a bone scan two months ago, which was clean except for some arthritis in the knees and ankles and the Schmorrl's node at T1, which was confirmed by x-ray. Would it be too soon to ask for another bone scan, and/or a PET scan? I have not had one of those yet. I have pretty severe pain in the area of the nodule, but I am very active and have had a few falls/traumas that could explain the pain, too, not to mention years of abuse causing degenerative disease. Thanks for the info...it is much appreciated.

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  • leggo
    leggo Member Posts: 3,293
    edited March 2011

    I wish I had the answer. The clean bone scan is great news, though! I just wouldn't let it go for four months if something was labelled "suspicious". Hopefully someone else will jump in and have some better advice.

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  • wyliec7
    wyliec7 Member Posts: 15
    edited March 2011

    It's funny how four months seems like an eternity to wait yet like nothing at all when you are afraid your time may be limited...thanks for your time and I hope that you are doing okay.

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  • JennyB100104
    JennyB100104 Member Posts: 237
    edited March 2011

    I have the same thing going on with me and a liver nodule (they said wait 6 months), so I can appreciate how crazy this must make you! In my case, I have about another 3 months to wait. Sigh.

    But another thing is--my cancer is a slow-growing one. If I had a grade 3 tumor, I might be pressuring them for answers sooner.

    hugs to you!

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  • LRM216
    LRM216 Member Posts: 2,115
    edited March 2011

    Being triple neg myself, I would want a bone scan as well - and not in four months.  I don't know that I'd get it, but I'd sure be pursuing it.  Your peace of mind also matters tremendously in this, something I oftentimes think some docs don't think about.  It's your body and your life, fight for what makes you feel the most comfortable.  I am wishing you the best.

    Linda

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  • jenn3
    jenn3 Member Posts: 3,316
    edited March 2011

    I had been having rib pain, the onc ordered "peace of mind" x-rays, three lung nodules showed up.  He said I could wait a few months or check it out further.  I had it checked - I had a CT scan, lung biopsy and PET scan.  I do have mets to the lungs and on my spine @ T8.  I am also TN and didn't want to wait.  I think you should insist on more scans so that you can do something now. 

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  • wyliec7
    wyliec7 Member Posts: 15
    edited May 2011

    Update on the nodule: I just had a follow-up MRI three months after the initial, and the nodule is still there but no larger, remaining at 5 mm. I see the oncologist tomorrow but am wondering if this means that it is now less likely to be metastasis with no growth/change in three months or if anyone has any similar experiences...my initial tumor was grade 3, very aggressive, so I would have expected this to have grown substantially if it was a metastatic process. Any info would be appreciated...I am sure I will hear more from the oncologist tomorrow, but the waiting is so painful! Thanks in advance...

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