Bone edema?

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clairejslm
clairejslm Member Posts: 45
edited June 2014 in Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After

I had radiation 8 or 9 years ago, I think, to the left side and center of my chest. I don't know any of the details of the type or anything.

Now I have a big bulge over the radiation scar and also at the tip of my sternum. Nothing showed up on the bone scan or CT I had recently. My oncologist said the swelling is bone edema from the radiation, but I never had it before. Does anyone have experience with this? Does it go away? Get worse?

 Many thanks! 

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  • leggo
    leggo Member Posts: 3,293
    edited August 2012

    Hi Claire. I've got bone (marrow) edema in all the spots I have with bone mets. Lumps and bumps everywhere. It has never gone away but it has not gotten worse over the years either. Usually it's only found via MRI. I must say though, that it is strange to me that it is showing up 8 years later. It usually correlates with a bone injury (sometimes my onc calls it bone edema, sometimes bone bruising), like mets, broken bones and radiation. Good though, that your bone scan was clean.

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  • clairejslm
    clairejslm Member Posts: 45
    edited August 2012

    Oh, my bone scan isn't clean. I have bone mets. I just meant that it didn't show anything in particular in the spots where I have the swelling. 

    Yes, the two swellings are where I got the most radiation. Maybe I'm noticing it now because I've been steadily losing weight. Lord, I hate this disease! 

    Thanks so much for your reply, gracie! 

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