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Katz63
Katz63 Member Posts: 28
edited July 2014 in Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned

Las week I got recalled by my GP for elevated calcium level from annual blood test. i have been very slack and havent taken my calcium for almost 2years so was a bit surprised.... i've read it can mean bone mets or a benign parathyroid tumour. Has anyone got some advice for me or had this? My GP has faxed my Onc the result. thanks ladies.

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  • ladyboss1997
    ladyboss1997 Member Posts: 202
    edited June 2014

    My GP told me that low levels of vitamin D can cause this.  I got retested in 3 onths, and everything was good.

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  • Katz63
    Katz63 Member Posts: 28
    edited June 2014

    Thanks ladyboss, my Vitamin D is always low so maybe this has some merit, I really hope so. Thanks for your reply.

    Cheers

    Katz63

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  • Nettie1964
    Nettie1964 Member Posts: 759
    edited June 2014


    Hope it turns out to be nothing!  But at least you can be thankful that they are keeping a check on things!  Sometimes I feel like I'm slipping through the cracks and that I'm not being watched!  I have no idea what blood work my PCP checks and I don't see my MO again until August!

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  • Katz63
    Katz63 Member Posts: 28
    edited June 2014

    Thanks Nettie

    Yes I need to be thankful, especially as we are in a rural area. Hope you are well :)

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  • Katz63
    Katz63 Member Posts: 28
    edited June 2014

    Ok, my Onc. ordered a parathyroiad test which came back normal. has anyone got any info or suggestions? i hope to hear from him tomorrow maybe another bone scan? My last one in January this year was clear, can it return and show that quick?

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  • Katz63
    Katz63 Member Posts: 28
    edited July 2014

    Ok, this week I reread my last bone scan. Itvsaid there was some uptake in ribs, left hip and neck but no malignancy noted. My Onc just rang, he's going to retest calcium and pth then I see him next Tuesday. He explained it could be mets but to see what bloods say and to keep an open mind. My left armpit is becoming tender and I do have pain but not sure what to think now....

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  • voraciousreader
    voraciousreader Member Posts: 7,496
    edited July 2014

    Katz....Please try not going to a dark place in your mind...I'm also surprised that with  Stage 1A diagnosis, you previously had a bone scan.  Nevertheless, your physician is right to keep your mind open, and in the interim, try to get some rest and do the things you enjoy doing.  I sincerely wish you well.

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  • lintrollerderby
    lintrollerderby Member Posts: 483
    edited July 2014

    VR: I had a bone scan and I was Stage I. My NCI CCC does bone scans on all invasive breast cancer diagnoses as part of the staging process.

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  • voraciousreader
    voraciousreader Member Posts: 7,496
    edited July 2014

    that's interesting that your center does PET scans for routine staging for early breast cancer.  To my knowledge ASCO's guidelines do not recommend it unless there is suspicion of mets.

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  • lintrollerderby
    lintrollerderby Member Posts: 483
    edited July 2014

    I had a bone scan (scintigraphy), breast MRI, CT, and ultrasound as part of my staging. I didn't have a PET scan. My team said it was standard procedure to do these tests. I've since had three friends go to the same center for Stage I breast cancer and all have had the same combo of imaging during staging as I did.

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  • lintrollerderby
    lintrollerderby Member Posts: 483
    edited July 2014

    Wanted to add that perhaps my team meant it was standard procedure in pre-menopausal breast cancer diagnoses. The three friends that I spoke of were also pre-menopausal. I was Triple Negative, one friend was HER2+, and two were hormone-receptor positive, but HER2-. Perhaps the younger ages of each of us (I was 34) had something to do with more imaging during staging? 

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  • voraciousreader
    voraciousreader Member Posts: 7,496
    edited July 2014

    gee...it must be more commonly done now.  Curiously, were any of your friends up staged following the imaging?

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  • lintrollerderby
    lintrollerderby Member Posts: 483
    edited July 2014

    No, everyone was still Stage I. And forgot to add earlier that all of us had chemo, so perhaps because we were all given aggressive treatment and we were younger, they wanted to make sure none of us had mets from the get-go. Chemo was a given for me (being TN) and for my friend who was HER2+; the other two with ER+/HER2- were both given Oncotype and fell into the chemo recommended range. Both of them had high grade tumors as well so they were likely Luminal B. I've never spoken with someone who went to my center who was post-menopausal with a low-grade ER+/PR+/HER2- Luminal A tumor. Perhaps they wouldn't have gotten the works as far as imaging.

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  • MameMe
    MameMe Member Posts: 425
    edited July 2014

    Speaking from experience, I wish I had been scanned at the time of my second incident, because almost 14 months went by before a symptom got my attention and I then got dx'd with mets. I would have been easier to treat with fewer mets and lower volume mets, I suspect, if even a chest scan had been done then. I was one of those whose cancer seemed mild enough, and I was 62, so not in a demographic that is typically high risk. Your cancer center is smart to do that, in my opinion. 

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  • voraciousreader
    voraciousreader Member Posts: 7,496
    edited July 2014

    Mame...so sorry to hear about your recurrence.

    Lin...thanks for the clarification.  

    Mame...doing imaging on low risk early stagers is controversial.  Clearly, ASCO would not be making their recommendation if there was compelling evidence.  Honestly, I wish the evidence was more compelling...and since it isn't...it certainly would be nice if we had better means to confirm recurrences when they were more treatable.

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  • lintrollerderby
    lintrollerderby Member Posts: 483
    edited July 2014

    Mamame : I'm very sorry to hear of your mets diagnosis. I also think it is smart for imaging to be done during staging. So many of us have cancer that doesn't behave like it "ought" to--based on statistics. I hope your treatment is effective while sparing rough side effects.

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  • lintrollerderby
    lintrollerderby Member Posts: 483
    edited July 2014

    VR: No problem.

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