Is this it?

I have been living with fear of liver mets from the beginning. I have had upper right belly pain and some back pain almost all along, though it comes and goes. Many doctors along the way have poked and prodded and felt no liver enlargement and pressing on it doesn't cause pain at all. Lately, though, the pain has become almost constant. The thing is, as long as it's not diagnosed, I can cope. I don't know how you ladies cope with the stage 4 diagnosis and I'm terrified to actually hear the words. My support system is shaky at best. I feel a little better just putting it on paper. Thanks for listening.

I'm new here but not to Breast Cancer. I just went thru a scary series of tests looking for mets after having some severe back pain. An MRI ruled out bone mets BUT they saw an "undetermined" liver lesion or tumor. My oncologist immediately sent me for a CAT scan with contrast. To say I was scared was an understatement. After 4 days (weekend) I got a good call and basically learned I have benign lesions in a few spots which is not that unusual. From reading some of your posts I can see some doctors are more aggressive with testing than others. Here's my take on that....

My initial diagnosis was delayed for over 3 years by a "well trained" breast surgeon who assured me my calcifications were not cancer. Since then and after finally being diagnosed at stage 3 I don't stand for waiting anymore. Why do oncologists take a few months to observe before ordering tests? First of all, we are all Breast Cancer patients so the possibility of recurrence is real. Is it an insurance issue? One doctor told me he doesn't want me to "google" diagnose and hates to worry his patients over small things. That's crap...we worry regardless and I don't need him to spare my feelings... I'd rather he save my life or help me live as long as I can. I know I can't order tests or tell a doctor what to do but it's my body, my life and I have a say. I wish you all the very best and thank you all for being here for me as I silently lurked in fear. Your stories empowered me and allowed me to feel less alone.

. 55 years old. Chek2 mutation. Family history of BC10/13/2015 Arimidex (anastrozole)Radiation Therapy 10/20/2015 Whole-breast: Breast, Lymph nodes, Chest wall

Oh Morwena, big hugs and positive thoughts.

I totally agree with this quote

" Lovescats ... one of my lovely doctors said it's fair enough to acknowledge that recurrence is a possibility, and to think about how that'd look and how one might cope, but then, she said, imagine life without a recurrence - retirement, grandchildren etc ... what that will look like, and try to spend at least as much time, if not more, thinking about and planning for that! For me that was quite helpful ..... Hugs to you."

Lovescats, I had intermittent upper right abdominal pain for over a year. It was every day, and usually about a half hour after I ate. It was getting worse and worse, which was really stressing me out. Since it was intermittent, my MO was not concerned. I was ready to make an appointment with my GP when I was driving listening to "Doctor Radio" from the NYU medical Center. It was a digestive call in show and some guy called in with the exact description. I remember thinking that could be me! In my mind I was thinking gallstones or something, but the doc told him the first thing he needed to try was eliminating dairy. I did not want to hear that since I had to do it for a year while breastfeeding, and it was not fun. I tried it though, and my pain went completely away. I ran out of my almond milk and had regular milk over the weekend on my cereal and it returned, so I think I know the culprit. I am bummed that I'll have to cut out dairy (since I had a bunch of other food allergies) but I am thrilled to take that off my "worry about" list. Yours is likely different, but thought I would mention it in the off chance that it's the same thing.

Morwenna, how are things going?

Spring colds.......el crappo!

Thinking of you Rosemary... Hope all went well today.

sorry it was so rough. Keep us posted

Ground glass opacity tends to be typical of radiation pneumonitis or fibrosis. Keep us posted.

Good and not so good news. I am sorry about your MIL but glad that so far everything looks good for you. Hopefully the ground glass opacity is nothing serious. Hugs