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is non calcified same as groundglass for lung nodule. I had a CT last week and they found a 5mm non calcified nodule in my lung. I'm very worried now.

Most of us have lung nodule(s) esp as we get older. The air we breathe has a lot of pollutants in it. When my 6 mm showed up on CT scan my MO asked me if I ever lived in the valley (where it's pretty bad). No. But it was ruled benign after the 2nd CT scan after chemo. Thought was if it's still there after chemo then it's benign. If it was gone then they'd follow me closer. Total looking at it was a year. Protocol is 2 years. Didn't want to get more radiation in me for something that was so common.

Hi Esully - I *think* if I can remember - mine is grass-ground and non-calcified. I remember being so worried - that I emailed my BS - to see if it could get biopsied. And, he said it was way too small for biopsy!

Hang in there. One thing that helped me - I actually got a second and third opinion (as I was sure it was mets and really needed to hear it from more than one MO that it wasn't)

Fellow travelers, I think I need a "hypochondriac/reality check":

Situation: I have persistent, really bad, rib pain on the BC side, chronic back pain and weird lump on rib 2.

Background: My Dx was in 2015 almost 2 years ago. My ALP is normal. My blood calcium has not been tested since the Dx. It was normal then. My onc does believe that marker tests provide reliable info so those have not been done. She also does not do liquid biopsies. The rib pain has been dismissed as costochondritis (which it may be - but boy is it painful). The back pain has been dismissed as "lots of people have back pain." I'm thinking it could be arthritis. My PCP tells me there is nothing that can be done for arthritis. (I was sort of absorbed with the cancer thing and have not read much about arthritis but I am not convinced that "nothing" can be done if it really is arthritis... but that's a different issue. In a twist of good luck, I got a cortisone shot for frozen shoulder and it improved the back pain about 85% - so it is much better for now.) My PCP sent me for a mammogram for the lump on my rib. The lump is @ 2 inches from any breast tissue so that diagnostic test was of no value. The radiologist called it a "palpable abnormality" and referred me to my surgeon. She palpated it and said she wasn't worried about it, she thought it was just an anatomical abnormality. I can tell you with a high degree of confidence that that bump has not been there all my life. Sometimes it is sore, sometimes it isn't.

Obviously, what we all worry about is bone mets. I don't think I am an obsessive worrier. In fact, I tend to think I worry very little about a local recurrence, which is probably much more statistically likely. It's the constellation of symptoms and the chronic pain that troubles me. My oncologist has told me that catching metastasis earlier than a point at which it messes up your lab values does not improve outcomes so she doesn't believe in "fishing expeditions." On one level this makes sense but as my sister in law very "vividly" pointed out, "if they're wrong, you're the one who's dead."

Anyone ever faced this? Can you share your experience about what diagnositcs were recommended or useful? I want to be an effective self-advocate but not a hypochondriac. Thanks for the reality check!

Thanks ShetlandPony. Sounds very sensible. I have an appt with my Onc coming up. I'll try again when I see her in person. If I can't get a meaningful answer, I may go back to my 2nd opinion doc to see if she will tell me what she thinks. Sometimes it all feels like such a slog!

Lumpie

When I read your post - i thought I was reading my story & something I could have written last year.However my onc was a bit more investigative. We started with an X-ray which showed "fractured rib or "possible Lesion". Of course the word "lesion" was worrisome so she recommended a bone scan or PET. I asked for head to toe PET & it found no evidence of cancer (except my Thyroid Lit up - which after a biopsy showed no evidence of cancer-thank goodness). That was last year in oct. I still have left (and right sided) rib pain and some back & hip pain so i will continue to ask for some type of testing every year.

My bone density test showed arthritis of spine & hips & some osteopenia. I take Aromisin - so I attribute "SOME" of my aches & pains to the arthritis etc - but wouldn't not recommend attributing long term rib pain to a condition that hasn't been fully tested /diagnosed through testing- at least a basic X-ray.

I agree with Deb823. Not sure a 2nd opinion is warranted if you like your treatment team but definitely I would ask / demand a more definitive test such as a X-ray, bone scan or PET. I opted for PET/CT since it would be the most conclusive. I asked my onc if the bone scan showed "something" would she then order the PET - & she said yes - so I said then why not just do the PET/CT scan & be on done with it. She agreed.

I hope & prayer it is nothing - and I too try not to think about recurrence - but you should have peace of mind. Sending good thoughts & hugs - Candy

can anyone tell me the signs for bone mets? I have some leg joint pain (also on arimidex) but this pain is only in my one leg and feels like joint pain...gets worse at end of day. doesn't stop me from walking or excecising but still alarming. doc says not to worry...but she also won't give me a scan..says its too soon after my diagnosis to have mets...does that sound right? the tumor was grade three and one positive node so I don't kow how she could say its not worth looking into. also, she said "we don't do marker tests they don't show anything and she wont do a scan because she certain the pain is from arimidex.. If I go to an orthopedist they might test for arthritis but I will still think It could be cancer too? should I push for a bone scan? doc said they don't do unnecessary tests. whats the risk of taking a bone scan?

Joy,

I get regular scans to check for changes in my bone mets and have twice been called back for another look. Both times nothing further was found. I was told sometimes the scan isn't as clear as they would like.

Here's hoping you have good results - please let us know how things turn out.

Lschulten, my Alk Phos was elevated (255) when I was dx'd with extensive bone mets. However, I was also extremely sick, in a lot of pain, and had significantly elevated TMs. There are quite a few things that affect the Alk Phos test -- things like liver disease, including hepatitis, and problems with your gallbladder, so I wouldn't automatically think mets, especially in the absence of any other symptoms. Have you ever had a gallbladder or liver problem? Has your onc suggested a PET scan, which I think would reveal any of the potential causes.

Hoping there's a simple dx and easy fix if that reading is accurate Please keep us posted. Deanna

I also have had all kinds of tests and scans done because of significant pain, and I did stop the A.I.'s because of it. All quality of life is gone, if I can't even take a walk around my neighborhood. I used to love walking! I would also walk to my main grocery store frequently, with a back pack every few days, saving the planet and all.

One of the main pains, and the first, was not that long after surgery, and during chemo, I think, it was always rib pain on the cancer side. There is a pretty sizable lump, right on my rib that was not there during treatment or before,ever. I HATE what all the different doctors say, especially when they don't agree. They tried to biopsy it once, and I am sure they missed it. The guy who did it said it was like trying to hit a pea in a bowl of jello. That time, the results were benign nodal tissue, if I am remembering rightly. Or benign glandular tissue. That's what made me think they missed it. Your whole breast is a mammary gland, isn't it? My breast surgeon said her best guess is that it is a inflamed node. It's down on my side, between the drain scar and my breast, right on top of my ribcage and it just gives me the fits, and I almost never forget its there, because it HURTS! I have started to wonder if its a neuroma, because that can happen any time nerves are cut. That would explain the pain. Last time I saw the ultrasound girl, she said it was probably just a bumpy rib. Grrr.

Hi lschulten, I don't see your history so I'm not sure what treatment you've been through. Is this your first time getting blood work? Are you currently getting chemo? Have you had any scans?

My ALP had risen to 153 in December. All other blood work was good. I had a bone scan and DEXA in January. Bone scan was good but DEXA showed considerable bone loss from Arimidex. I started taking Fosamax in February and my ALP as of yesterday was 129. Not sure if this helps or not.

I was diagnosed with stage one invasive ductal in Jan of 2013. Local recurrence in may 2014. I have had double mastectomy chemo and radiation. Also a complete hysterectomy. I take letrozole and do have osteopenia. I am 46. I have a shot every six months for my weak bones. ER/PR+ HER 2

Hello Everyone, has anyone have recurrence while having TE? I'M currently have TE and it was filled three time to inflate, the fourth time, I have it deflate, August 8. Then it feels like tingling sensation toward"my left rib cage where the base of TE is. I also has soreness, swelling I presumed at same area underarm. Could this be bone recurrence.

Houston, I didn't have tissue expanders, but the first thing that comes to mind is that the tingling you're describing sounds more like maybe some truncal lymphedema (swelling in the breast/side area due to removal of lymph nodes or radiation) than bone mets. If it continues for 2 to 3 weeks though, it's always best to report it to your onc, to see if he/she feels some follow up is necessary. Deanna

I have already had a reoccurrence in April of 2016 in the right supraclavicular lymph nodes. At the time I was still going every 3 weeks for my herceptin treatments. So I started over again with a new staging of 3c. In March of this year I noticed twinges of pain under my right rib cage. It comes and goes ...I went to my GP and they did an ultrasound done they were concerned that it was my gallbladder however no evidence of gallstones or any other abnormalities on the ultrasound. In May I noticed that pain was becoming more frequent. Most of the time it feels like a muscle spasm under my rib cage usually very sharp and intense. I've also been having pain and my back under my right shoulder blade. I have A PET scheduled for 24 August. Just wondered if anyone had similar symptoms prior to liver Mets diagnosis? I am optimistic and really hoping that it's just a gallbladder issue even though the ultrasound didn't look abnormal.