Compression fracture

Options
Novagirl
Novagirl Member Posts: 123
edited December 2018 in Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned

I’ve had lower back pain for a few months. I kept waiting for it to go away. Recently, I had bronchitis with a terrible cough. My back pain was unbearable.

So my PCP ordered an x ray that showed L4 compression fracture. My MO says it could be osteoporosis (from chemo,I’m 36 ) but that we need to do a bone scan and MRI to determine. These are scheduled for 12/7. Has anyone had a spinal fracture? Was it cancer or something else?

· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • vlnrph
    vlnrph Member Posts: 1,632
    edited December 2018

    I remember having a bad cough about 2 decades ago when I nearly lost my balance from the exertion=bad!

    This is what I posted in the Just Diagnosed With Recurrence or Metastases Forum under the title “'Muscle Strain' turned out to be spine mets": Had a twinge in my back earlier this year after garden season began but it went away after a few weeks. When a similar sensation returned last month, I chalked it up to a recent trip out of town during which I lifted luggage, etc. This time both a walk-in clinic MD as well as my primary care doctor's NP diagnosed it as muscular however neither my home care remedies or their prescriptions made much difference once I became doubled over in pain.

    Realizing that a new Orthopedic Specialty building was open nearby with after hours services, I finally got imaging there. As soon as they told me that there was a fractured vertebra, I knew it was bone mets. Next came MRI+CT, a long hospital stay with fusion surgery and treatments with Zometa/radiation/Faslodex/Versenio.

    I'm posting about my experience because we might have saved several days and not have risked further damage if the first two medical professionals I saw had had a higher degree of suspicion. No need to become paranoid about every little ache or sprain but be sure to advocate for yourself when it seems your history of BC is possibly being downplayed...

    So, mine was more than a compression fx. It sounds like your oncologist is being thorough with the MRI and radioactive scan. Should the worst case scenario become reality, know that there are many excellent therapies available and lots of us continue our lives with minimal discomfort.

    Also, I wonder why you show that you rec'd Herceptin when your stats describe Her2 negative disease. Perhaps the initial pathology report changed at some point?

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Veeder14
    Veeder14 Member Posts: 880
    edited December 2018

    Hi Novagirl

    I’ve had a spinal fracture from a fall, but also have osteoporosis. mine was not classified as a compression fracture since there was trauma. The pain eventually subsided. This happened years before I had cancer



    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Novagirl
    Novagirl Member Posts: 123
    edited December 2018

    Thank you vlnrph. I’m sorry to hear you had a long hospital stay and that it was mets. I hope you doing better in treatment. Spinal surgery sounds very scary.

    I was in a clinical trial to receive Hercepton. I was +2 but you have to be +3 to be classified as HER2 positive.

    Hi Veeder14, thank you for sharing. I see you were diagnosed this year. I hope you are doing well:-

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited December 2018

    I'm glad they are being thorough. Let us know how it turns out. Hoping it is anything but mets.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Novagirl
    Novagirl Member Posts: 123
    edited December 2018

    thank you Kbeee, I will keep you losted

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Novagirl
    Novagirl Member Posts: 123
    edited December 2018

    I forgot to add that my calcium levels were normal. Has anyone had spinal mets with normal calcium levels?

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Novagirl
    Novagirl Member Posts: 123
    edited December 2018

    I just got the news. I can’t stop crying. The MRI shows cancer in my spine. I see my oncologist on Monday. He is going to order CT scans to see where else it is and todo biopsy to see if the hormone status changed. Please help me, please. Please please

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Falconer
    Falconer Member Posts: 1,192
    edited December 2018

    Nova, I am so sorry to read this post. Holding you in the light during this difficult time.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • JoE777
    JoE777 Member Posts: 628
    edited December 2018
    Novagirl, Try to breathe. You've heard the worst. While grieving, try to write down questions as they come to you. They'll pop in your mind at the stangest times. When my lesions were found by MRI in the sacrum/iliac joint in February,I was numb as if I were watching someone else going through metastatic breast cancer. I was given a pet/ct scan from crown of my head to mid-thigh-5 lesions in lower back with extreme pain, multiple nodules in both lungs with 0 symptoms. That was my bad news. GOOD NEWS, with treatment I'm significantly improved: no new activity, no uptake showing in tumors and shrinking and disappearance of several nodules in lungs. So improved the oncologist has taken me off KISQALI with monthly tests and monitoring. I say all this to beencouraged between spasms of grief and horror which is totally normal. Please keep us in the loop. There is much to be hopeful about. Hugs and Peace. Jo
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited December 2018

    I am so sorry you are facing this. Praying the scans show no further spread. Hoping the oncologist gets the ball rolling quickly and that you have a plan in place soon. (((HUGS))) Thinking of you.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Novagirl
    Novagirl Member Posts: 123
    edited December 2018

    Thank you JoE777. That makes me feel so much better. I hope I respond to treatment like you are. Are you on chemo? I just need to get rid of this back pain. I’m trying so hard not to cry in front of my 6 year old but it’s imposdible. Did they give you an estimate of how long to live? Is this my last Christmas with my son and husband?

    Kbee abd Falconer thank you so much god encouraging me. It’s helping. We are telling anyone in our families until after Christmas. Otherwise it will be everything gathering and crying and I want my son to be in bliss. He doesn’t even know what the word cancer means

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • InnaB2018
    InnaB2018 Member Posts: 1,276
    edited December 2018

    Novagirl, please stay strong! I am so sorry you are going through this. Hopefully your other tests will not show additional progression. There are so many inspirational women in the stage 4 forums on this web site. The treatment options now are so much better than even a few years ago. God willing you will celebrate many more Christmases with your family!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • JoE777
    JoE777 Member Posts: 628
    edited December 2018

    First of all don't think about how much time. My oncologist told me my disease was treatable and manageable. If one medicine didn't work there were several already in use and new ones on the horizon. My chemo is oral Kisqali which is a targeted therapy that kills cancer cells without destroying healthy tissue. I will always be on letrozole as long as it is working. I'm taking a 30 minute infusion of zometo once a month to rebuild bone.(no port, given in arm)

    I was given 10 radiation treatments to my back to relieve the pain and shrink the tumor. After the first shot my pain was gone. My radiologist couldn't believe it. He had told me by the 5th shot I would have relief. My oncologist gave me hydrocodone for pain which I still have to take occasionally.

    Stay proactive, don't be hesitant to ask your team any question.

    Jo

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Novagirl
    Novagirl Member Posts: 123
    edited December 2018

    Thank you InnaB2018, I will try to stay strong. Hopefully the treatments will work and I will live for a while. We were in the beginning stages of trying to adopt a child. This has hit me like a ton of bricks. I guess I’ll ask for an antidepressant. Thank you for helping me

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Novagirl
    Novagirl Member Posts: 123
    edited December 2018

    JoE777 you’re right I won’t think about how much time I have to live. Like every woman on this board I just want to be here. Thinking about that gives me a terrible pit feeling in my stomachs. It makes me sad for my son.

    Are you on antidepressants and anxiety? Which ones do you recommend? Prior to this dreadful disease 5 years ago I was a healthy 31 year old that took zer prescription drugs. I’m goibg to need all of the help I can get and will try and make life easier by chemistry.

    Is your chemo not that bad with side effects? Do you loose your hair on that one? Did you have to get your ovaries out to take letrozole?

    I’m worried about pain control. All of them make me throw up so I don’t take them. I couldn’t take them after my c section. Delaudid make me haulucinate and throw up. I was a train wreck in the hospital after my breast surgeries and they couldn’t find one for me. I think morphine was the only thing in the hospital that didn’t make me ill.

    Do you do in person support groups? What other things have helped you to cope?

    Also, I’m hopeful radiation will help with my pain like it helped with yours? Did they stabilize your back with surgery or just do radiation?

    Thank you so very much for the information



    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited December 2018

    Novagirl, Everyone responds differently to different treatments, but I have a friend from home, who used to work with my mom, who was stage IV de novo with spread to the bone. It's been over 20 years and she's still doing well. Assume you will be like her until proven otherwise.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Novagirl
    Novagirl Member Posts: 123
    edited December 2018

    I would love to be here for 20 more years! Thank you KBeee for sharing that. That gives me some hope. Once I am out of pain and have an action plan, I know I’ll feel betterr

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • vlnrph
    vlnrph Member Posts: 1,632
    edited December 2018

    Dear Nova (I had that Chevy model back in the 70s!) girl: What a shock. At your young age, have you had genetic testing? Should there be a BRCA mutation present, the PARP inhibitors may be an option for you down the road.

    Meanwhile, my story parallels JoE777 with the bisphosphonate infusion every four weeks CDK 4/6 inhibitor and radiation. Last month I had a procedure during which two vertebrae were injected with bone cement to stabilize them and reduce discomfort. This is usually done as an outpatient. The technology available now is amazing.

    I am part of a local support group - mostly early stage ladies who have not gone metastatic. Some have found antidepressant therapy helpful so it's good for you to pursue that during this time of upheaval. Methadone is a pain med to inquire about since Dilaudid/hydromorphone made you sick. Keep us up to date on how you are doing.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Novagirl
    Novagirl Member Posts: 123
    edited December 2018

    Hi Vlnrph,

    Thank you for sharing advice and tips. It helps so much you have no idea. I heard about the cement thing in the vertebra. Is it painful? Are you awake when they do it?

    I see my oncologist tomorrow. I’m going to ask for antidepressants, I’m going to need all the help I can get.

    I will inquire about mrthadone too. I’m in so much pain. The hospital gave me a CD of my bone scan. It’s all over my spine, my hips, and my ribs. I’m just praying this cough I’ve had from bronchitis that broke my back is not actually breast cancer in my lungs.

    I know I will feel better and that I have no treatment plan now which makes it worse. I cry in front of my 6 year sometimes when I look at him. I’m trying so hard not to. Anyway, he announced at lunch today that I cry because my back hurts. We were with good friends so it’s fine but I don’t want to make everyone sad over what I’m gling through. Also, people don’t understand the fear of this disease so they really just think I’m crying over back pain.

    I feel over whelmed with is ahead. Should I get a second opinion? Do I tell my dr to send my biopsy results to other places?

    Am I working this week? What should I tell my job?

    Thanks for helping and “listening”.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • vlnrph
    vlnrph Member Posts: 1,632
    edited December 2018

    Vertebroplasty with cement is done under general anesthesia. The interventional radiologist can also ablate or kill at least some of the mutate cells and/or get biopsy samples while they're in there.

    Another pain approach might be a lidocaine patch. The prescription version is 5% but they are also now sold over the counter in a 4% strength. Since you put it right on the low back (or wherever it hurts) it doesn't go through your stomach so should be easier to tolerate. You can go up to 12 hours with it on but then must be off for 12 hours.

    If you are currently being treated at a community level cancer center, you may eventually want to transfer your care to an academic or teaching hospital since you'll be in this for the long haul. You probably have lots of facilities from which to choose in the DC area, depending on insurance. However, I would avoid the for profit CTCA chain.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • KBeee
    KBeee Member Posts: 5,109
    edited December 2018

    Novegirl, Just checking in to see how you're doing nad what's next. Thinking of you.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Novagirl
    Novagirl Member Posts: 123
    edited December 2018

    Thank you KBeee, I’m taking it one day at a time. I saw my MO this morning and received my CT scan results. I have innumerable lung Mets, what I thought was bronchitis was breast cancer. My liver is clear. He gave me hope. He said we could knock my lung Mets out completely with AIs if my biopsy comes back hormone positive still. The bone Mets will shrink and be stable but won’t completely go away. Im ready to start radiation because I’m almost immobile from the bone Mets. I know this is short lived so im trying to stay positive and not freak out. Thank you SO much for checking on me!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • JoE777
    JoE777 Member Posts: 628
    edited December 2018

    hey Nova, I hate your news but I'm glad you can start your treatment. I know it will work for you. Your doctor is telling you the truth. The radiation took away my bone pain. The AI(Kisqali) that I take has shrunk both bone and lung mets. Some in my lungs have disappeared. My pet scan this month showed no new activity and stable. I've been in treatment since March of this year. It takes a while but hang in there. There really is hope. I'm now on a break from the kisqali because the doctor thinks the AI will continue to suppress the cancer.
    Hugs Jo
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Novagirl
    Novagirl Member Posts: 123
    edited December 2018

    Thanks Jo, that gives me hope that you are responding so well to treatment. I was very worried about the lung Mets but I’m hopeful they will shrink or go away too. I’m just trying to carry on and not be a complete basket case in front of my son. I think I’m actually doing a good job of that. I guess the human brain gets used to traumatic news and you just carry on. Thanks again for yours support.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories