Scans how often & what symptons do I watch for?

Sharon,

Some people don't have symptoms when they are diagnosed with mets. Personally, I think it's really important for us triple negs to get some kind of scan every so often.

I started out with the every 3 months schedule after treatment. That lasted only 3 months.

Then I had symptoms that I thought were radiation or truncal lymphedema related. So I went to the surgeon's office complaining of sharp pain in my shoulder blades, back and along the side of my rib cage when I took deep breaths, I had a rattling sound at the bottom of my diaphragm when I breathed, I had shortness of breath that my asthma meds wouldn't touch, but no wheezing. And I had the urge to cough, as if something was stuck somewhere. I though I had fluid build up somewhere or pneumonia from radiation. Turns out I have lung mets and mets other places in the chest area and pleural lining and the nodes in that area and stuff.

I have skin mets too and at first I got these little bumps on my scar line. It turned into a dark raised rash and spread really quickly all over my breast. Then it started hurting, burning and itching like crazy.

I did get lumps also with mets; in nodes on the non bc side under my arm and in the neck.

So far, I've been getting scans everytime my symptoms get worse.

Don't wait for mets; hopefully it'll never happen to you. Just enjoy being NED! I really enjoyed my brief dance with it

Ferne

So after 12 years you had a recurrence?

CT scans seem to work well in finding the problem areas for me. But my scans were only when I had symptoms.

I'm thinking if scans are done at regular intervals, they might pick things up before you have symptoms. Problem is that lots of doctors don't like to do scans until you have symptoms. But it sounds like your onc wants to be proactive.

Ferne

Wow, 12  years is a long time cancer free!  Was that cancer triple neg as well? Hopefully it'll stay away forever this time.

I'm 42 and didn't expect mets so soon after my initial treatment. It was quite a surprise. I figured it's come back someday maybe, but not 4 months out from treatment.

Ferne 

I feel horrid, horrider, and horridererrrrrr, each day. Mamograms digital test sent a lovely note tellall that my breats were just fine.  I know there is a gigantic hematoma leftover, nodules, calcifications.  Is there a reason these radiotoidioots lie to us? 

The slaways being lied to isyndrome, has been "enough".

When was I enscribed as an idiot?

Hey, stupid, ignorant 'K' female germ...

Am I angry?? yes. lies, lies, lies, lies and more lies. so flipplin' sick from the stinkers who have the audacity to refer to themselves as "health providers" when is reality they are mostly "health liars and conartists who look upon the human species, particularly women. as nothing more than a spit on the sand on a beach about to be washed away by the waves and lost to the drams of the tide , moon and timel

Indi....annoyhed

Please help me.  I just finished Radiation today!  Stage IIA Triple Neg diag 12/13/06.  Had 12 total ACT and for the last three weeks I've been complaining of pain in shoulder and arm.  So my oncologist sent me for PT and the PT is not helping at all.  i finally told the doctor on Tuesday something is not right I have such a high threshold for pain and this pain is terrible.  So Next thursday I am having a PET Scan again, had a Bone Scan in Early August and it was negative, I will be having an MRI and CT Scan also.  Please give me all the words of wisdom and support you can.  Please email if you would like to ovrtrainbo@aol.com