Is it in my rib or not?

Jwren · 03-11-2006, 07:57 AM

Hello everyone,

This is a bit daunting! I've been reading the messages here for almost a year now and learning lots (so thank you all) but I need some help so I've had to 'bite the bullet' and actually post! hope that's ok.

Last year just a couple of months after diagnosis I had a bone scan which showed a small hot spot on my rib, it's round the back on the unaffected side kind of under my arm and used to be a bit sore, but no pain at night and so I was reassured that it was probably an old injury, the Doc even suggested it may have happened during surgery (because I said I'd never been injured there)

This year, 10 months later, I've had another bone scan that showed the spot still there but shrunk. I wasn't as reassured this time because surely it couldn't now be an old injury after all this time? Also since April I've been treated with chemo & am now on Herceptin so that's a good reason for it to shrink. I know that even if it is a met that I could go on for years yet as it's only a single one etc the Doc is still trying to reassure saying it could be arthritis (there?) or osteoperosis but has addmitted it'd be a weird place to get it and that it's not an injury after all this time, but the only way to know for sure is a biopsy which is too much for something so tiny and that I'm already having the best treatment anyway (which I agree with)

I've had a plain x-ray and a CT scan which showed nothing and he's going to do more scans before my year of Herceptin and I will be able to stay on it if nessessary. Just wondered if you all had any opinions about it all, I haven't mentioned any of this to the family because of all the uncertainty so I just needed to vent. Thank God (and I do) that I won my fight to get Herceptin, here in the UK, it hasn't been easy.

Sorry for rambling
Jen x

Sheila · 03-12-2006, 05:15 AM

Jen
I had a similar situation on my rib on the mastectomy side...the bone scan felt it was mets to the rib as it lit up like a hot spot. It took 6 mos to find out it was a healing fracture of the rib that occurred when I sneezed! The area was sore to the touch for a year! A RIB xray finally confirmed the diagnosis....even a chest xray didn't show it, You may want to try this.