|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Posts: 144
|
Rib-Sternum joint pain - any thoughts?
Belated Easter greetings to all of you.
I am a week past my third EC treatment - for the past few weeks have been feeling like something is going on near where one of my ribs joins my sternum - it's painful, comes and goes, and during the week after chemo my somewhat obsessed brain has convinced me it could be either a bone met or a tumour in a medial node .
It feels inflamed to me but I can't be sure it's not just scar tissue even though the painful bit is a couple of inches above the scar). I have had no scans whatsoever for medial nodes, had 2 tumours on the interior upper part of my left breast (as well as the primary tumour and 6/19 axillary nodes affected). As my onc is on hols, today I made an appointment to see my surgeon tomorrow. My initial thought was to insist on a PET scan - is that the right test? January bone scans were clear.
Am a bit worried now that I might be being a bit too paranoid, after telling myself all day that I would be as pushy as needs be with my surgeon to get a PET scan. I've organised a referral from my GP today for a second opinion if he doesn't refer me for checking out.
I just keep going in circles - I am sure the 'loop' would be familiar to some of you - "I am getting through chemo, surely chemo would be preventing tumours from growing, what if it isn't, what if they need to adjust it, this is one area they haven't properly checked, how can they be sure it's the right treatment if they haven't checked it, I'll take control of my own health and insist on getting checked, what if I am just being paranoid, do I really want to know right now if there's nothing to be done except stay the course with chemo and then rads......blah blah blah..."
Any thoughts from all of you sage women would be welcome.
Bx
__________________
Belinda
- Diagnosed 3 Jan 2007, Stage IIb, Mastectomy and axillary clearance 10 Jan 07, 6 of 19 nodes affected, multi-focal cancer, HER2 positive. Second mastectomy (prophylactic). Chemo - AC 3 months, Taxol 3 months - then radiation 5 weeks.
- Aug 2011 - Diagnosed with Stage IV mets to lung, sternum and 12 or so thoracic nodes - Rads to Sternum, then weekly abraxane and herceptin for 12 weeks.
- May 2012- good scans - all nodes still about normal size, hole in sternum repairing, lung tumour 'obliterated'.
Ongoing herceptin every 3 weeks. Bloods still all good! Life good!
- March 2013 - recurrence - tumours in lungs and mediastinum (coughing up blood) - immediate radiation treatment to right lung and mediastinum, still on Herceptin, and 3 months of Vinoralbine - stable for a little while!
- Coughing and breathlessness started again September 2013, treated as radiation-induced fibrosis (which can be seen on scans - albeit stable). ie puffers, steroids
- January 2014 - cough becomes bloody again, scans show big mediastinal tumour wrapped around and choking the life out of my right main bronchus, radiation deemed off limits as my lungs are hypersensitive to radiation (measured by existing damage from 2013) .....................- ie I am in the 5% of people likely to suffer severe radiation damage to the lungs that they warn you about before starting treatment! (so special! :) )
- Started chemo Feb 2014 - continuing Herceptin (continuous since Aug 2011), with Carboplatin and Gemcitabine. Discontinued Gemcitabine because of se's. Starting cycle 5 Herc/Carbo 5 May 2014.
- Meantime.....coughing and breathlessness increased to SCARY levels with racing heartbeat that won't slow down, breath that won't come back, even just walking to the bathroom or up 3 or 4 steps.
- ICU from May 5 2014, collapsed right lung due to tumour, small pulmonary embolism (left), tumours growing in mediastinum left and right, dvt lower right leg
- Plan seems to be bronchoscope next week to see if tumour can be lasered and stent inserted in right bronchus to reopen air access to lower parts of right lung. If that is successful might be able to have brachytherapy to worst tumour, otherwise no more options for external radiotherapy.
|
Threaded Mode