Ever since I was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago (supposedly good prognosis) I have suffered from real bouts of aches and pains every few months - one time it was a really bad pain in my back which lasted 3 weeks, another time a terrible headache, another time a pain in my rib. Each time I’ve ended up having a load of tests which have come back negative and the pain has eventually gone away. The result is that all my family think that I have a real mental problem with dealing with this and think that I’m making things up and there is nothing wrong with me.
Now I am suffering from a pain in my hip which I genuinely believe is a bone metastasis. I have held off seeing a doctor for about 4 weeks now because everyone thinks I am complaining about nothing. This week I have decided I have to get this investigated. I am sure that at last I will be diagnosed as having relapsed. I am really tearful about the whole thing and can’t bear the thought of chemo again. The worst thing of all is that I am completely alone because no one will believe that there is anything wrong with me.
Has anyone out there gone through the same thing as me.
There is nothing worse than going through all this, than having to do it completely alone
I understand totally. I was dx 2 years ago with a good prognosis. I have never been able to deal with it mentally and am just like you.
I had rib pain for weeks and was going hysterical . Went back to onc who said it was nothing but gave me a chest x ray ( for my peace of mind). It came back clear and then the pain went - honestly the same night!
Then came my back pain episode a few months ago. Really bad pains in my lower back. Went to GP’s 4 times and she said it had no signs of secondaries it was " just a bad back that 50% if population have". She ended up putting me on beta blockers. That has now subsided since her reassurance.
My family dismiss all my aches and pains as it is a bit like the boy who cried wolf but I feel like you that each one is “it” back. I now have a pain in my rib under my shoulder and even though I know I hav e just been xrayed there I am thinking that is all sorts.
Problem is I really believe that our heads perpetuate these pains - the power of the mind should never be undersetimated. Did all your other pains disappear after the tests were OK?
My onc refuses to scan me for " every ache and pain" as he says that the scans ar e more harmful than the risk of anything being there.
It’s awful I know - some people seem to handle it a lot better. My friend had it 8 years ago whith a much worse prognosis than me and has never given it a second thought and she is fine until this day!
I can see that you have had valuable suuport from Alise, in addition, if you feel it would help you to talk things through with someone in confidence please call our helpline on 0808 800 6000. The helpline is open until 2pm today and re-opens Mon at 9am-5pm.
You are describing exactly the sort of state I’m in at the moment. I was disgnosed last October with a supposedly good prognosis. I have pain in left hip which I have self diagnosed in my head as bone mets. I am scared stiff. In thinking about this rationally, in my more lucid moments, I have had intermittent hip pain in left hip for years. Comes on if I sleep in a bed that’s too soft, or stay in bed too long, or go for long walks when I haven’t done any exercise for some time.
I have just had first anniversary mammogram. Going back to the hospital for that was psychologically quite difficult. I phoned my local Breast Care Nurse on Friday, described my paranoia about my hip and she reassured me that it is quite usual to panic about aches and pains when you’ve had what we had. I’m going to see her first thing on Monday morning to try and establish what might be wrong with my hip. When I establish that I am being paranoid I am going to ask about getting some counselling to deal with this fear that the wretched thing is back.
Please don’t feel that you’re alone in your worries. Apparently 95% of people who have had breast cancer , self diagnose non existent mets at some point.
I am so glad I have read your comments above as I have aches and pains as well. Some days / nights they are really bad and other days not there at all. I have asked the Onc about it numerous times and he just shrugs and says it’s all normal. I usually leave his office feeling fit again but a few days later they come back again. At least I now know that I am not losing my marbles.
Hi, my hip has been playing me up for months now, too paranoid to even tell the onc, as he tends to just hoo ha everything i say, so i don’t say anything anymore, i don’t even go to my gps, if i need a repeat prescription i just ring up, i don’t even tell my family now if i have an ache or pain, think its better just to keep my mouth shut, i don’t feel such a fraud then.
YOU ARE NOT A FRAUD. Having had BC twice I can say categorically that it is quite normal to attribute any ache or pain, lump or bump to a recurrence. The irony of this is that my second occurance only showed up on an ultrasound - no one could feel a lump and at my annual mammogram my surgeon had luckily decided that in future all his patients should have an ultrasound as well. Otherwise I would be none the wiser. I am getting a lot of pain in my left hip/leg/buttock and ankle which I hope is just the Arimidex. It is really weird as when I do yoga and exercise it is OK and only hurts a while later. Like you I have almost stopped wingeing to my husband who is a doctor as he just says you have probably got sciatica and it will go away eventually! I need something exciting to happen - life is so boring at the moment!!
This thread is making me smile! I’m having aches and pains all over the place and like you guys suffered in silence for most of the time. When I try to do something about it (being the kind of person who thinks there is a practical solution to most problems), the GP laughs and sends me to the physio. The physio laughs and says what can you expect at your age (I’m ONLY 51). The yoga teacher gets grumpy because I temporarily stop going to her class after hurting my shoulder more with trying too hard because nobody believes I can’t do the poses. (Does anybody else find that they are having more strains and sprains and it takes forever to heal?) And I think THIS CAN’T GO ON I’M ONLY 51! However, lately I’ve started moaning about how many as and ps I have only to discover EVERYBODY’s got them! Now I just have to convince my mates that MINE ARE WORSE!!
Chalee - yes I am getting more aches and pains, strains and sprains and I am 69! As they don’t seem to go away altogther I blame Arimidex and old age! You are still a babe! Remember there is no competition in yoga but I have to admit I have a very competitive nature and do not like to accept or admit that I am no longer Top Shop material!
Yes Chalee, endless aches and such and slow healing. I think something to do with reduced immune system because I get loads of mouth ulcers and cold sores too.
Can’t believe it’s my age (just 52), don’t think I have cancer again but still can’t understand why I don’t quite feel right.
oh my god now i dont want to go for my appointment today in case its nothing!!! i have had pain in my other breast for months now and was told that the doc would investigate next time i go for followup .well todays the day and i feel like a fraud myself! i know i have a small lump but it seems to be worse at night. im taking arimadex and have terrible joint pains , as ive already had a mastectomy, im like everyone else and think ive got a reacurrance every time i get a new ache. hopefully todays appointment will settle things one way or another ,ill keep you posted . lynn x
Went for my 6 mth oncology check today and decided to be brave and ask about my strange aches and pains…once again it was a new face there and when I said I found it hard to move on cos I was so scared he replied"you are right to be wary as it could come back". He dismissed my knee pain but when I mentioned the recent pains in my inner elbow and forearm he examined it and told me to keep an eye on it, even tho I told him that it had got a lot better! Then he examined my breast and asked when I had last had it tested at the bc clinic(November) and had they been happy with it?
I am now convinced I have bone mets or something brewing in my boob or indeed both,wish I had kept quiet. If I get the chance tomorrow I will ring my bc nurse for her opinion but feel right down again now.
H Susie,I too can so understand your worrys ,I was diagnosed 2 years ago in may,lobular cancer,no lymph node involvement but er+ pr+ and her2+had chemo,rads and now on tamoxifen,(no herceptin due to risk to heart)but get such aches and pains in my lower back across my shoulders and only recently tenderness around collar bone,am sure its down to tamoxifen,but what if methinks,had a bone scan 5 months ago and all was well ,arthritis in lower back,am so wanting and hoping one day will go by without an ache or pain somewhere,part of me keeps quiet for others ,as I dont want to worry them .Am due for 3 month check in march and im going to insist on a scan as am only 47 and i know these aches and pains arent in my mind they are real,and i would rather have peace of mind than worry about being perceived as not moving on and some sort of hypochondriac .,I wonder if that is my perception of myself,but im going to take the bull by the horns and insist on being kind to myself and get checked out for my peace of mind,you get yourself checked Susie,make yourself your no 1 priority and ask for a thorough check up,we’re worth it…with love Debrax
Just want to say;me too!! every ache is a met and I worry about asking in case it is and not asking in case it isnt,and I am worrying for nothing.My GP is great and my onc says I can have a scan if I like but he doesnt think I need it.My pains are,upper back,right hip and ribs on treated side.Dx1)using muscles again after long inactivity on treatment2)early arthritis(I’m 63 hip pain pre-dates bc)3) rads damage and nerve damage post treatment.My advice is ask every time,it doesnt matter what other people think.If you are worried ask but be aware that post bc we still get all the aches and pains we would have got anyway.Love horace
Yes, yes me too! I have just come across this thread and am suffering about bones mets just like the rest of you guys. I had bc dx two years ago, then again on my first mammogram anniversay last year. So two years running with bc and now I have lower back pains that I am convinced is secondaries.
hello, as newly diagnosed with BC yesterday, i am already thinking that an ache in my shoulder, arm and neck are mets !!! I am terrified as my full test results have not come back yet. I am learning all the time about the fear this condition can generate inside of you. How do you all manage this constant anxiety ?
Have just found this thread and was very relieved as I am living with the Aches and Pains Scenario at the moment and have posted on the Waiting for Tests thread.
I have some really tender areas, seemingly all over really and finally after putting it off for ages, went to see the GP who promptly found a very tender spot on my rib - not the mast side - I have had such a lousy few days but managed to get an isotope bone scan on Thursday which apparently is OK, although i am waiting for confirmation.
I have had a pain in my left sternum today … just seem to have lots of pains everwhere at the moment. I have never had rads or chemo - lucky me - but am on Tamoxifen and do have osteoporosis. Like everyone on this thread, every pain is a met…
Trying to be positive and thinking about all of you too, hugs, Grace