I am seeking opinions. Cutting a long journey short, I was dxn Nov 2005 I had 2 local recurrences, the usual treatments finished 2 years ago. I have been getting intermitent upper back pain. I had a check up at the breast clinic recently they x-rayed my spine and carried out blood tests. They said everything was fine though my calcium level is on the high borderline but not to worry. Well thats the last thing to say to a woman with cancer history.
I went to line to research raised calcium levels and began to self diagnose all sorts.
I a asking the real experts now. Should I take the doctors advice and not worry or think about asking for further tests? The only problem with the later is that I have had 3 bone scans and was told too many can start a problem so they do not carry them out as routine,
I think we can all relate to your worries and it sometimes makes it worse when they say not to worry.
I do have bone mets and my bloods are checked each month when I have the drip for bone strengtheners to monitor kidney function and calcium levels. My levels are normal and always have been from diagnosis so that’s not a guaranteed indicator. I didn’t have pain from my mets either!
With regard to the bone scans, they advised me they could be done 6 months apart and in 3 years I’ve had 7. Did they do an x-ray when you went to clinic or a bone scan? If it was ‘only’ an x-ray, perhaps you could ask them to a bone scan just to confirm things are ok - tell them how worried you are and it’s affecting you badly.
If it’s any help, my mum had bc 8 years ago and gets a lot of bone pain. It was quite bad earlier this year and although she has arthritis, thought the inevitable. Anyway, the scan showed wear and tear from arthritis that had been aggravated by arimidex. It was a big relief. I’m ok with my mets and so far the treatment is keeping them stable and I am always inspired by the ladies on here who’ve lived with bone mets in particular for years and years - at 3.5 years I’m a beginner!!
Thanks for the post, it has been helpful. It was an x ray, I guess the bone scans seem expensive. If thingsd on’t improve in a few weeks time I will revisit the clinic. I was always proactive during the ‘height’ of my dx and treatment. I guess I have relaxed a little the longer the gap has been between recurrences.