Hi,I’m hoping someone can give me some advice as at this moment in time i am very very frightened.I have had a pain in my leg that shoots down the thigh every so often and then makes it feel uncomfortable to straighten right out.It almost feels how a stitch would feel if that makes any sense.I went to my doctor who took a blood test and that was OK,and as i was seeing my Oncologist in a few weeks she said to mention it.I saw the Oncologist on Monday and she really pressed on the bone with all her weight and moved my leg around.She said that she didnt think it was related to my breast cancer,that it probably was my hamstring.I have never taken any painkillers for the pain as its more uncomfortable than painful.However she sent me along for an x ray and said depending on what that showed up would determine if i needed a bone scan.Well you can imagine how the last few days have been and now i have had a letter giving me an appointment for a bone scan.There is no mention of what they have found on my x rays and am i just meant to be left in this limbo for the next 10days,worrying myself sick.I guess i just want to know if anyone else has been where i am and it turned out to ba a false alarm.
Thank you Tracey xx
Am in a similar situation to yourself with a pain that radiates from the ankle up into the calf of the leg…which can be painful and make walking and standing difficult, ok when sitting, the doctor says it is muscle strain and definately not a DVT. Had this for a few weeks then the pain went away but returned again. Strong pain killers dont do much for the pain. I have now convinced myself I have spread to the bone after reading up the info on the different website. I was diagnosed with BC in 2008 and have had recent bloods done which didnt show anything either
Awaiting GP appointment. Hopefully someone will come along with some answers.
regards Lyn
I am also having a bone scan on 28th as I had back pain (still ongoing) when I saw my oncologist (having first session of TAC on 21st) - I am telling myself it is just a precaution, but you are right, it is hard to get rid of that doubt at the back of your mind and I will be very glad once it is done and I have the results. sorry this is not much re-assurance, apart from knowing you are not alone - hoping we all get the all-clear, Sue x
It is horribly worrying isn’t it. Perhaps you have strained it though. I went to yoga to try and get fit after finishing my treatment and got an achilles injury in the second week. I then went swimming and sprained my shoulder.
I have never had any injuries or sprains before and I think it’s either because our bodies are weakened by the chemo and/or our fitness drops so much that we can just injure ourselves, or perhap menopause…
Thank you for your replies,i am feeling a little calmer now,i know i have to accept what will be will be,and if the worst is confirmed,i know from reading the wonderful thread on bone mets that there is still hope
Tracey x
Hi Tracey
From what i can gather Xrays just seem to pick up on anything that’s not ‘quite right’ and that warrants more thorough investigation. It doesn’t necessarily mean it is anything sinister so although it’s hard not to worry when the tests keep coming! In a lot of cases it’s simply an anomoly that is highlighted on the xray and they do more tests to be on the safe side - often it can be existing back problem or a previous injury,even arthritis or osteoprosis that shows up as a ‘hot spots’. I my case i think a disk problem showed up something on the xray so they decided i should have bone scans. I am however probably not the most positive example for you to latch on to though (sorry!)as in my case they did find tiny tiny bone mets in my pelvis but i don’t think that they even showed up on the xrays anyway it was only much later on the MRI! I am sure far more people come away with a more positive outcome than negative!! Feel free to hold on to the good stories and just ignore mine! i will keep everything crossed that your results are good. I know it does mess with your head though and it is a horrible thing to go through but i tried to think of it as being like exam results - you know that now you’ve done the exam it’s all out of your control and no amount of stressing will actually change what’s written in the envelope! Dosen’t help much but i tried not to worry too much until i knew i had something to worry about if you know what i mean!! Then i allowed myself to freak out a bit!! So stay positive & all the very best in the coming weeks
DGW
x
hi girls
i have had 3 bone scans for different ahes and pains… the most reent being a year ago when i was sent for xrays and then a bone scan and mri a few weeks apart all were normal… some units just like to over all bases and although they dont think its anything sinister they want you to realise your concerns are taken seriously.
being sent for both sans may also depend how your hospital organises things… perhaps somebody orders these tests on behalf of your onsultant from reviewing the notes or maybe even he does it himsekf at a later date… in my situation above the bone scan and xray were organised on the same day but the waiting list for xrays is quicker than for bone scans
your doc at the end of the clinic may have decided just to order both anyway… or if somebody else was trying to decipher consultants shorthand may just have seen Xray and Bone Scan written in the notes.
the problem is i very often think that docs and nurses working in cancer services dont realise we take every word they say and store it away so one slight deviation has us in a total panic.
anyway the bone scan itself isnt too uncomfortable you have an injetion an hour or so before drink lots of fluids, go for a pee and lie still on a bed for 30 mins or so… the machine is quite close but you can see out the sides its not all enclosed like an mri.
i hope they dont keep you waiting too long for the answer and that its a normal result and the aches and pains are something else.
also if your concerned phone your bcn and ask her whats happening thats what shes there for.
love and best wishes
Lulu xx
Thank you DGW and Lulu,some imformative stuff.My concern has been that the consultant didnt say a bone scan would definately be done it was dependent on what the x ray showed.So obviously with no word on what was in the x ray and just an appointment for a bone scan i am fearing the worse.I would love to know if an x ray shows up anything else that isnt cancer but still needs a bone scan to identify it.
Tracey
hi anxious
what i was saying was although your onsultant said to you he would only send you for a bone scan IF your xray showed something in reality he may have atually ordered both or if it was somebody else ordering them they may have misunderstood his instructions as is very common within the NHS.
xrays are not very good diagnostic tools on their own for things like mets so it ould just be that its inconclusive and therefore ordering the Bone scan to help reassure you.