I am feeling quite scared at the moment. I have a new symptom -when I touch a particular spot on my rib cage it’s acutely painful. It is on the cancer side and I previously had an axillary clearance because it had spread to my lymph nodes. I have been to see my surgeon and I have been referred for a bone scan -should be within the next two weeks, but I am finding the waiting agonising. I have an 11 year old son and I am terrified I won’t see him grow up. My Dad’s mum died from breast cancer when she was only 40 and it feels like history repeating itself. If anyone has had a similar experience and it has turned out OK please let me know. I am so worried.
Hello Jill. I did have radiotherapy on that side and I am hoping it might be the effects of that but you can’t help worrying about worst case scenario. Thankfully my appointment has come through for the 6th April so hopefully I will know soon.
My ribs are very sore on the radiotherapy side.Fingers crossed it is a side effect from the treatment .It is always a worry in the background for all of us.
Did they confirm that your rib soreness was caused by the radiotherapy? If yes how soon did it start after radiotherapy? I finished my radiotherapy in Sept 2015 and the pain has only started now. In fact unless I touch it it is not painful, but if I put my finger on it it is acutely painful -a stabbing pain and just in one spot the rest of my ribs are fine, which seems strange.
Yes you are right -you always have it hanging over you. My gran had breast cancer and had a mastectomy when she was in her 30s. Then it came back when she was pregnant and spread throughout her body. My Dad was only 11 when she died -exactly the same age as my son now. I know I should not dwell on that but it is hard to get out of my mind.
I finished Sept 2015 too.Yes ,they said damage caused to ribs by radiotherapy.They have been uncomfortable since I finished,but some times more sore to the touch .Dont write yourself off yet,could be lots of other explanations.
Thanks Jill for your support. Hopefully I will have some good news in a couple of weeks time. When I was first diagnosed they thought it had spread to my liver so I had a PET -CT scan, but it turned out I just had benign cysts. I felt like I had won the lottery when I was told that. So I know it is most probably not what I am dreading.
Very easy to get paranoid ,symptoms that wouldn’t even have registered before become the source of anxiety (she says wondering about the pulling sensation in her ribs on the other side, which is v probably due to coughing continually for a week due to flu…,)
Yes my natural tendency is to be very calm, optimistic and expect things to be fine, but having had bad news once when I’d convinced myself it wasn’t cancer…It is only natural to worry.
Just wanted to let you know and anyone else who has similar symptoms that I have had my bone scan results and there is no sign of cancer returning -I am so relieved! Looks like it is the side effects of radiotherapy.