Bone mets - symptoms?

peterz54
peterz54 Member Posts: 341
in Colorectal Cancer #1
my wife will undergo several scans in a few days, including a bone scan to try to get to the bottom of her pain. She has pain at top of thigh in groin area when she moves her leg. also some pain in upper right arm when she strains, it as in pushing her self up.

she is concerned the doctor thinks she has cancer in the bone, but from my quick read the symptoms don't seem like mets to the bone primarily because the pain is not always there, only when she moves.

any thoughts? especially from anyone who has had mets to the bone.


thanks,

peter

Comments

  • geotina
    geotina Member Posts: 2,111 Member
    #2
    Peter:
    No experience with bone mets here but I was thinking maybe some type of arthritis since it only hurts when she moves. I would think bone mets would cause pain even when not moving. Just a thought.

    Take care - Tina
  • abackhou
    abackhou Member Posts: 77 Member
    #3
    Lymph Nodes
    Hi Peter,

    Best wishes to you both. As we know it is rare to get secondary bone cancer from CRC but I have recently had x-rays for bone Mets and they came back clear (apparently its difficult to see from clear x-rays, a bone scan is the best to go) but I continue to have left collar bone & neck pain symptoms. As I have multiple upper lung nodules, apparently the pain is being caused by secondary lung cancer and swollen lymph nodes from that area, as we have over 300 lymph nodes in the neck region, it stands to reason that the discomfort your wife is experiencing "may" possibly be eminating from infected lymph nodes from this area. I do not have any bone pain when I move my arm but just sometimes an ache which comes and goes, night time and early mornings seem to be worse. The same could apply to the groin area. Hope this information assists with your current enquiry.

    Cheers…Andrew
  • dmj101
    dmj101 Member Posts: 527 Member
    #4
    Peter has she had a Bone
    Peter has she had a Bone Scan?
    They thought I had mets in the bones and would ask me all the time if I was in pain and I was not.. I recall when my mom had breast cancer mets in her bones it was only determined by doing a bone biopsy.. and they did several scans.. but her pain was minimal..
    Please have a bone scan done if not yet done to help determine what is occurring.
    Peace and Hugs on the way for you and your wife.
    Donna
  • RobinKaye
    RobinKaye Member Posts: 93
    #5
    dmj101 said:

    Peter has she had a Bone
    Peter has she had a Bone Scan?
    They thought I had mets in the bones and would ask me all the time if I was in pain and I was not.. I recall when my mom had breast cancer mets in her bones it was only determined by doing a bone biopsy.. and they did several scans.. but her pain was minimal..
    Please have a bone scan done if not yet done to help determine what is occurring.
    Peace and Hugs on the way for you and your wife.
    Donna

    Katherine's Caring Bridge Update
    Peter, read the updates Katherine M has on her Caring Bridge blog. Her CSN post is http://csn.cancer.org/node/244588 and you can access the blog from there, there are two recent posts which you should read. She has just found out that she has bone mets and described the symptoms in detail...it might help you.

    Robin
  • Kathryn_in_MN
    Kathryn_in_MN Member Posts: 1,252 Member
    #6
    Bone mets
    I have mets to T2, T5, and T6 in my spine and in my neck, right shoulder and collarbone. I have pain - ALL the time - not just when using a body part. It does get elevated when using the affected parts - like reaching behind my back or over my head, or bending over. The bone pain is always there - nagging. My collar bone has been hurting me for longer than I can remember. My onc said over and over that is was just from scar tissue from my port. He said the pain in my shoulder was not related to cancer. I've always had back issues, and my back has been getting more stiff and sore over time, but I attributed that to my shoulder and issues trying to sleep - making me sleep funny. I couldn't get comfortable on my right side, or my left, or my back, and thought it was all my right shoulder's fault. Nope - it was a combo of the right shoulder and T6 mostly (that is my largest most active met). I am going for a Tomotherapy consult tomorrow. I've had a lot of radiation earlier that extended through to the T4, T5, and 1/2 of T6 area which makes this very tricky not to damage my spinal chord.

    Xrays do not normally pick up bone mets - only if they are huge. CT scans do not pick up bone mets. You need a PET/CT or a Bone Scan to find them.
  • luvinlife2
    luvinlife2 Member Posts: 172 Member
    #7
    Symptoms
    I had a lot of severe pain in my lower back and both hips, inner groin area. To the point that I walked like I was 100 years old. At the time, I couldn't find any relief from the constant pain except to take Oxycontin which put me to sleep. Great solution!! I feared bone mets as well and although my onc didn't really expect to see anything he agreed to my request for a bone scan. Turned out he was right...the scan was clear.

    I've since figured out the cause and solution for all the pain without taking narcotics and I'm doing great. So was the extra radiation worth it? Well, it did get rid of my anxiety about bone mets but realistically I think I should have presented with more symptoms considering the additional radiation and associated risks.

    By the way...it takes a minimum of 2 weeks for your body to rid itself of the radiation from the scan. During that time, don't go near the borders or any highly secured public buildings without papers about your scan. This was a warning I received from the US border guards in Sumas, WA. I'm Canadian, and when we have scans with radiation, we also have a letter and a card stating the treatment we had in the event we need to cross. I had a heart scan the previous summer and although I waited a week longer that was required, I still set off the alarms as I drove up to the guards. LOL....what an experience that was!! Good thing I still had my letter and card in my purse! It was then that they warned me not to go near any government buildings or to the dam at Grand Coulee (where we were camping). The sensors pick up everything!
  • peterz54
    peterz54 Member Posts: 341
    #8
    Thanks Everyone
    it will be Monday before my wife gets the bone scan and MRI of hip area....I looked closely at her May 30th PET scan (taken 3 weeks before onset of pain and 1 week before end of 1st round chemo) last night and found slightly elevated SUV (4.8) values in the right hip area where the thigh bone sockets into the hip bone. consistent with location of the pain. would also explain why there is pain upon leg movement. Maybe nothing but a mere coincidence - I know that reading and interpreting PETs takes a lot of experience. Will have to wait until scans are done....

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