Bone Cancer Signs & Symptoms

mcdermom
mcdermom Member Posts: 7
edited April 2022 in Bone Cancers #1
Over the past month, I've been experiencing a dull ache on my left flank area. Went to the doctor to have a urine sample checked. The doctor surprised me with having rib x-rays done. Over the past week have had some shoulder discomfort radiating down my arm. Discomfort is mild. Over the past 11 months, I was diagnosed with a stage IIIC ovarian cancer and stage 0 breast cancer 5 months ago. My doctor ordered a CT pelvis/abdomen and am awaiting the results. No bloodwork or anything else ordered yet. Can anyone share what symptoms you had and how you were diagnosed?
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Comments

  • KPmom
    KPmom Member Posts: 6
    HI, I don't blame you for being scared. My tumor was in my tibia but I felt a deep bruise like pain in my tibia for about two weeks before having it checked out. By the end of the two weeks it had formed a lump over my bone where the tumor had broken free of the bone. Ask to have a biopsy done. It's really they only way to positively tell what is going on in there. Good luck!
  • HollyT
    HollyT Member Posts: 6
    KPmom said:

    HI, I don't blame you for being scared. My tumor was in my tibia but I felt a deep bruise like pain in my tibia for about two weeks before having it checked out. By the end of the two weeks it had formed a lump over my bone where the tumor had broken free of the bone. Ask to have a biopsy done. It's really they only way to positively tell what is going on in there. Good luck!

    You can also ask to have a PET scan done. This will confirm cancer. The main reason to have a bx done is if you need it for your insurance to prove a positive. Or for any policy you might have. Holly
  • survivor1999
    survivor1999 Member Posts: 1
    i had osteosarcoma on my left hip. it started off as a dull pain which i mistook for a pulled muscle. that lasted for a few months and then one day it moved up sharply and i had such acute pain i was unable to walk. i also had trouble sleeping and lost my appetite.
  • jannahoney
    jannahoney Member Posts: 2
    KPmom said:

    HI, I don't blame you for being scared. My tumor was in my tibia but I felt a deep bruise like pain in my tibia for about two weeks before having it checked out. By the end of the two weeks it had formed a lump over my bone where the tumor had broken free of the bone. Ask to have a biopsy done. It's really they only way to positively tell what is going on in there. Good luck!

    Hello. I also had an osteosarcoma on my left tibia. At first it ached a lot and felt bruised and after a short time a bump arose but it didn't look bruised, but it was warm to the touch and painful. I went in for xrays and was told that I had a mass and then I went in for a biopsy and was told that it was malignant. I went through chemo for a year and had 6 different operations to repair my leg. Luckily I had a fabulous doctor and my leg was saved thanks to his genius and a donor bone that was fed blood from my fibula grafted onto it. Now 10 years later you'd never know anything had happened to me--no limp, no pain, just a huge scar running the length of my shin on 3 sides.
  • MommyJ
    MommyJ Member Posts: 3
    HollyT said:

    You can also ask to have a PET scan done. This will confirm cancer. The main reason to have a bx done is if you need it for your insurance to prove a positive. Or for any policy you might have. Holly

    PET scan does not confirm all types of cancers,,one of them is mucinous carcinoma. Since a PET scan is expensive be sure to check the few types of cancers that don't highlight on the scan.
  • FayeONeal
    FayeONeal Member Posts: 4
    Bone Metastasis
    In Nov 2007, I suddenly began having pain in my right side, like I had slept on that side wrong or something...but it lasted after I was up and around. It felt like it was inflammatory and ran from under my right armpit around my right breast down my side and around my back. I went to the Dr. about it, and she thought it was either shingles or pleurisy. She treated me with antibiotics and hydrocodone for 10 days. The pain went away for about a week after I finished the antibiotics, then it returned. This cyle occurred for over 8 months. Xrays were taken, nothing showed up. During the same time, I found out I had thyroid cancer, was diagnosed in June of 2008, had a total thyroidectomy in July, and then the side pain returned in early August, this time I went to the hospital's ER and demanded that someone find out what was wrong and not to just send me home with pills. They admitted me and did a xray and CAT scan, then a bone scan....they found "a shadow" on my right rib, which was then described as a "bulge". They finally did a biopsy and found that the thyroid cancer had metastasized to my bone(s). Now, they're treating it with radiation treatments to lessen the pain and looking for other metastasis elsewhere in my body. I wish someone had listened to me 8 months ago when I told them it was more than a "muscle strain", "shingles", or other "off the top of my head" guess by trained professional doctors. I guess the morale of this story is to listen to your body and never give up trying to find answers when you know something's wrong. Good Luck To You All!
  • dragonfly2
    dragonfly2 Member Posts: 13
    FayeONeal said:

    Bone Metastasis
    In Nov 2007, I suddenly began having pain in my right side, like I had slept on that side wrong or something...but it lasted after I was up and around. It felt like it was inflammatory and ran from under my right armpit around my right breast down my side and around my back. I went to the Dr. about it, and she thought it was either shingles or pleurisy. She treated me with antibiotics and hydrocodone for 10 days. The pain went away for about a week after I finished the antibiotics, then it returned. This cyle occurred for over 8 months. Xrays were taken, nothing showed up. During the same time, I found out I had thyroid cancer, was diagnosed in June of 2008, had a total thyroidectomy in July, and then the side pain returned in early August, this time I went to the hospital's ER and demanded that someone find out what was wrong and not to just send me home with pills. They admitted me and did a xray and CAT scan, then a bone scan....they found "a shadow" on my right rib, which was then described as a "bulge". They finally did a biopsy and found that the thyroid cancer had metastasized to my bone(s). Now, they're treating it with radiation treatments to lessen the pain and looking for other metastasis elsewhere in my body. I wish someone had listened to me 8 months ago when I told them it was more than a "muscle strain", "shingles", or other "off the top of my head" guess by trained professional doctors. I guess the morale of this story is to listen to your body and never give up trying to find answers when you know something's wrong. Good Luck To You All!

    FayeONeal
    Oh Faye,

    I am so sorry it took them so long to discover the cause of your pain. I pray they get things under control for you. My husband was diagnosed "wrong" when he had cancer for the first time. He is now a second time survivor. The first cancer was Ewings Sarcoma (rare for adults and very agressive). Then 10 years later, he was diagnosed with Head and Neck Cancer. Both cancers were unrelated to each other and occurred independently from each other. The sarcoma was caught early enough, but the doctor told him it was nothing until 6 months later when the lump really began to grow. His H&N cancer was found in stage 4 with metastasis in the lymph nodes. He underwent chemo and radiation and completed treatment 9 months ago. He is cancer free today, but it took intense, painful treatment. Just remenmber to keep listening to yourself, be persistant and active in your treatment. Today, there is much hope when fighting cancer. Treatments haave changed and improved so much over the past few years. Keep the faith, pray, and be diligent. We will pray for you too.

    Let me know how you are doing,

    Dragonfly2
  • FayeONeal
    FayeONeal Member Posts: 4
    Bone Metastasis
    I knew something was wrong when suddenly I had this ache that kept intensifying on my right side, including my breast and under my right arm. It just started one day out of the blue. I went to the Dr. and they said it was pleurisy, gave me some antibiotics and pain meds and sent me home...the antibiotics worked! Then, about a week after I finished the antibiotics, the pain returned, just as suddenly...one minute I was fine, the next it was there and it continued getting worse until I had to go back to the Dr. again...this time, she diagnosed it as possible "shingles", same treatment and sent me home. This went on with a variety of doctors for 8 months and was not found until I had surgery for my thyroid removal and they had taken a xray and CT scan of my chest. There was a "bulge" in one of my ribs, that after biopsy showed papillary/follicular thyroid metastasis.

    Even though my thyroid cancers were very small, it had already spread to my rib (and we suspect other areas, including my lungs). I am being treated now with focal radiation treatments to reduce the tumor and pain. In October, I will have the RAI-131 (Radioactive Iodine) uptake treatment to hopefully eradicate any remaining thyroid cancer cells in my body.

    It has all been very surreal to me. One day I was fine, the next I was told I had thyroid cancer, then bone cancer, and my life just exploded. To all of you out there that are just finding out that you have cancer. Do the research, talk (a lot) to family, friends, support groups, clergy...learn as much as you can about your cancer and possible treatments, then if you don't get the answers you think you deserve with one Doctor or hospital, go to others until you do.

    Most of all...if you "feel" intuitively that there is something wrong, follow that feeling and be proactive until someone listens and does the tests to see if you're right. You'd be surprised how many cancer patients "know" before they're diagnosed. God bless you all in your journey to survival...I hope to be there with you.
  • mom of jcs
    mom of jcs Member Posts: 7
    KPmom said:

    HI, I don't blame you for being scared. My tumor was in my tibia but I felt a deep bruise like pain in my tibia for about two weeks before having it checked out. By the end of the two weeks it had formed a lump over my bone where the tumor had broken free of the bone. Ask to have a biopsy done. It's really they only way to positively tell what is going on in there. Good luck!

    bone cancer signs
    what kind of doctor did you go to? I have been having a lot of problems, some are ovarian and are still in process of being discovered (laproscopy scheduled Oct. 7) I too have had a lot of leg pain. More in the left leg, but have had it in both. About 3 weeks ago, I noticed while rubbing my legs from the pain, there was a knot on my leg. It is located in the back of my leg, near the knee. I thought maybe it was a swollen lymph node or a blood clot. Then I noticed another one on the right leg also, in a similar spot, but a little higher. The one on the right felt a little tender at first, as if it were a bruise, but a bruise never showed up. As a matter of fact, you can't really see them, just feel them. They feel like a marble to me. About the same size, maybe a little larger. They feel a little larger than they did at first. The one on the left, feels like it may be a 2nd one beside it and the one on the right just feels like it's gotten bigger. When I press on them, I can feel the leg pain, that I feel the dull ache from. I also have lower back pain. Did you or anyone else experience any of this?
  • This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • margaretmary
    margaretmary Member Posts: 2
    FayeONeal said:

    Bone Metastasis
    I knew something was wrong when suddenly I had this ache that kept intensifying on my right side, including my breast and under my right arm. It just started one day out of the blue. I went to the Dr. and they said it was pleurisy, gave me some antibiotics and pain meds and sent me home...the antibiotics worked! Then, about a week after I finished the antibiotics, the pain returned, just as suddenly...one minute I was fine, the next it was there and it continued getting worse until I had to go back to the Dr. again...this time, she diagnosed it as possible "shingles", same treatment and sent me home. This went on with a variety of doctors for 8 months and was not found until I had surgery for my thyroid removal and they had taken a xray and CT scan of my chest. There was a "bulge" in one of my ribs, that after biopsy showed papillary/follicular thyroid metastasis.

    Even though my thyroid cancers were very small, it had already spread to my rib (and we suspect other areas, including my lungs). I am being treated now with focal radiation treatments to reduce the tumor and pain. In October, I will have the RAI-131 (Radioactive Iodine) uptake treatment to hopefully eradicate any remaining thyroid cancer cells in my body.

    It has all been very surreal to me. One day I was fine, the next I was told I had thyroid cancer, then bone cancer, and my life just exploded. To all of you out there that are just finding out that you have cancer. Do the research, talk (a lot) to family, friends, support groups, clergy...learn as much as you can about your cancer and possible treatments, then if you don't get the answers you think you deserve with one Doctor or hospital, go to others until you do.

    Most of all...if you "feel" intuitively that there is something wrong, follow that feeling and be proactive until someone listens and does the tests to see if you're right. You'd be surprised how many cancer patients "know" before they're diagnosed. God bless you all in your journey to survival...I hope to be there with you.

    you are in my prayers
    Hello,
    I am new to this site and I don't have cancer. But I watched my father die from it. He went to the doctor for a pinched nereve that turned out to be stage 4 bone cancer. I agree with you that you need to keep yelling until someone listens to you. I blame the doctor for this happening. He started to treat my dad back in april and it was not until I pitched a fit in may/june about an MRI. He was treating him with fetnyal patches and pain pills without an MRI. Then on June 19th he told my dad he has cancer but no need to be concerned it is treatable and he will be ok.
    Then on July 6th we went to see the cancer doctor and he showed my mom & I all the films and he was scared. He told us it was tooo far gone and all we could do is pray. He did give my dad radiation for the pain and we tried the chemo but nothing worked. Then on august21st we went to the doctor for a visit and were told he has 3 weeks to live,since nothing helped him. With that said we came home and the Hospice nurse came and told us it was only a matter of days. it was a slow and painful death for him and all of us he left behind. I just wish his doctor gad did more for him then what he did(the family doctor) maybe he would still be here.
    It all started in his lungs and then grew into his bones and so fourth.
    This is one journey,that I took and learned alot and judt sadened by the end result of it.

    Be Safe.
  • This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • Niecee
    Niecee Member Posts: 2

    you are in my prayers
    Hello,
    I am new to this site and I don't have cancer. But I watched my father die from it. He went to the doctor for a pinched nereve that turned out to be stage 4 bone cancer. I agree with you that you need to keep yelling until someone listens to you. I blame the doctor for this happening. He started to treat my dad back in april and it was not until I pitched a fit in may/june about an MRI. He was treating him with fetnyal patches and pain pills without an MRI. Then on June 19th he told my dad he has cancer but no need to be concerned it is treatable and he will be ok.
    Then on July 6th we went to see the cancer doctor and he showed my mom & I all the films and he was scared. He told us it was tooo far gone and all we could do is pray. He did give my dad radiation for the pain and we tried the chemo but nothing worked. Then on august21st we went to the doctor for a visit and were told he has 3 weeks to live,since nothing helped him. With that said we came home and the Hospice nurse came and told us it was only a matter of days. it was a slow and painful death for him and all of us he left behind. I just wish his doctor gad did more for him then what he did(the family doctor) maybe he would still be here.
    It all started in his lungs and then grew into his bones and so fourth.
    This is one journey,that I took and learned alot and judt sadened by the end result of it.

    Be Safe.

    Having pain in right arm and lots of muscle loss...
    I have been having a lot of pain in my upper right arm that is spreading into lower arm since I saw the doctor last week. He has order a CT scan of my spine as he thinks it's a pinched nerve..in the meantime I've been doing research and have gotten pretty worried as my thyroid specialist just had me undergo an ultrasound for nodules on my thyroid as I have a sizeable goiter. Really worried that this pain and muscle atrophy may be pointing to possible bone cancer! My bones are very tender to the touch. Any comments?
  • CypressCynthia
    CypressCynthia Member Posts: 4,014 Member
    symptoms
    I began having rib pain in 2005 after lifting furniture and boxes after Hurricane Katrina. The pain would come and go. PET scans and bone scans revealed 2-3 right rib fractures. The fractures and the hurricane slowed my diagnosis. By 2009, bone scan was calling right ribs "bone metastasis." My doctors and I had a hard time believing it as I had breast cancer 22 years ago! Finally biopsied 2 ribs in April 2009 and both were + breast cancer; estrogen+. I had radiation and am now on zometa and arimidex. Symptoms for me: intermittent rib pain and pressure deep in chest; 3 bouts of pneumonia in 4 years (never had had pneumonia before); intermittent shortness of breath; fractures.
  • rian1945
    rian1945 Member Posts: 1

    Hello. I also had an osteosarcoma on my left tibia. At first it ached a lot and felt bruised and after a short time a bump arose but it didn't look bruised, but it was warm to the touch and painful. I went in for xrays and was told that I had a mass and then I went in for a biopsy and was told that it was malignant. I went through chemo for a year and had 6 different operations to repair my leg. Luckily I had a fabulous doctor and my leg was saved thanks to his genius and a donor bone that was fed blood from my fibula grafted onto it. Now 10 years later you'd never know anything had happened to me--no limp, no pain, just a huge scar running the length of my shin on 3 sides.

    bone cancer signs
    I'm new to this site, but was looking online for info about bone cancer symptoms. For the last week I've had this ache on the upper part of my left thigh... kind of like a bruise, but the pain is 'intermittant' and there is no redness, discoloration, or lump. I keep hoping it is a muscle pain... but it doesn't feel like it. It doesn't hurt when you press on it. It actually feels like the bone is aching... intermitently?? I do have an Oncologist as I've had breast cancer, so I will eventually talk to him about this.
  • adrain91
    adrain91 Member Posts: 2
    MommyJ said:

    PET scan does not confirm all types of cancers,,one of them is mucinous carcinoma. Since a PET scan is expensive be sure to check the few types of cancers that don't highlight on the scan.

    IF U THINK U HAVE BONE
    IF U THINK U HAVE BONE CANCER THE BEST THING IS TO HAVE A MRI SCAN AND THAN A BIOPSY. I HAD THE MRI FRIST.
  • phoobear
    phoobear Member Posts: 39

    symptoms
    I began having rib pain in 2005 after lifting furniture and boxes after Hurricane Katrina. The pain would come and go. PET scans and bone scans revealed 2-3 right rib fractures. The fractures and the hurricane slowed my diagnosis. By 2009, bone scan was calling right ribs "bone metastasis." My doctors and I had a hard time believing it as I had breast cancer 22 years ago! Finally biopsied 2 ribs in April 2009 and both were + breast cancer; estrogen+. I had radiation and am now on zometa and arimidex. Symptoms for me: intermittent rib pain and pressure deep in chest; 3 bouts of pneumonia in 4 years (never had had pneumonia before); intermittent shortness of breath; fractures.

    bone and muscle joint pain
    i have lung cancer. i have been too the dr. and they keep telling me i have severe arthrhitis. the pain is all most more than you can take. pain pills do not help much. i am getting afraid this could be bone cancer. does it get in your upper arms hands and wrists actually all over your body including legs and feet. the doc gave me something in the back too block pain but only lasted 2 days. he thinks i need a pain pump. has anyone experienced this type of pain with inoperable nscell lung cancer. it really got bad after i finished 39 rads and 4 months of chemo. anything would be appreciated. god bless us all. we are in this together
  • harun86
    harun86 Member Posts: 1
    hope you get well

    hope you get well
  • Mom of 5
    Mom of 5 Member Posts: 1
    harun86 said:

    hope you get well

    hope you get well

    Lost & Worried
    As a child I was hardly ever sick much less did I miss a day of school. Now 13 yrs and 3 children later with 2 steps I have had 2 cyst removed of my fallopian tubes in 1999, diagnosed with Acute Pancreatitis in 2008, had a partial hysterectomy and endocmetreosis removed in May 2010, a cyst on my back removed in February 2011, 2 severe cases of pneumonia & bronchitis (in 2011) and started BP meds 4 months ago. Lately I have felt sluggish, tired, weak, short of breath and my bones hurt from neck to toes, restless with aches at night and severe headaches. After my feet and toes started tingling and falling asleep on me at any given time, I went to my Physician and insisted there was something wrong. He sent me tp My 1st visit this past Monday with the Dr. of Neurology who immediately took note of my symptoms. I have had a nerve test, EEG and 4 valves of blood drawn to test for 11 Blood test. I was put on 2 types of pain meds which is taken at bed and in morning.
    While waiting I have explored several sites including this one. Has any one had the same symptoms as I am having ? Any comments or advice is welcomed !
  • Sittingstraightwithstaff
    Sittingstraightwithstaff Member Posts: 2 Member
    phoobear said:

    bone and muscle joint pain
    i have lung cancer. i have been too the dr. and they keep telling me i have severe arthrhitis. the pain is all most more than you can take. pain pills do not help much. i am getting afraid this could be bone cancer. does it get in your upper arms hands and wrists actually all over your body including legs and feet. the doc gave me something in the back too block pain but only lasted 2 days. he thinks i need a pain pump. has anyone experienced this type of pain with inoperable nscell lung cancer. it really got bad after i finished 39 rads and 4 months of chemo. anything would be appreciated. god bless us all. we are in this together

    same symptoms as yours.....
    Hi, I joined this site because I feel like my doctor isn't quite hearing me and my symptoms that I tell him about. I had BC 2006/surgery & chemo in 2007. Recently, over the past 3-4 mths I've been feeling an achiness in my arms, wrists, small bones of my hands & feet, painful left hip with sciatica (at times), lumbar & neck pain. It's not getting better and I feel new symptoms arising in my bones all the time. I've been now noticing a small bump on my lower arm near my right wrist. Also noticed one on the other arm near the elbow. One day, the whole day, I experienced intermittent pain under my clavicle, but nothing really since then. I feel that the breast cancer may have taken a hold on my bones. Has anyone had similar symptoms and what became your diagnosis. This is really taking a toll on my emotions as well as I am alone in this and haven't told anyone until I get a diagnosis. To all of you out there, it's good not to feel alone anymore; should have joined sooner. Thanks.