Good news comes my way, mostly.

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DSFrey
DSFrey Member Posts: 69
edited June 2014 in Kidney Cancer #1

Turns out this second batch of antibiotics has greatly quieted my cough and the dizzyness is starting to subside. So looks like my GP was right in suspecting it was a simple yet stubborn sinus infection causing my grief. Also, had my chest ct and it was all clear, lungs were unremarkable. Also finally got my first appointment scheduled with an oncologist. My GP thinks I should ask the oncologist about getting a PET scan, but I expect the oncologist will disagree and just send me home with the reassurance that I don't need his services since my cancer was completely removed at an early stage. Now I know curiosity killed the cat as they say, and I'm nothing if not curious, but I was poking around in my latest CT and I came across a slice of my spine that was clearly unlike any other slice. Makes me really wish I knew a radiolgist that could give me free advice about what I'm seeing as I know I'm not trained to interpret these images. So just on the off chance that one of you guys reading this is more versed than me with such interpretation I've posted the image below. I'm really just wondering if I should bring up this thing when I visit my oncologist. My back doesn't particularly hurt in that area. I of course tried comparing what I see here  with images on the internet of RCC spinal mets. I noticed the spinal mets tend to have rounded borders, and this mark on my spine looks more jagged to me, nothing round about it. So its my uneducated guess this is not something to worry about, maybe its just some old injury I've long forgotten about. Maybe everyone has something like this on their spine. That said, I'm still wondering if I should at least just mention it to my oncologist and see what he thinks. What do you think?

 

Looks like a bit of this vertebrae is missing

 

 Edit: I've now seen enough examples of perfectly healthy vertebrae with this type of feature that I'm convinced that its nothing to worry about or concern my doctor about.

Comments

  • aamdsi
    aamdsi Member Posts: 284
    #2
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    good news!

    Do not know how to read the xray, but am really glad that the cough and such just turned out to be a sinus infection!  One worry to "x" off the list. 8-)

     

  • JoanneNH
    JoanneNH Member Posts: 115
    #3
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    I would definitely bring it

    I would definitely bring it to the attention of your oncologist for interpretation.  Please let us know what he says.   

  • Galrim
    Galrim Member Posts: 307
    #4
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    Its good to be vigilant but...

    ....dont take it to the point where you stress yourself without reason.

    Dont take this wrong way DS, but reading your recent posts and relating your vigilance to your histology/recurrence and metastatic disease risk, I get the feeling that you are now scrutenizing the data in your journal to a point where its maybe not the healthiest thing to do mentally.

    The above is a very personal comment, I know, so youre in your good right to ask me to bugger off... :-)

    /G

  • DSFrey
    DSFrey Member Posts: 69
    #5
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    Galrim said:

    Its good to be vigilant but...

    ....dont take it to the point where you stress yourself without reason.

    Dont take this wrong way DS, but reading your recent posts and relating your vigilance to your histology/recurrence and metastatic disease risk, I get the feeling that you are now scrutenizing the data in your journal to a point where its maybe not the healthiest thing to do mentally.

    The above is a very personal comment, I know, so youre in your good right to ask me to bugger off... :-)

    /G

    Its to be expected I presume

    Let me let you in on a little secret, I'm a bored lonely man with severe social anxiety. And I feel guilty for even using this resource. To me I have only two options, connect in any way I can, or disconnect. Connect with what? Anything that makes me feel alive, or at least noticed, worthy of life. So I am quite aware of how unhealthy mentally I am. But its the best I can do. I tried the free clinics, those were a joke didn't help at all, they simply didn't have the resources. A prescription fo prozac and quaterly visits to the doc just to get prescription renewed, no counseling of any kind, just doesn't cut it. And my medical insurance will not cover behavioral health except for drug and alcohol rehab, neither of which I have to deal with. So yes, if you can't indulge me in my vigilance, please bugger off with the mental health help.

  • APny
    APny Member Posts: 1,995 Member
    #6
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    DSFrey said:

    Its to be expected I presume

    Let me let you in on a little secret, I'm a bored lonely man with severe social anxiety. And I feel guilty for even using this resource. To me I have only two options, connect in any way I can, or disconnect. Connect with what? Anything that makes me feel alive, or at least noticed, worthy of life. So I am quite aware of how unhealthy mentally I am. But its the best I can do. I tried the free clinics, those were a joke didn't help at all, they simply didn't have the resources. A prescription fo prozac and quaterly visits to the doc just to get prescription renewed, no counseling of any kind, just doesn't cut it. And my medical insurance will not cover behavioral health except for drug and alcohol rehab, neither of which I have to deal with. So yes, if you can't indulge me in my vigilance, please bugger off with the mental health help.

    It’s a shame your insurance

    It’s a shame your insurance won’t cover behavioral counseling because social anxiety is very common and they can do a lot to help you with it. Almost everyone is socially anxious to one degree or another; yours just happens to be more severe, according to you. Most universities with doctoral programs in clinical psychology offer behavioral counseling on a sliding scale of what people can afford. Have you tried looking into that?

  • todd121
    todd121 Member Posts: 1,448 Member
    #7
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    DSFrey said:

    Its to be expected I presume

    Let me let you in on a little secret, I'm a bored lonely man with severe social anxiety. And I feel guilty for even using this resource. To me I have only two options, connect in any way I can, or disconnect. Connect with what? Anything that makes me feel alive, or at least noticed, worthy of life. So I am quite aware of how unhealthy mentally I am. But its the best I can do. I tried the free clinics, those were a joke didn't help at all, they simply didn't have the resources. A prescription fo prozac and quaterly visits to the doc just to get prescription renewed, no counseling of any kind, just doesn't cut it. And my medical insurance will not cover behavioral health except for drug and alcohol rehab, neither of which I have to deal with. So yes, if you can't indulge me in my vigilance, please bugger off with the mental health help.

    Ask!

    I think if you see something that you don't understand, you should ask your doctor about it.

    And by the way, I'm also a bored, lonely man with some pretty severe anxiety, so you're not the only one. Please post and push back on the guilt. It's a step in the right direction. It's great to notice the guilt or fear, and just move ahead anyway and frequently it melts away. That's my experience anyways. Sometimes I can't do it. Sometimes I can.

    All the best,

    Todd

  • Phredswife
    Phredswife Member Posts: 162
    #8
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    Vent away!

    Hi DSFrey. I am also someone who has social anxiety and I know it sucks. I'm glad you have this forum where you can vent your worries about your cancer diagnosis. That is what this forum is for and we are there to support you. I think its awesome how honest you are about how you feel. I for one will be cheering everytime you get good news and worrying about you if you  ever don't. Take careSmile Melissa 

    Ps. I am only a caregiver and I feel guilty being on here too!

  • Jojo61
    Jojo61 Member Posts: 1,309 Member
    #9
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    Hi DS,
    Glad the antibiotics

    Hi DS,

    Glad the antibiotics worked. I know a lot of people this year have had trouble getting rid of sinus infections. Nasty! Now, I don't know much about bone mets, etc. but it never hurts to ask a professional!

    I have some social anxieties myself...but they are very mild. I am sorry that you suffer with that and the result is being lonely. Please consider us your friends and your family. We are here for you. You are a part of our lives. Same goes to you too, Todd!!

    I find this forum my calming place. I haven't had much time to be on here lately, but it always feels good to be here - despite the reason we are here!

    Big Hugs

    Jojo

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