Oncologist Appointment & PET Scan Results

I met with my oncologist this past Tuesday to discuss the results of my PET Scan. I was shocked to hear that I have two tumors in my neck, not just one. I found them early, so they are small, 0.9 x 0.5 cm and 0.5 x 0.5 cm. So small, under 1 cm, that they usually wouldn’t have done a biopsy on them, but I had already gone to my surgeon to have the initial ultrasound and biopsy done and had received the results already. I am happy that I took that initiative and went to see my surgeon as soon as I found the tumors so that I found out sooner rather than later that my cancer had returned.

The spot on my rib is still causing concern; it has been determined that it is a lesion that was not on my previous PET Scan in 4/2019. So with the fact that it was not on the last PET Scan and the combination of findings from the recent PET Scan, they are concerned that it is a solitary bone metastasis. My oncologist ended up ordering a biopsy of my rib after our discussion. So next Thursday, I am going to the hospital to have a biopsy of the lesion done. I will have both a local drug and anesthesia for the procedure. The procedure will take about an hour, and I will be in recovery for about 2 hours as they want to keep a close eye on me for bleeding and excessive pain. Unfortunately, I have to go through this biopsy to know if the lesion is cancer or not because it could change my treatment plan if it is positive for cancer, and I then have two different locations on my body with cancer.

Because I am having the biopsy done this coming week, I cannot continue planning with my radiation oncologist at this time. It is good that she now has the images she needed to determine my scope of treatment and if it is possible to treat the tumors in my neck, but the biopsy results could change everything. The lesion on my rib is on my 8th rib, right under my left breast, so as far as I know, it is located in the previous scope of treatment done in 2019/2020.

So my oncologist and I discussed what would happen if I couldn’t have radiation treatment. As far as my neck is concerned, he doesn’t want me to have to undergo surgery, but it is a possibility that I may have to go that route. When it comes to my rib, he didn’t want to speculate on it much. I asked him if it is common for there to be one tumor in one location when it comes to bone cancer, and he said it is unusual but not impossible.

Yesterday my husband remembered that I had pain in my rib several months ago. While we were discussing it, I remembered that I mentioned it to my surgeon when I saw him for a follow-up appointment in September. I pointed to the location of the pain and told him that I felt a bump there as well. When he felt the spot that was hurting me, he said, “that is your rib,” and I told him that I didn’t realize it was my rib because I had never been able to feel my rib so easily when I weighed much more than I do now. He asked if I remembered bumping into something or hurting it somehow, and I couldn’t recall doing anything like that. So I felt it yesterday, and when I pressed on it, it still hurt, and the bump was slightly more significant. So now that I remember that conversation with my surgeon, I am very anxious to get the biopsy done and meet with my oncologist to discuss the results and what will happen next.

I know this might not be common, but it seems that my body will cause me random pain, and then I find a tumor one to two weeks later. It has happened to me three times in a row, so I can say without a doubt that I will never, ever ignore any pain I might have in the future, especially if it is around my bones. My experiences are listed below; I don’t believe that this is a coincidence anymore.

Pain in my lower neck, to shoulder, to the shoulder blade = breast cancer

Pain from my outer ear, up the side of my head, to the top of my head = breast cancer in the lymph nodes in my neck

Pain in the 8th rib under my breast = most likely more cancer, not sure of the type due to location

I will update again next Thursday, depending on how much pain I am in, or Friday about my biopsy. Thank you for being here!