Anyone who has metastic breast cancer please help

Hi

 Can u lovely people help me please. 

 I have since March been having tests to see why I have lost over 2 stone in 6 months without dieting or anything. I had a chest xray which I was told would be a cpl weeks for results but now this was done on a Friday and my gp called the following tuesday and said the results were back and she was sending me for a chest  ultrasound which turned out to be a ct scan yesterday.  I have other symptoms.  Fatigue. Can sleep for days on end if I allowed myself to

   Been seeing a physio due to joint and muscle pain in legs and knees from all the mess but he said that it's coming from my pelvic area.  I have had a pain in my lower back but just put it down as normal back pain.

So what I

 Asking I guess is for those that had been diagnosed with metastic breast cancer ,how did you discover it  and what tests did u have

 

  • Hello Veroni1

    I'm sorry to hear that you've had some ongoing health concerns which are being investigated. It's understandable that you're feeling anxious about what may be causing these symptoms and if MBC may be the answer. 

    Hopefully the CT scan that you've recently had will shed some light on things and help your GP to refer you to the relevant specialist to try and improve things for you. 

    I can see from another of your posts that you mention it's difficult to talk through your fears and concerns with your family and the moment and so I wonder if you might find it helpful to chat things through with one of our nurses. I'm sure they will be happy to offer any advice and support they can. If you'd like to talk with them they're available Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm on 0808 800 4040. 

    Keep in touch and let us know how you get on. 

    Best wishes, 
    Jenn
    Cancer Chat moderator 

  • Hi there

    Mine was discovered by a MRI after months of having back pain. My GP had put it down to arthritis and did nothing but send me to a physio! Which of course did nothing. It was the physio who arranged for the MRI as she was surprised no tests had been done. The MRI showed multiple tumours in the spine.

    Had you already had breast cancer, or why do you think it could be bone mets?

  • Hi , yes I had invasive ductal caricoma that had spread to the lymph nodes under my arm so had surgery chemo then radiation treatment  then because mine was oestrogen and progesterone positive I have had to have  exemestate which was changed to tamoxifen cause of the bone and muscle pain I was having. 

    I don't know where and if it has spread but I have a feeling it has . The main areas I'm concerned with is my bones and lungs as these have been playing up. I attend the physio  for the pain in my knee joints and he has said that it may be coming from my pelvis area.  Also I had covid in September however since then I have had a nasty cough and nearly a chest infection every month which needed 2 loads of a/b and steroids every time. 

     You sound a lot like my experience with  my oncologist  as I have not seen him since feb 2021 when I finished radiation therapy  and was put on the one strengthener infusion and the zoladex injection. 

      I had no follow up scans or anything to make sure cancer had not spread. The only scan I had was before the chemo started was the bone density scan. 

     So I am a little worried how this will go. 

    I kind of tell myself that it has spread so that when the results come I am prepared for bad news whereas if I stay positive it will be a blow to find out it has spread.  We'll that's my way of coping.   

     Did you have an inkling that urs had spread or did it come out of the blue

     I also was told I had arthritis in the wrists knees and neck. So  I'm curious how you handled it all. Sorry if it's to hard to talk about. I understand. 

     Take care and thanks for taking the time to read and reply. X

  • HI  How are you doing? Have you had any results back yet? 
  • Hi kay-dYeah the tests blood test bowel screening  ultrasound of abdomen and St scan of chest were all clear. It's a mystery. Doc has no clue what it could be but when she weighed me again  she noted that in the 2 months since she last weighed me I had again lost 7kg. I had to contact her as I felt a lump in the right armpit.  So she checked for results of my mammagram I had done two weeks ago and that was all clear however she is sending me back to the breast clinic just to reassure me. Honestly I'm perplexed as to what the heck is causing this. I'm lucky I had been over. weight to begin with . Had I been around 11 stone then I would be a bag of bones now as I have lost in total since diagnosed with cancer 4 and a half stone  I might have a wee word with the physio to see if he would order a scan of my knees and legs cos he did say there was damage  and with it now in my right knee which is really painful 24/7   would be ideal. I will keep this post updated so I can see what others  suggest I do. X  How are u doing. Have not spoken to u in a while.   X
  • Veroni

    im so happy all was clear for you hope you are feeling ok 

    love Lara 

  • Hi Veroni1,

    I am pleased that you have been given the all clear, but I know with getting yourself into a stress over it, things would not have calmed for you just yet, so I hope you get some more reassurance from the breast Clinic, and I also hope that they are continuing to investigate what the issue is, as I know how important it is to have some understanding of what is going on and at least a name for what is going on. I am so pleased though that on the whole, the more horrible thing has been ruled out.

    I am on my own whirlwind tour of the Hospital at the moment, and just waiting on results from a CT scan I had yesterday, they said to chase it up in a week if I have not heard anything from the surgeon who asked for it, as it was needed to know if they are going to open me up or not!

    Take care and hope to hear from you soon, I hope you do not have to wait too long for your Breast Clinic Appointment. x

  • These threads are ace. It will help calm some people down. So many people come on here with the same worries. We had these exact concerns when my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had had a horrid cough for months on end that I had been badgering her to go see about, and the weeks leading up to the scans, and when she found a lump she was suffering from back issues.

    Luckily, that horrid cough was allergies, and her back pain was mechanical. Phew. So many people type all these symptoms into google and come up with stage 4 cancer. Because that's all Google can do, lump all symptoms together. But as in your case and my wife's case, they were all separate issues. When we are thinking logically, which is difficult upon finding a lump, we realise the human body is vast, and many things can go wrong at once without them all being connected.

  • Hi. Well as I have not been on here in over a year I will  give an update. I had the ct scan return saying chest and lungs clear.however I still continued to lose the weight and again  one of my chemo nurses got back on the phone to my gp who then done more tests. Nothing came back that was abnormal. Then in June this year I ended up in a and e with suspected appendicitis.  Had xray and while waited they gave me 2 cocodamol 30/500 then an hour later because I was still in a lot of pain they gave me orimorph. Only to be told not my appendix and to see gp for tests.  So of I went. Doc originaly thought that my symptoms were diverticulitis  Had blood test xraysx and a stool sample.  Well doc called me back and as I missed it I called the health center but was 27 in line. The gp surgery is only down the st so I went down thinking it's  faster.  Dr took me into the room and told me it looked like I may have bowel cancer as my q fit results came back a whopping 379.  So 2 days later  had ct scan of my body. Doc called me yesterday and told me I have a mass on my colon and 1 lymph node is big next to it.  I'm supposed to be getting married in febuary but depending on the results of the biopsy as we don't know if it's bowel cancer or breast metatastic  cancer on the bowel we may be bringing the wedding forward to late october or early November. 

  • Hi. Well as I have not been on here in over a year I will  give an update. I had the ct scan return saying chest and lungs clear.however I still continued to lose the weight and again  one of my chemo nurses got back on the phone to my gp who then done more tests. Nothing came back that was abnormal. Then in June this year I ended up in a and e with suspected appendicitis.  Had xray and while waited they gave me 2 cocodamol 30/500 then an hour later because I was still in a lot of pain they gave me orimorph. Only to be told not my appendix and to see gp for tests.  So of I went. Doc originaly thought that my symptoms were diverticulitis  Had blood test xraysx and a stool sample.  Well doc called me back and as I missed it I called the health center but was 27 in line. The gp surgery is only down the st so I went down thinking it's  faster.  Dr took me into the room and told me it looked like I may have bowel cancer as my q fit results came back a whopping 379.  So 2 days later  had ct scan of my body. Doc called me yesterday and told me I have a mass on my colon and 1 lymph node is big next to it.  I'm supposed to be getting married in febuary but depending on the results of the biopsy as we don't know if it's bowel cancer or breast metatastic  cancer on the bowel we may be bringing the wedding forward to late october or early November.