Delayed Rib Pain After SBRT

[John347]

I had 5 rounds of SBRT to a rib met discovered through PSMA scan.I had no SE during or after the radiation therapy except for mild fatigue.

But a few days ago I started experiencing pain in my rib cage area where I had the radiation. Not serious pain just achiness. The last round of SBRT treatment was about 2 months ago. Is such delayed radiation SE normal? Hope to hear from anyone with similar experience.

Or, could it be the discomfort is not due to the radiation? Thanks.

[Abcsoup73]

Hi John347, have you reached out to your radiation oncology care team? Or do you have a follow up with them where you can ask about your discomfort?

[John347 in reply to Abcsoup73]

Hi Abcsoup,Thanks for your reply.

I'm scheduled to consult with my oncologist only in August. I will probably email him earlier if the discomfort gets worse.

[Scottybear]

same here…. It’s my right 9th rib and gets sore after long drives etc. I had SBRT in 2019.

[John347 in reply to Scottybear]

Thank you Scottybear for sharing your experience.

[Tagger]

Hi John347.

I had cyber knife radiation to several mets nearly 3 years ago, one being on a lower rib.

I have had intermittent bone pain (slight and dull) on the area concerned. My MO says that is normal and basically told me to "suck it up". If it got worse take painkillers.

Recent scans have shown the mets have no PSMA activity on the spots, so radiation has worked, so trying not to complain too much! Glad to stop the cancer.

Good luck with it.

[John347 in reply to Tagger]

Thank you Tagger for your reply. It's good to know what I'm experiencing is quite normal and hopefully it'll soon pass.

[Benkaymel]

I had a single round of 8Gy to my rear right 8th rib a few months ago. I had severe pain that evening which reduced over a couple of weeks. I still get some discomfort occasionally which I assumed was because the single zap didn't kill all of the cancer.

[John347 in reply to Benkaymel]

Thank you Benkaymel for sharing your experience.

[Seasid]

Is your pain intermittent or ongoing?

I didn't have radiation at all, but from time to time I get muscle cramps in my ribcage what I believe is a sign of dehydration. Usually go away if I am well hydrated. Make sure you drink plenty of water. Are you taking water pills?

[John347 in reply to Seasid]

It is ongoing ...on the surface of the skin where the radiation entered the body. It's not too serious. I'm just surprised that during and immediately after the 5 sessions of SBRT, I experienced little SE.... only now 2 months later I'm experiencing this pain.

[EdBar]

I had SBRT to a rib back in January and it was sore afterwards and is still tender from time to time.

Ed

[John347 in reply to EdBar]

Thank you EdBar for your sharing.

[wilcoxsaw]

I had 15 rounds of proton beam treatment to a spot on my sixth rib on the left side 2 and a half years ago, I had no pain during treatment and have experienced nothing post treatment. Because the proton particles stopped at the rib and did not affect any other structures beneath such as the lung Etc perhaps that that's why I have experienced no side effects.

[John347 in reply to wilcoxsaw]

Happy for you Wilcoxsaw that your treatments went well with no SE. Thanks for sharing.

[Cactus-Jack]

Hi John,

Had radiation on 11th rib left side in 2021 and several months later I experienced minor pain in that area (scared the daylights out of me). Pain was short lived but re occurs intermittently. Spoke to MO and was re assured that it is normal. My PSA continues to be undetectable.

Wishing you the best and God Bless

[John347 in reply to Cactus-Jack]

Thank you Cactus-Jack for your reply. It's reassuring knowing the pain I'm experiencing is normal and temporary.

[Blueribbon63]

Thank you for posting about radiotherapy and its SE. I am in the exact same situation except I am debating whether to go for SBRT on two of my mets right lower ribs. The dull pain I feel now is almost constant but by far it isn't excruciating. My oncologist recommended getting focused RT to control the pain, I am so afraid that it could made worse after, as it looks it is happening with you. I am going to follow for comments on your post, and hope you feel better soon.

[John347 in reply to Blueribbon63]

Hi Blueribbon63,I wish to clarify that the pain I feel is not in my ribs but rather on the areas of the skin above the ribs where I was irradiated. It's probably 'radiation burn' and the pain will cease once the skin heals in a few weeks.

I think you should proceed with the SBRT to the rib mets as from what I've read it's pretty effective in stopping your aches and any growth of the tumor cells.

I wish you all the best in your treatments going forward. God bless.

[Blueribbon63]

Hello John, thank you for the clarification and advise. I appreciate it.

[Gdheals]

Yes. I too got rib pain from the radiation to my spine. The pain got worse after treatment was done.4674