Bones

[janeths466]

Happy Saturday everyone. So once again I am here with my fear. Mom had her lobectomy 3 months ago doing amazing. Her ankles have hurt but it has been there even before she had surgery. Now her knee has been hurting for two days. I am so afraid of bone mets. Can it spread that quick if it was?

Our appointment 2 months ago said no lymphnode spread. But we have not visited the oncologist yet. She is active and livin her life as if nothing happened but I get scared with the back pain, knee, and heels. She is also in dyalsis so they said she may be more delicate with her bones. But still.

[Denzie Moderator Volunteer]

The steroids they gave her was hard on her bones. It would be wise to stop looking up symptoms on line. Each and every symptom a person has, if you constantly look them up, you will find can be a symptom of cancer. 99.9999% of the time they aren’t. You’re feeding your anxiety and making it worse.

Your mom is probably worried about you and your need to make every little thing cancer may be causing her more stress.

It seems the recent medicine change is not working. Please call you doctor and ask about using something different to help your anxiety. You need to be able to enjoy life and stop finding cancer in every little itch or sneeze.

[Lovey1000 in reply to Denzie]

Denzie you are something else, a true blessing, I have been they so much last 2 years and when I get all freaked out I go ack and read whatever you have to say and then for some reason I feel very strong again...my 90 day mri for Mets is October 22 and scan to the chest also after my last one was grrrreat but now back to that fear and this time I’m not doing it. Stress is a killer!! Thanks Densie for everything you bring to the table!!

[Denzie Moderator Volunteer in reply to Lovey1000]

Thank you for your kind words.

[JanetteR57]

I know it is so hard but try not to think every symptom your mum has is related to her lobectomy. As you say, she had aches in her ankles before her surgery but prior to her surgery scans and blood tests would have been done to check for spread. Surgery is more often used on those whose cancer has not spread and is in early stages. Good on her for living an active life - I had a left lobectomy in Dec 2010 and was back at work by the end march 2011 and swimming. I have gone onto swim much much further and more often than I did before my surgery - one year swimming 989 miles throughout the year and 360 lengths in one single session! We're all different but if she's active and living her life as if nothing has happened, then it sounds to me that like me and others, she is trying to get on with her life. As you can see it's almost 9 years since I turned up in A&E and the 'lesion' (7cm tumour) was found in my lung. The best thing anyone who has had lung surgery (and many other conditions) can do is to keep active - to redevelop lung capacity and recover pulmonary function. This may mean that a person is more active than prior to the surgery which may result in aches from muscles or even twinges from nerves disturbed during surgery but it's still better to be active than not as well as the improved mental outlook physical activity provides. I found a book 'cancer is a word not a sentence' by Dr Rob Buckman helped me put it in perspective to stop thinking every chest infection I had afterwards (and I've had several that have had me hospitalised up to 14 nights at a time) was related to the cancer. Can you get any support for yourself? Have you tried speaking to a lung cancer nurse or counsellor for reassurance? It can be an added burden for our loved ones to see relatives/friends worrying themselves into a frenzy... hope you can be reassured soon. Wishing your mum a good continued recovery. Good luck.

[Glynn2890]

Notify dr & get a Cat scan asap ♥️

[Marian54]

As a former dialysis LPN I recall many of our patients had bone pain. Your moms diet is very important and her kidneys are no longer doing there job. Excess phosphorus is not removed in dialysis so it’s important she follows the prescribed diet and has all the calcium [ tums) as is ordered by her doctor. When phosphorus levels are high to compensate calcium from the bone is excreted to help rid the body of this excess. This leads to weak bones. Taking calcium after meals is VERY IMPORTANT!!!!

Most people have no idea how much the body is effected by kidney failure.

Patients become anemic as the bone marrow stops making enough red blood cells.

Blood pressure is also controlled by the kidneys and often is high.

High potassium levels can stop the heart so those foods with high levels need to be avoided.

Since the kidneys are not working correctly excess fluid develops and needs to be carefully monitored between treatments where it is removed.

Many patients develop gout from the excess Uric acid din the blood.

There is a better chance that her renal disease is causing her symptoms and not her cancer. We had several patients that lived relatively healthy active lives on dialysis but understanding the importance of following fluid and food restrictions made all the difference as well as taking prescribed medications.

I’ll be praying for you and your mom.