So today - IV steroids, prescription steroids, fentanyl patch, percoset - scheduling biopsy, mammogram, scans, etc. So overwhelming. She’s just happy to finally have pain under control and a dr who is taking her seriously. No verdict on is it cancer yet.
My father was being treated for stage 4 prostate cancer with extensive bone mets. After nearly 2 years of good treatment and quality of life, he began to experience severe back pain and foot drop on one side. He had a CAT scan but unfortunately, no one read the scan or sent /delivered the report/disk to his oncologist for almost three months. By then, my father was too ill to swallow the expensive medication we got to treat the cancer that had spread to his abdominal lymph nodes. The oncologist said that the medicine would most likely have reversed his symptoms in about a week. Work with a great oncologist. Treatments are being developed/improved constantly.
I hear so many frightening diagnosis stories through my online support groups. I also hear of people with Stage 4 cancer achieving NED, sometimes after multiple procedures and chemo stints, and living well for a long time.
My best to your friend. I think that anything to do with the spine is scary, personally. It sounds like she is now in good hands.
@ams5796 glad to hear that you are doing well. Rectal cancer is a nasty thing. I had my post-chemo scans this morning and will pick up the report tomorrow morning on my way down to Thanksgiving with the family. Prepared to deal with just about anything, but hope I don’t have to…now.
Best wishes, @Consolation.
Sending you good thoughts, Consolation.
This is the problem with our new healthcare laws. We’ve moved from preventative care to this. It’s shameful.
Same thing happened with my MIL. By the time they understood it was a tumor it was too late to operate. She died less than a year after they identified the tumors. I think these situations are quite rare though.
As someone who has worked in the healthcare industry for nearly 30 years, the dysfunction never ceases to amaze me. Specifically with regard to bad pain…one can always go to the ER. In a normally functioning industry this would not be the answer, but often one can get all the scans/tests needed to diagnose the problem, or at least get a good start, with an ER trip. It can be expensive, and some insurance won’t even cover certain ER trips these days, so understand those ramifications first.
As an example, my D had a migraine with aura in 5th or 6th grade, which is uncommon. We went to her ped first, where she sat in a dark room for awhile. Meanwhile, I called a physician friend who said D will need an MRI and to take her to the ER because that is the fastest way to get an MRI…the only ped neuro in his hospital had a 3-4 month wait for appts (there aren’t many ped neuros, even in major metro areas). For us, that was an easy decision…off to the ER, MRI given within a couple of hours, all normal, made ped neuro follow up visit 3 months later. Mom and dad could breathe easy and no one during the ER visit/MRI suggested we had made the wrong decision. I have no idea if that visit cost more than it would have via the traditional route, because there is no way to compare charges across treatment settings and providers, etc., but that’s another topic for another day!
@Consolation Rooting for good news.
The cost of an MRI to the insurance co - $700. The cost of my PT, referrals to multiple specialists, etc. - likely in the thousands of $$. Then, after that was exhausted, an MRI was ordered that pinpointed the issue. MRIs have been around for ages… it is time for the goons at the insurance companies who disapprove MRIs right off the bat to move into the twentieth century, at the very least.
Totally agree. My friend spent 7 weeks taking mild pain pills and muscle relaxers that did not help and doing PT that did not help. She spent money on co-pays for numerous dr appts and the PT and the useless prescriptions. She used up numerous sick and vacation days. Now the MRI finally shows the serious nature of the situation. I wish she had just gone to the ER weeks ago - stated she was in excruciating pain - and had the MRI. I think especially as women, we are conditioned to “behave” and not make waves and be polite and play by the rules, etc. and it does not serve us well.
Good news: post chemo scans still show no signs of cancer: no enlarged lymph nodes, no masses, nothing suspicious.
Now lets hope it stays that way!
BTW, when I had an MRI in 2010 the cost was supposedly $3,000.
Oh, I am SOOO happy to read this! Have been thinking about you all weekend.
Consolation, thank goodness!
My Sis-in-law’s FIL was brought to the ER with severe back pain. He had shunned doctors for years and they found cancer throughout his vertebrae, as @CheddarcheeseMN described. It had metastisized there from prostrate cancer.
So, he is stage 4 but he’s still doing well 2 years later. I’m pretty amazed at that. He’s traveled quite and bit since and whatever drugs and chemo he’s taken have worked really well.
Great news, Consolation!
I had serious back pain after a car accident, and I went through PT for several months. During my visits, I was often in the office with another patient who sounds like the OP’s friend - initially went to her regular doctor, was told painkillers/muscle relaxers, then PT. It was our Physical Therapist who noticed that the “angry spot” that was so tender was not loosening up, and she sent her back to her doctor with a note saying “get it checked out better” so she finally got the MRI and they found a mass. While it was not cancerous, due to the size and the pain it caused her, they removed it surgically, and sent her back for PT as part of the recovery. So she came back to PT as I was “graduating”.
Our Physical Therapist runs back and forth between patients, and she will pull curtains around folks and offer a private room if patients ask, but most of the patients are more than willing to talk about their progress and medical history with others in the room. It made me wonder if the patient privacy rules were being followed. But I wouldn’t change our Physical Therapist with anyone - she turned my agony into something I could live with, and then to just a tightness, until finally I am “back” to normal.
My friend is still in the testing phase - biopsy of the mass on her spine Monday - and then finally the results.
D1 used to get very bad migraine headaches when she was in 5-6th grade. One time it was so bad half of her body was paralyzed. Her dr ordered a MRI right away to see if there was possible brain tumor. The insurance wouldn’t approve it because they wanted her to do other testings before they approved MRI. I went ahead to schedule for a MRI anyway because I was prepared to pay out of pocket. I then called our Governor’s office to let them know what my insurance was doing (or not doing). I still remember as they were rolling D1 into the MRI room the receptionist informed me the insurance company had just approved the procedure. It was the only time my government official has done anything for me.
I asked the insurance company how they would know better to diagnose my daughter than her own daughter. At one point I asked the insurance rep what she would do if it was her daughter. I used the same line with the governor’s office.
Hi - her first round of results are back and she has stage 4 melanoma spread throughout her body. Back biopsy Monday. Plan is no chemo, treat with new drugs. Cancer sucks.