Hi everyone. Hoping you’re all feeling strong and happy today.
I hope this is the right place to post this. I came to this forum to see if I could learn anything to help me make a decision. I’ve browsed and searched, but have to ask.
Background: I've had pain directly in my sternum for about 7 months. Most painful right in the center. Not unbearable, but very painful and constant. Doesn't hurt more when it's pressed, in fact almost feels better, and I frequently massage it and press down on the center of the bone to ease the pain. Doesn't hurt more with exercise or deep breathing. No cough, etc. But it hurts, and heart issues have been ruled out.
I worry about cancer because everyone in my family has had it, I grew up in a smoky house, and I smoked heavily for many years.
Chest x-ray looked OK, so Dr. suggested CT scan. Should be a no brainer, right? Just do it for peace of mind. Find out as soon as possible so I can be around for my precious 2 year old for years to come.
But I am agonizing over this because I have been x-rayed to death over the last few years for various things, and am petrified of radiation (I just know I will pay for it at some point, if I’m not already). My mom's painful leukemia was likely from radiation exposure. And CT scans = a large number of x-rays. I’m also scared of the iodine injection, as my mom was allergic to iodine, and they can’t predict ahead of time if you’ll go anaphylactic from iodine. I don’t want to hasten my demise by adding to my radiation baggage.
But CT seems to be the only good way to detect lung cancer. From what I’ve read, MRI isn’t as accurate for lungs, and I can’t find much info on effectiveness of sputum testing.
SO…I’m wondering does my kind of pain ring familiar to anyone with lung cancer (sternum, no cough, etc.)? If this is totally inconsistent with lung cancer, then that’s one against the CT.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience.
Vicki
