Guest bbypookins Posted May 23, 2004 Share Posted May 23, 2004 Hi everone- Mom is doing OK these days except for serious pain she is having in her right breast, armpit and arm. She has trouble using her arm at all. The pain is severe and the vicodin doesn't help (she takes 2 every four hours, and watches the clock). She says she feels like there is something moving in/under her breast and that the pain radiates from there down her arm. It's not a constant pain, until she moves just right and then it doesn't go away for hours. They have done an MRI, which showed nothing. Last week they did a bone scan but we haven't gotten the results back yet. They also did a CAT scan, but that is just to see how the Iressa is doing. I'm very worried about this pain she is having. She moans all the time and it's frightening. I've heard others talk about a similar pain, but only after surgery, and Mom has not had any surgery. I'm concerned about lymph nodes. Would they be able to see something on the CAT scan? Any advice or comments welcome. Hope you are all doing well. Kim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamie Posted May 23, 2004 Share Posted May 23, 2004 Im no doc, but if your worried about her lymph., has she had a PET recently? I would think if there was anything there, it would light up. Again, Im no doctor, just my thought. Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Cheryl- Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Bobby, The surgeon makes a flap out of the breast muscle to close the incision after the surgery when removing lobes of the lung. Did your mom have this procedure done? Many have pain and numbness following surgery for some time. Cheryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nushka Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Keep asking questions until you get an answer. Without the surgery in the picture there must be something going on. Is it possible that she hurt a muscle in her chest lifting something? I vote for the PET scan. Nina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoniRobertWilson Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 My husband is also experiencing severe pain. His is more in his shoulder/arm. We found out last week his pain was caused by 2 1/2 liters of fluid in his body cavity. It showed up on an x-ray - his right lung was collapsed due to the fluid. They drained it but tonight the pain is back and it is severe. HIs pain meds don't touch it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 We never did figure out what was causing the pain; it could have been the tumor swelling wider, it could have been bone mets, but it was not fluid. The most likely explanation was just the shifting of her anatomy as the tumor and the treatments so drastically affected the lung function that everything was being pushed or pulled in different spots than usual. The medicine that helped her the most with pain was celebrex, which is usually for arthritis, I think. No doctor either, but that was our experience. Good luck. Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy RN Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Get the Dr to order something different for the pain. There is no reason for her to hurt like that! I saw where you wrote she had mets to the bone, maybe that is the pain? You need to insist she see's the Dr and get the results from her tests and if nothing shows up then have him/her refer you to a pain management clinic. There are lots of ways to manage this pain. Good luck, Cindy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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