Since my original diagnosis was in the fall of 2015, this time of year there tends to be lots of appointments and scans. There is my follow up with the oncologist, the mammogram, bone density test and PET Scan or CT Scan. This year, I’ve added in a few more because I love them so much. I’ll also be seeing an orthopedic Dr. and visiting the radiation oncologist again. More on that below…

The past few week have been hard. I’ve been having pain in my mid back for the past month and it’s been getting gradually worse. I’ve never had pain in this part of my back before. I can’t pinpoint the beginning of the pain to an injury or event, which is a little concerning.

Last week after walking on the treadmill slowly for about 30 minutes, I went to lay down and stretch and I couldn’t lay flat without huge amounts of pain. When I sat up from trying to lay down, it was painful in my front ribs to breathe.

I made an appointment with an orthopedic Dr. who specializes in the back and messaged my oncologist and got an appointment right away with him. While he thinks it is most likely musckolsketal, he decided to bump up my PET scan a month just to make sure. Insurance still has not approved it, so we are waiting on that.

In the mean time, I went to Urgent Care and they did some x-rays. It looks like I have an inflamed joint where the ribs attach to my sternum. So I’ve been laying low and taking a anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxer. He agreed the PET scan is a good idea to make sure there is not a mass causing the problem that can’t be seen on an x-ray.

I don’t like hearing the word “sternum” from any Dr, since that’s where the breast cancer spread to initially. So for now we wait on the insurance company and pray for peace.

My shoulder still is not moving correctly, which might be part of the problem with my back, which is where the radiation oncologist comes in. After working with a physical therapist, talking to a shoulder specialist and my oncologist, we all feel that my surgeries and radiation are likely the reason for the shoulder problem. So I’ll be seeing the radiation oncologist again to get his thoughts and to see if there is anything I can do about it.

That’s it for now. If you need me in the next few weeks, I’ll most likely driving kids around somewhere, or heading to an appointment. 🙂