Hello,
My dad has been experiencing pain in his back radiating down to his right arm for about one month now. Very much like a Pancoast tumor. After the first 2 weeks of pain, he went and got a chest X Ray which showed nothing. They said it was probably just a pinched nerve and gave him some steroids (Prednisone), but after another 2 weeks the pain didn't get any better. He went for an MRI of the shoulders, neck, and head, his doctor once again found nothing. They handed the MRI results to a very good Neuro Surgeon who spotted a herniated disc in the upper back/neck area. I'm probably going to sound really paranoid saying this, but whatever. Is there any chance it could be a Pancoast Tumor? My dad's dad was a smoker, but he said he stayed away from the smoke in his childhood and moved out when he was 18. Also, could a Pancoast tumor cause a herniated disc, or am I being overly paranoid?
Reply # - August 2, 2020, 10:58 PM
Hi jdm2004, There is no
Hi jdm2004,
There is no reason to believe your dad's back problem has anything to do with a pancoast tumor. I hope he is feeling better soon. BTW, I have a friend who just had surgery on a herniated disk and he was feeling better immediately after surgery. I hope your dad does just as well.
Take care,
Janine
I joined GRACE as a caregiver for my husband who had a Pancoast tumor, NSCLC stage III in 2009. He had curative chemo/rads then it was believed he had a recurrence in the spine/oligometastasis that was radiated. He's 10 years out from treatment.
Reply # - August 4, 2020, 05:26 AM
Detection
If there was in fact a pancoast tumor that would've caused a herniated disk, then it would've been seen on the MRI. More than likely the herniated disk is the problem. My son had a herniated disk several years back and had it removed with no problems. Take care, Judy