Sciatica or something worse? - 1274135

marieharvey
Posts:48

My history:
Nov 14 – diagnosed with urothelial carcinoma, tumor removed from ureter, stage 4 because in 2 of 21 lymph nodes.
No need to remove ureter, kidney or bladder.
Jan-Apr 15 – did four rounds of cisplatin and gemzar.
Jun 15 – cystoscopy and cytology clear.
Jul 15 – CT scan of chest and abdomen clear.
Dec 15 – cystoscopy and cytology clear.
Jan 16 – CT scan of chest and abdomen clear.
May 16 – cystoscopy clear, waiting for cytology report.

I've been feeling great, except for some lower back/buttocks/thigh pain, which my primary care physician says is probably sciatica. When I told him I was afraid it was cancer in my bones, he took a back x-ray to alleviate my fears. He said the x-ray showed no signs of cancer, and advised me to take 2 Advil twice a day and basically wait it out. The pain lingered, so I tried a chiropractor for 3 visits, and decided that wasn't helping. The pain is not getting any better, and now I'm wondering if maybe the cancer has metastasized in my pelvis somewhere. This has been going on for about two months. The Advil helps, but I hate to keep taking it forever.
I’ve email my urologist and oncologist, asking their opinion. I’m wondering if I should insist on an x-ray of my pelvis or some other kind of scan. Thoughts?
Thanks, Marie

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JimC
Posts: 2753

Hi Marie,

If the pain isn't helped by medication, I would think that further workup is probably a good idea, and that the preferred scan would be an MRI, which can do a much better job than an x-ray in imaging not only bone mets but also other types of musculo-skeletal issues.

Good like finding a diagnosis and successful treatment that will alleviate your pain.

JimC
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