The waiting game

FormerMember over 3 years ago

2 replies
12 subscribers
674 views

I've had a biopsy this week under general anaesthetic following MRI and CT scans which were raised concerns about the lesion in my humerus bone.

Everything has happened so quickly. I was hospitalised on Monday. I felt so poorly, so weak. After blood tests I was told I have hypercalcemia and I'm freaking out. I haven't even had the formal diagnosis of cancer, yet I have hypercalcemia and I now know it's common in the advanced stages and not common in the early stages.

I just don't believe I could possibly be at the advanced stages of cancer already. I've had my parathyroid checked and it's functioning perfectly normal so I know it's not that.

My family are in pieces. I felt really positive and not overly worried about the situation until my hospitalisation this week, the hypercalcemia and the doctor asking if I wanted to speak with someone from palliative care.

I just don't know what to think or how to feel. I'm praying there is a another reason why my calcium is high.

The results on Friday cannot come soon enough so I can mentally prepare myself for what is ahead.

Alottment lover over 3 years ago

Hello Melissa88, I'm sorry you find yourself on here hon but I hope you can find some love and support from us. You are in such a hard place right now with the unknown diagnosis. If you can avoid googling please do as you can scare yourself silly on line and some info on there is old, out of date or just wrong.

As you say you've not received a diagnosis of cancer yet and I'm surprised the doctor mentioned palliative care before you've even been diagnosed.

Try and ignore that, he may have meant a nurse specialist in hypercalcaemia. Doctors don't always know who is who!

You are correct that when cancer has spread to the bones it can cause hypercalcaemia but there can be other reasons for your symptoms I hope. Once the results are in on Friday you will I hope be more able to manage and plan for treatment with your doctors.

Meanwhile try if you can to distract yourself until Friday as the waiting time is so hard. On here we all have periods of waiting for results and it's the worst of times.

Sending you love and support and hoping for good results. Xx

FormerMember over 3 years ago in reply to Alottment lover

Thank you Alottment lover. The wait really is awful. I'm sleeping alot at the minute. It's frustrating as I normally have such a busy life and I'm never home yet I can't seem to drag myself out of bed at the moment.

The palliative care comment didn't register with me at first. It wasn't until after my biopsy when I looked at the discharge letter for being hospitalised and saw primary diagnosis as hypercalcemia. When I looked to see what it was, it knocked me for six.

Turns out I had the tumour in my bone was showing on an MRI I had done in 2007. It was alot smaller then and was completely missed.

Like everyone in these circumstances, I'm angry, confused, emotionally and physically exhausted, all on top of the unbearable pain.

Praying for some positive news on Friday