symptoms of pancoast tumor

FormerMember
FormerMember
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Hi everyone. I need some help here. First of all, I want to say that I am not a LC patient and apologize to everyone for actually posting over here which is designed to help those brave people fighting the disease everyday. It is okk if you do not answer me but I need some help as I am a hypochondriac and need some help. For the past 3-4 months, I am having shoulder blade pain which radiates from left to right side of my shoulder. The pain scale is 2/10 and it  is intermittent and I can do everything with it, complete all my daily activities. At certain points of the day, the pain comes back, lasts for about 20 secs followed by a dull aching for an hour or so and then the pain goes away. During this time(when my shoulder aches), I have found that any physical activity eases the pain. For example, the pain attacks me in the shoulder and if i immediately go to the treadmill and do half an hour of jogging, the pain completely goes away only to return the next day. I feel the pain everyday in the morning after waking up and it slowly eases throughout the day coming back intermittently. I have stated before that I can do all my daily activities with relative ease and can workout at the gym or at home normally without any difficulty or pain. It is because of this I feel that my pain is not in my shoulder directly because if the pain was in my shoulder, wouldnt lifting and running at the gym aggravate the pain?. 

I have visited my family doctor who said I have strained my shoulder muscles and it will take time to go. He always sends me back giving advices like rest your shoulder or heat whenever the ache occurs but isnt 4 months too long for a shoulder strain? I asked him to give me a chest and shoulder xray and told me that googling my symptoms have led me to a certain pancoast tumor which has the same symptoms in its early stages. Last week, i begged him for an xray and CT, but he refuses saying I am too young for this and since I can run without having shortness of breath, my lungs are good and I dont need to undergo harmful radiations for nothing. He knows I am a hypochondriac and is not taking me seriously. But since I have already googled and got pancoast tumor, my mind is now never at ease. For the last 3-4 days 2 more symptoms have appeared. I have a slight arm ache and when my chin touches my chest during a yoga pose, I am having pain in my neck. 

  I want to take the advice of people who have dealt with these or similar to these symptoms and eventually got diagnosed. Should i privately go for a chest xray and CT and put my mind at ease or is my hypochondriac mind creating havoc again? Am i worrying for no reason at all. I will summarize my symptoms once more for you:-

1.I have intermittent shoulder/shoulder blade pain radiating from one side to another with a pain scale 2-3/10.

2. I have recently developed a slight arm pain and neck pain

3. Pain goes away with vigorous exercise, eases with any moderate physical activity.

4. It has been 4 months since the onset of this pain

5. I am currently on no medications for this thing. I dont need pain meds for the pain as my pain tolerance is high and the pain itself is not too much.

I once again apologize for posting this but I really need help. Sorry.

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Hi ABC

    You really do have a problem but Im not sure anyone on this site can identify exactly whether it is related to Lung cancer. There are so many other explanations which could account for the pain. I guess your only answer is to have a private Xray to, hopefully, put your mind at rest.

    Sorry I cant be of more help.

    Phil

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to FormerMember

    I'd echo Phil's comment. From what I know of pancoast tumours they press on nerves and cause severe, unrelenting and progressive pain somewhere in the region of 11/10. Go to your doctor and stay away from google!!

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to FormerMember

    Hi ABC

    I will answer you in full tomorrow but I wanted to reassure you I am a pancoast tumour girl and your symptoms do not resonate with it. Believe me I'm a horse rider, I can take pain but i was taking every pain killer over the counter and prescribed and still begging for mercy.

    Your gp has done my pet peve of dismissing you however, saying you are too young. No such thing grrr though I say again i do not think in your case you have it.

    Will reply in full tomorrow and outline why. I Grinning

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to FormerMember

    Thanx for your reply. Yes, I will be going for a private x-ray to put my mind at rest. Worrying will not help me and the problem needs to be addressed as well

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to FormerMember

    Hi Gina, sorry to hear you were in so much pain. I hope you are doing well and will be praying for your speedy recovery. Yes, you are right. There is nothing called too young . I will go for the x-ray to put my mind at rest. Thanx for your response and take care..:)

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Hi ABC

    Sorry it has taken so long to get back to you, I was hoping to reply before work but I got up too late. I can tell by your post you are feeling discombobulated. 

    I have been a member here for a few months now and we often get posts similar to yours. There are some people that post their symptoms and that they are waiting for tests etc and they really fit with a diagnosis and you suspect they will be diagnosed (though I have thought people would be in the past and they have had reassurance that there isn't one which is great news).

    Yours really doesn't in anyway suggest to me that you have a Pancoast tumour. 

    Pain doesn't radiate from shoulder to shoulder, it would mean having it both sides and it is constant not intermittent. Also as other posters have mentioned it would be an awful lot higher than a 2/10.

    Neck pain is extremely unlikely to be related to a Pancoast tumour. I kept getting investigations on my neck before I knew what was causing my pain and I kept telling them I had absolutely no pain in my neck.

    Exercise would not help the pain, it makes it worse, Even sitting still is excruciating at times.

    I think your GP is right that you need to rest the shoulder, you say you have had this for 4 months now but you say how you go on the treadmill to relieve it. This is not resting the shoulder and I am not surprised it is still on going.

    Whilst your GP won't send you for an Xray and I can see why, because he also thinks your symptoms do not fit with a concern to need to. Though as I said age isn't a reason to dismiss you. You do not say how old you are? Can you ask to be referred to a physio instead as I think that is more likely what you need to sort the shoulder.

    I was going to lay out the many many many other symptoms of Pancoast tumour, but I thought being as you say you are a hypochondriac it is better not to. I wanted to show you all the reasons why I do not suspect a Pancoast tumour by explaining some shoulder pain is not the only thing, just a tiny part of the story. But I think this could actually be negative for you as you may get in to a spiral of then thinking you have other symptoms. Sorry if I am wrong on that, I have no experience of health anxiety.

    I do hope this helps to reassure you, but if for your anxiety you need proof a private xray would be the way to go. Though I do think it will be an unnecessary cost to you as well as your doctor says exposing you to harmful radiation for no good reason.

    Please be happy to be assured it is extremely unlikely that you have a Pancoast tumour. I would love to have that news. It really isn't a diagnosis anybody wants.

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to FormerMember

    Pls do not apologise Gina because I am really grateful you answered me so elaborately and your response has been a better help to me than my gp. I am more or less convinced it is something much less serious than pancoast tumor and maybe my health anxiety and my bad habit of googling symptoms are responsible for this.  I developed this behaviour after losing 2 very close people to cancer..one liver and another nasal cancer. I was involved very much as a caregiver so I know what they went through in details and whenever any similar symptom or pain occurs in my body, I start panicking and thinking that something sinister is going to happen. I have to get over this and maybe will with time. I will go for a x-ray anyway because I have never had one and it will not do any harm and will also put my mind to rest. You wanted to know my age, I am 24 and my gp says he never had seen anyone so young with LC but I know better because I have seen such cases online. Thanx again for replying Gina and I am sure you will make a full recovery.I wish I was half as strong as you are. Take care..:)

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to FormerMember

    ...thank you for your time and response. I will try and stay away from Google and i know this is a very bad thing to do . I will have the xray anyway. Take care :)

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