hi-
not sure if i can help here - but i'll try.
i've had it go both ways on x-rays.  for a year before my diagnosis i had
been cracking ribs.  at one point i went to a doc (walk-in clinic - have no
health ins.) and he xrayed the rib.  said it was a minor fracture and that
perhaps i had osteoporosis.  i'm only 38 - was 36 at that time.  so, it
seems that the bone mets that were causing the fracture did not show up on
simple x-ray.
about six months ago, i was having problems with my shoulder.  turns out i
have mets there too.  i had just had bone scan a couple of months earlier
that showed the mets, and onc said we could xray it to see if things had
progressed (trying to save money by not having another bone scan done).  it
seems that they could identify the mets on that xray, but perhaps because
they already knew what they were looking at.
i hope it turns out to be just a strained ligament or something.  it does
concern me that the pain has not gone away yet, and has in fact gotten
worse.  it was bad hip pain that finally got me to my diagnosis last
october.
question - how old is mom?  could it be osteoporosis?  it often affects hips
first.  maybe a bone-density test would be a good idea.
given your mom's situation, she should consult with her oncologist if she
has not done so already.  it can be frightening, but IMHO knowing is always
better than wondering.  either way...
good luck.
we'll be here for ya regardless.

-christina

....

If the doctor is saying things look good on an X-ray, it seems like that
would tend to rule out a fracture.  If it's not a fracture, and onset
was sudden, mets don't seem exceedingly likely.  Have you/she considered
a massage therapist, an Osteopathic physician who specializes in
manipulation, or a chiropractor?

I've had several scares over back, hip, leg, etc., pain.  I've had bone
scans & X-rays.  So far, it's consistently turned out to be
musculo-skeletal stuff, and I've gotten the best relief from my D.O.,
massage therapist, and self-treatment (consistent easy stretching, heat
& ice at appropriate times, etc.).

Hope it turns out to be something similarly minor!

Ann T.
Remove 'dontsendspam' from address to reply by email

I would join the chorus with Ann.  Common diseases remain common even in
patients who have or have had breast cancer.  Hip joint pain is not all that
common and is usually referred to the groin, not the buttocks.  Pain in the
back and buttock suggests a low back strain, perhaps with some jamming of
the facet joints between vertebrae, with a lower probability of a ruptured
disc.  That is very common in all kinds of people and does not suggest
metastatic disease very strongly at all.  With the negative x-rays, a
combination of medical and chiropractic management is probably optimal the
medical side would consist of:  (1) anti-inflammatory medicines, which
should be taken on a fixed schedule, not just when the pain gets bad, (2)
muscle relaxers, which are not very effective by themselves but add enough
to the anti-inflammatories to make them worth trying, and maybe (3) pain
medicines (opiates) if the pain is severe.  The best chiropractors use a
variety of therapeutic modalities, not just manipulation.

------------
Jayu, I think your mom and I are around the same age, 56.  A couple of years
ago, before I ever thought I would get breast cancer, my biggest problem was
severe hip pain.  I had bursitis.  Actually, I still have it, but it's taken
a back seat, obviously.  Pain killers (Celebrex, Naprosyn) either didn't
help at all or only helped a little.  What did help, finally, was physical
therapy.  The cold packs, electrical stimulation, ultrasound, and massage
only provided temporary relief, but the stretching and strengthening
exercises I was taught helped *tremendously*.  The pain did not go away
completely, but it became *manageable*.  If I am walking down the street and
it starts to hurt unbearably, I know that squatting down, or putting my foot
up on a lamppost in a certain way, will relieve the pain and after a couple
of minutes I can resume walking.

The doctor diagnosed bursitis by poking my hip and noting that there was one
spot where the pain was most intense.  Bursitis doesn't show up on an x-ray,
evidently.

HTH, Eva

After experiencing extreme back pain I had 3 ex-rays taken within 6
weeks. One said my bone density was better than average for my age.(62)
at the time. One said I had a small amount of arthritis to the tailbone
aand lower back. the third said I had real good pads between the back
bones..One of these was ordered by my Onc. All prescribed pain killers.
I have quite an assortment. I had to change oncologists to find that all
my problem was bone mets and to get started on doing something about the
pain. I am on Taxotere and Aredia, just finished my 5th treatment and
all I need for pain is 1 vicodan at bedtime. I could probably do with a
motrin, but I sleep so good with my bedtime snack..My tumor markers had
gone up to 2400 in just a short time. It found bone mets to the back and
head. They are slowly falling at about 300 per treatment. I may never
get to the number 38, but was only at 40 imediately after my first
surgery and chemos and rads in 2000...so close is all I
expect.
I would go back to the Onc and get at least a CA27.29. If there is
activity there then a bone scan...Pat from Apple VAlley, CA

PS: Kaye301, Where are you?????