Having a really hard time...scared of bone tumor!

[bebe1005]

Hi everyone….I’m back with a new worry. I’ve been having a really tough time lately.

After my vulvar cancer scare I worried about a brain tumor/aneurysm for about a week. I noticed about a month ago that my right pupil is larger than the left. I gave it some time to go back to normal and when it didn’t I freaked out. Then I googled :( I got upset and told my boyfriend that I was dying from a brain tumor, he cried and told me to go to the doctor. I decided to look at some pictures of me when I was little and realized that my pupil has been like this since I was at least 4…I’m assuming I was probably born that way. So I got over that.

Then my mind started focusing on my arm, which I injured almost a year ago. I was at a Halloween party last October and I got extremely intoxicated and fell into a radiator on my right arm. I woke up the next day and couldn’t move it at all. I never went to the doctor because of my fear of them. After a few days it started feeling better, so eventually when I could use it again I figured I had just sprained it or something. WRONG…I decided to go to the doctor about it yesterday, finally!! There’s a really hard lump where the injury was and I googled and found out that it could be some type of sarcoma. One site said that a sarcoma could be caused by an injury, but several others said this was NOT true and that sarcomas are sometimes felt because the person had sustained an injury. Almost every site I went to said that an injury is NOT a risk factor for sarcoma.

So I got my arm xrayed yesterday and saw the fracture in my arm. It was all the way across the bone and the xray tech told me that it healed up pretty straight, but that there was bone re-growth around the fracture spot. Is that even possible? I asked my GP if he thought it was serious and he said no, but that he didn’t think there was much we could do for it now. I kept asking him what he thought the lump was and he said “If you’re asking if I think it’s cancer, I don’t”. The rational part of my mind is telling me that this lump is from the obvious fracture in my arm, but the irrational part is telling me that maybe it IS a sarcoma. I don’t want to have a rare bone tumor. To make things worse, some sites say that sarcomas sometimes lead to amputation!!! I don’t want to lose my arm :(

I’m going to get a referral for an Orthopedic surgeon and see what I can do about this I guess….

[bronte]

hi bebe1005 yes its very possible its bone regrowth because thats what can happen you get calcified bone round the bone which can form a lump you can even feel i know because ive seen it for myself and ive seen it on the a and e programs on sky so thats what it is i bet so dont worry x

[bebe1005]

So I went to my GP yesterday about my arm again. I’ve been studying the xray and I just don’t feel right about it. I can see what looks like a lump where the fracture was. I’m scared that I had a tumor before the accident and when I fell it fractured the tumor also. I can see the fracture going down the middle of this “lump”. I’m not sure if it is a tumor, but I always think the worst case scenario…It looks like it could possibly be part of the bone but I really don’t know.

I asked my doctor about it and he said that he does NOT think it is a tumor. He said he will send me to a specialist if I want a second opinion, but he would be shocked if it turned out to be a tumor.

I’m so scared and I don’t want my arm to be amputated :(

Please help!!

[Anth]

Its NOT a tumour!

OK nasty bit over. If it was or there was any doubt they would have sent you for more tests.

Basically, you broke your arm, let it heal wihtout medical attention and now have calcification in the area it occured. Thats normal, the bone grows over fractures etc.

They could operate, tidy it up, but if its not causing you pain etc then why mess about with it?


I know what you are going through though, I convinced myself the other day I had lung cancer.....I dont and rationally I know I dont.

[bebe1005]

I never would have thought I had some rare bone tumor if it weren’t for the injury. It’s just that when I look at the fracture on the xray it looks like there is a gash right down the middle of this “lump”. I really don’t know if it’s a lump or if it’s just the outer part of my bone. It looks like it might be the outer part, but I’m just not sure. The bone is crooked and it no longer lines up exactly straight, so maybe it *is* just the outer part that I’m seeing. I’m scared…I don’t know how long I will have to wait to see an orthopedic specialist :(