Random dull side pain

[angie1975]

I do not regularly post, as I find it takes over my thoughts and puts me in cancer world all the time, but I have enjoyed the community and advice received from all ypu wonderful people. I have recently had a CT scan in July that came back clear, as well as one in April also clear, however I sometimes get this random dull pain in my rib cage on the rt. Side.

It is not incredibly painful otherwise I would be requesting more than my normal 3 month CT scans, which have all come back clear. My surgeon told me after surgery that you have nerves regrowing and alot of internal healing from surgery , so just wondering if anyone else has experienced this? I also feel small semi hard bumps under my skin on my abdomen when I rub my fingers across it. My oncologist said it was normal but I do not temper them before my dx. Does anyone else feel like that?

[NZJay]

I've had intermittent and varying-location right hand side pain ever since my op, and my surgeon is never concerned about it.

He's always attributed the pains to scar tissue, hernia repair, or over-exercise and quoted his physical examination (pulpation etc), clear scope, unalarming bloods, and clear scans (most recent 5 months ago) as evidence there is nothing sinister behind my issues.

My history is different to yours, but I hope it may provide some comfort that others have mystery pain which doesn't appear to be linked to recurrence.

I hope your pain resolves.

[mypinkheaven]

I sometimes get this random dull pain in my rib cage on the rt. Side.
I also feel small semi hard bumps under my skin on my abdomen when I rub my fingers across it. My oncologist said it was normal but I do not temper them before my dx. Does anyone else feel like that?

I get the same pain on my right side. It's where the colon makes the turn to go across the abdomen - the hepatic flexure. It can get crampy and cause some pain.

I think the bumps you're feeling under your skin are just muscles and normal stuff

[angie1975]

Thank you both for the replies. The pain is really dull and was there prior to my first post surgery CT scan so my oncologist is not worried since the scans have come back clear.

I am not too worried about but kept thinking I would see if anyone else had it. Sometimes it is good to know I'm not the only one.

[Pita]

I have bumps under most incisions, last appointment with CS he said don't worry about them, they should all go away by next appointment with him in October, sometimes they hurt, most often they don't. Sometimes have that dull ache but on my left side, again he said don't worry about it, everything getting back to normal.
Here's to you and hope our aches and pains go away soon...

[AppleTree]

My right side aches. Mostly from recent surgeries. But when I went to Oncology a couple of weeks ago to start chemo again...he ran some blood tests. I had highly elevated liver enzymes. They kept me in the hospital for 9 days, did ultrasound, MRI and a liver biopsy. They let me go on Friday, but I had to go back today (Weds) to get the biopsy results and more blood work. I have accute hepatitis...possibly from a recent round of strong IV antibiotics for an infection. They wanted to readmit me today...but why? I live 10 minutes away so finally they said I could go home, but I have follow up appointments. My side and back hurt. And I am tired. If you are worried, I would ask for a blood test of your liver enzymes. Hopefully it is just nothing though.

[angie1975]

Hi Appletree,

I get blood work every 3 months when I get my scan and my liver enzymes are all within normal range except one, the alk.phos. which has consistently been about 75-100 points higher than normal range.


You said yours was really high can I ask how high ?

[AppleTree]

Hi Appletree,

I get blood work every 3 months when I get my scan and my liver enzymes are all within normal range except one, the alk.phos. which has consistently been about 75-100 points higher than normal range.


You said yours was really high can I ask how high ?

This report is from August 3rd, but several blood tests have shown very little/no change and I do not have a copy of them. Basically, DRs concerned there has been no change at all, plus the high levels.

AP 401, GGT 664 and AST 516. Should be 35-105, -38 and -30 respectively.

[Jachut]

I have a complete catalogue of abdominal pains that I get now, some years post cancer surgery.

The one I find most bothersome is the left side stitch after eating. I've learned to size my meals so that I stop a smidge before a full stomach. Past a certain point and I get a stitch in my side that is quite painful. Lasts about two hours.

The other one I get is a stabbing pain that starts, well, sort of in my vagina, and stabs upward right through my middle, all the way to ribs. It really hurts.

Then there's the terrible, strong urge to poop from the traditional exit, even though it's not connected anymore. Everytime my colostomy starts working, its all I can do not to squat where I am. Then there's this weird one that goes down my right leg..... that one's definitely related to my old ileostomy site.

I'm not making light of it, I've raised every single one of these with my surgeon and you should too. Any strong pain should be reported. But year after year, its all been clear, the pains innocent. Adhesions, whatever, there's been a fair bit of surgery done in there.

So, don't panic necessarily but of course, do get it checked out.

[mgraham]

In one month, it will be two years since I've had my surgery for Stage III rectal cancer (29 nodes removed, none with cancer; I need to do my signature some day). After my surgery, I would experience an ache here or there and would also notice bumps this place and that. For every ache, I wondered if it was a sign of metastasis, especially when they occurred on the right area of my abdomen. As for the bumps, I would wonder if they were inflamed lymph nodes. For years now, I've developed "fatty deposits" that feel like round bumps under my skin so I'm pretty sure that's what the bumps are. As for the aches, I'll be 45 in December; maybe I'm just getting old.

I said ache, but you said pain. Is it enough to compel you to take over the counter pain meds? Mine wasn't.

So far so good with my scans, I'm on a 4 month schedule as I was promoted a while back.

I believe that a significant part of dealing with cancer is "fear management". I told my family doc about my fears and she put me on a couple of meds to help (back when I told her, I was a hot mess). Today, I only take Zoloft, but when I see her next, I'll be ready to talk about discontinuing that as I feel happy and calm these days.

Sure, my disease can come back and I could die from it, I know that, but as time passes, the fear fades. My onc told me that she'll probably know about any recurrence before I would. Are our doctors right all of the time? I'm sure they aren't, but I've learned to trust mine.

One last thing, I make deals with myself. I tell myself, "It's ok to be afraid, but not today. I can be afraid a day or two before my scan". Ok, I said, "One last thing", but I've got another last thing. One day I was waiting to see my doc to talk about my CT scan results. I was nervous and I noticed another guy nearby and he looked nervous as well. I asked him, "Are you waiting for scan results too?". Nope, this guy was there to see if he qualified for a trial because he had inoperable stage 4 pancreatic cancer. My heart sank and I felt terrible for him and then shortly after I felt like a wuss. After some time, I felt lucky. I felt lucky that I was able to sit in a waiting room and hope that I am still NED because some people don't have that.

I've shared all of this because, when I read your post, I thought, "This person sounds like me about a year ago". I'm still afraid at times, but do your best to fight it. In spite of all I've said, don't hesitate to tell a doc about the things you feel; better safe than sorry for sure. Good luck and let me know if there's anything I can do to help.

[angie1975]

Thanks for the great post mgraham. It never hurts enough to warrant using pain relievers. My oncologist knows about it and has said it is not worrisome, since my labs and scans have all looked great since my LAR in February
I do not typically worry too much about my scan results, since I know I am safe in the hands of God and I am doing everything in my power to boost my immune system and stay stress free. I enjoyed your post, and totally agree that when I even begin to feel sorry for myself I know there are others in a much worse situation.