When I first was diagnosed with breast cancer, I also was complaining of back pain due to a "gardening" injury.. fast forward several months and it turned out I had Stage 4 breast cancer, with lesions to my spine basically the same area as my existing back injury. However the pain responded to Flexeril (muscle relaxer), or laying down on the couch on my side. I never had the pain in bed. I went to an orthopedic oncologist actually two of them, one does the extremities and the other does spine only, and he said "what came first, ;the chicken or the egg?" meaning did I injure my back because of the lesions. or was the back injury only a back injury or was it the mets first... I just had a PET scan that showed new lesion area on my right shoulder and right humerus. I don't have any pain there, had 2 MRIs to clarify the PET scan and will be following up with the 2 ortho oncologists to review and then probably will have a med adjustment.

It would infuriate me to have my onc tell me I don't know if it's bone mets or osteo you have a right to know. I do hope you find out soon. Our anxiety levels are high enough without all the added stress of dealing with the unknown. I am not dealing with bone mets myself but I understand your frustration. Hugs and hope you get some relief soon

Ok, now I see why you think it may be bone cancer. Gotcha. My vertebrae felt like it was being stabbed by an ice pick. It hurt terribly until I had radiation on it. After a year of zometa, it feels much better and cancer cells are barely detectable in that area.

The petscan should tell you if its cancer. The cat scan can tell you if its just deteriorating. Go with the petscan results. I had a surgical spinal biopsy and it caused my vertebrae to fracture even more. It will always be at 30% height compared to the other vertebrae now. I wanted to know if it was breast cancer mets or another kind of cancer. So I understand. If the next petscan show your spine getting better than you can safely assume the treatment is working and its breast cancer mets. Spinal biopsies are risky. Really think about it. Good luck!

Everyone is different. I had a cough that I could not get rid of. In the process of getting someone to listen to me I lost 40 pounds in 2 months . The radiation oncologist finally listened did a cat scan and found tumors everywhere. I was lethargic had pain in a couple of different areas. They did a biopsy on my pelvic bone and results came back stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. I did 6 months of taxotere, herceptin and projeta , the tumors shrunk and now I'll be on projeta and herceptin for rest of life. As for my pain, doctor prescribed hydrocodone with acetaminophen (it is liquid) to get rid of cough, so I really haven't had much pain. When I take long road trips or overdo it I will take flexeral at night to help with sleep. So far my pain has been managed. If your doctor hasn't done a biopsy as of yet either insist or find another doctor. The only way I know of to find out is a biopsy. Good luck. Hugs.

The answer to why he won't test immediately lies in his statement that tx would be the same, suggesting that a biopsy would be a pointless risk, at this time. But no need to roll over and take that--investigate if Zometa's tgrepeudic roll in each, bone mets and osteo, alternatives in each. If you find that there are alternatives with a higher rate of success than Zometa in one or the other, present to your doc as a reason to test.
I know it's a drill to study up on two different scenarios, but, remember- as much as you may have a wonderful relationship with your Onco, they are looking at your presentation with a broad, statistical eye, and you, as an individual. The two should meet in the middle.

((Hug))