AIBU to think that his shoulder pain is cancer?

[user0786]

Hi everyone,

Just worried sick about my dad who has had pain in his shoulder for around a year. It wasnt that bad to begin with and he just ignored it as he's the type to just get in with things.
It's now really painful. He had an ultrasound yesterday and the lady doing the US was measuring something. He asked her what and she said bone. I can't help but think that she was measuring an abnormal growth. 

He gets pain in his shoulder and arm. He also feels quite tired most days too. He's 63 but he is a heart patient who has stents and that impacted his health along with getting Covid a few months ago too. I can't help but worry if the tiredness is related to some sort of shoulder cancer? 

The US was only yesterday but it feels like it's been days. Still waiting to hear back.

More likely to be arthritis, I would say! (As someone who gets shoulder pain and has done for over a decade) Cancer wouldn’t be my first thought! If it is inflammatory arthritis, tiredness could be linked to it…

She wouldn't lie to you, she was measuring bone.
Try and stay calm and await the result, there are so many things that can cause shoulder pain, cancer is one of the less likely causes.

Is arthritis really painful? Sorry I know it sounds stupid but he says it hurts to even lift it up. Would it cause changes in the bone structure on a ultrasound? sorry if I sound stupid just worried sick

Im sorry. I know. I'm just worried that it's a cancer of the bone which is growing inside the shoulder bone if that makes sense?

Bony spurs possibly? He’s pretty unlikely to hear back very quickly from a routine US if on the nhs so please stop fretting. You’ve listed other good reasons for him to be tired.

Could be arthritis. My DM cannot lift the arm above breast level when she has a flare up. She is doing physio and she improved drastically. She is 63 yo as well.

Fingers crossed for your dad 😘

Is arthritis really painful?
Arthritis is excruciatingly painful. It's dismissed as trivial because it mostly affects old people.
Imagine living every hour of every day with the equivalent of severe toothache in your fingers, knees, feet, hips or shoulders. That's arthritis.

Yes arthritis could show changes to bony structure certainly and can be extremely painful if it is severe. There are many causes and they routinely measure the structures such as bone to form their report. It is unlikely to be caused by a cancer but he has started down the line of the right diagnostic investigations to rule that out. I hope you get answers soon to put all your minds at rest but it may take a little while to hear results. Call the gp in 2 weeks if not heard sooner.

It could be frozen shoulder as well. It gradually gets more painful until its excruciating and then gradually fades away again. Takes about two years to resolve, sometimes more.

If there is inflammation they will also measure that, for example a bursa or fluid on the joint.

My dad had shoulder pain for about a year which got worse and he was sleeping more and more turned out it was lung cancer that had spread to his liver 😢

Shoulders are a stupid joint and it could be a million and one things causing pain from impingement to arthritis. If he had even a semi manual job the joint could be knackered from work.

Arthritis is extremely painful...don't underestimate. I'm an AHP....don't jump the gun.

@Hollyjack what other symptoms did he have? This is my worry. He doesn't sleep much during the day. Just lays down for a bit but he does look tired but I'm not sure if that's just his heart condition along with age

My DM has arthritis and sometimes it's unbearable for her.

It could be anything OP, don't jump into thinking it's cancer. I know that's hard, been there done that but there are plenty of things it could be.

There are so many more likely reasons for the pain than cancer op, I know it's hard but try not to freak out.

@user0786 the tiredness could be his heart condition. My DF has heart failure and has is exhausted throughout the day, it could also just be part of getting older.

Don’t try to second guess what it is, it could be anyone of a number of things.
I’ve got a dodgy shoulder, can’t lift it above breast level some days, it isn’t painful now as I had physio which helped a lot. Mine was caused by capsulitis, inflammation in the capsule surrounding the joint.

Im getting arthritis in my right index finger, it’s changing shape due to bony growths:spurs around the knuckle joint.

Weight loss which was gradual at first, spent more time sleeping. Very fatigued. Irritable because of the pain but this was in the last 3 months he had been suffering with shoulder pain for about a year but had put it down to falling off a ladder and gp just prescribed pain killers. It was only when I went with him to the gp that they did blood tests and a scan as I was concerned about the pain he was in x

Is arthritis really painful?

It can be yes.

I have arthritis and have done for more than a decade now.

Sometimes the pain has mean in tears, and that's despite taking a ton of medication for it and having decent painkillers.

I'm sorry to hear that. Did anything show up on the blood tests? Did he have any treatment?

My relative had a shoulder replaced due to pain. It's very much better now.

Google total reverse shoulder replacement, if you want to see how it works. Fascinating.

His liver function was deranged. He then went for a scan which showed that it was lung but had spread to his liver. He was too poorly for treatment and unfortunately passed away within 3 months from being diagnosed. I just wish I’d of gone sooner to the doctors with him. Hopefully your dad will be fine and it’s nothing serious. But who would think shoulder pain could lead to something so devastating 🥲

As a rule of thumb cancer is generally painless, unless it’s advance enough or large enough to interfere with function. Pressing on a nerve, blocking something etc.

it’s extremely unlikely your dad has been walking around with untreated cancer advanced enough to cause this level of pain for over a year. You’d expect rapidly advancing symptoms as it metastases and grows.

that would make it much more likely to be joint, bone or heart related. It’s likely she was measuring his bone density- osteoporosis in the elderly would cause spontaneous frActures for example.

I'm sorry to hear that.

I worry that he wouldn't be able to have treatment too as he has underlying heart conditions etc and more importantly it's been a year. It would probably be too late. This is what worries me. What happened to your dad... I fear it's this 🥺