V worried about dh - lung cancer?

[RollerCola]

I'm really worried about dh and haven't really told anyone irl so wondered if anyone can give me some advice.

He's had a pain in his left arm for about 4 weeks now, and a tingling/pins & needles feeling down the arm into his hand. He's been to the drs (about another ongoing problem in his leg) and mentioned it but the dr didn't seem concerned.

Last weekend he noticed that when he lay down and put his arms out, he couldn't put his left arm back as far as the other, and then realised he had a lot of pain in his shoulder as well. Thinking it would just be a frozen shoulder (he has a v physical job) I booked him an appt at an osteopath I'd been to.

He was there for nearly 2 hrs apparently and the osteo has referred him for an MRI scan as he's concerned it may be caused by a problem with his lung. He's written a letter to his dr and he has to go to the dr next week to discuss.

This was a shock to both of us, and after a quick google (I know) it seems that shoulder & arm pain could be a symptom of a lung tumour. I'm trying my best not to panic but I can't help it. He's 40 & a smoker, although doesn't have a cough or breathing probs.

Does anyone have any experience of this? I'm really hoping its just the osteo covering himself, and getting the all-clear from a scan before he treats the shoulder.

Far more likely, even as a smoker, to be shoulder related - especially as he hasn't a cough!

My osteo has sent me for MRI in the past, before treating my back. What was the osteo doing for 2 hours?

Thanks Elibean. I'm not actually sure what he did for 2 hrs - prob nattering to dh about all his various ailments!

He did do some manipulation on his shoulder but said he didn't want to do too much until he'd had a scan. Is it quite routine for osteopaths to refer like that? I can't quite get my head round why it's taken a private osteo to notice a potentially serious issue when the dr didn't seem concerned. Hopefully because it really isn't anything serious?

If he's written in the letter that it's a lung concern, is that likely to put him any higher priority in terms of the scan appt? I'm trying not to worry too much but having been told that's what the concern is it'll be hard if he then has to wait ages for a scan.

Erm I have a Lung tumour and a shoulder/neck issue... Two things not been suggested as linked.
That is not to say it couldn't be an issue but if Gp ok, I am surprised osteo like this.

And IMe a long appt for first visit not unusual as they ask a lot of case history.

if cancer is suspected he will be seen within 2 weeks, when he recieves his letter from the hosp it will say on it "urgent referral". stay strong, hope evrythings o.k x

I think your osteo may need a stern talking to

Sorry been awol (been a bit rough myself for a few days!) - meant to come back. I think its pretty rare for lung issues to be felt in the shoulder - but it does happen. Ditto liver issues (having had a liver biopsy, I can vouch for the nerve pain in the shoulder on that one!) but either way, tingling etc and restricted movement are not part of that scenario afaik.

Honestly, it sounds like an overcautious or underexperienced osteopath, and unless there's something else that makes him suspect lung disease (apart from what you've mentioned here) I'd be a bit about him referring for MRI - why not back to GP, anyway?!?

I think if the GP is worried, he'd be scanned fast - if the osteopath is worried, he should refer back to GP. If he is just being cautious, he should refer direct to MRI I suppose - which is what he's done.

Hope you get an appointment soon, for peace of mind - but if it was me, I think I'd go back to GP, tell them what osteo said and demand reassurance faster!

"......but if it was me, I think I'd go back to GP, tell them what osteo said and demand reassurance faster!"

tbh, this attitude pisses me off no end. With the best will in the world, with all due respect etc etc, the OP would be in the first instance far better off 'demanding' her DH does something about his 40 a day smoking habit. She could use this scare as a launchpad for Operation Quit.

There's this unfortunate attitude where someone's fully-informed lifestyle choices over decades might lead to a (sometimes) predictable conclusion, then suddenly 'Why is the NHS so crap? I demand they leap to attention right now and sort this because I'm all worried'.

I'd like to see what qualifications in thoracic medicine your osteopath has and, tbh, it frankly amazes that such a person is allowed to refer to presumably NHS?- MRI! FWIW you can't look at lungs on an MRI. You might see a lesion on the edge of the field of view that was attached say to the chest wall near a bit you can image using MRI, such as the spine, bones and joints. A GP's usual line of enquiry would start with a chest Xray which might lead to a CT scan, but a MRI specifically looking for lung pathology? No. He'd get his Xray and report (and probably a CT) within the 2 week wait program. Hopefully, it'll show there's no lung lesion, then you can really launch into helping him quit!

I am not saying for a moment that there's absolutely no chance that this is cancer; it would just be a relatively unusual first presentation. To me the symptoms you've described sound like a shoulder joint or cervical spine (neck) problem like a rotator cuff or a prolapsed disc.

Hi there. A similar thing happened to my dh a few years ago. He was getting a lot of shoulder pain and tingling in his arm. Went to see his GP who said straight away it could be a tumour as he was a smoker and referred him straight away for a chest x-ray and bloods. Was the worst two weeks waiting for the results but everything was clear. On further investigation he's got a slipped disc in the top of his spine caused by an accident he had years ago. Didn't stop me googling lung cancer though