I am 55 year old female who was diagnosed with SLE in 1993. Since then I have had a number of related problems. I have liver, brain and nerve involvement. In October 2010, I started having problems with the tendons and bones in my feet causing serve pain and misshaping of the feet. In the past month I have developed a new problem. I now have a knot on tip my right collar bone near my throat and a knot on my left ribcage. An ultrasound shows them to be tumors. I am scheduled to see a surgeon this Friday. Since my blood work is never what you would call normal, my doctor is not sure, but thinks lymphoma and leukemia can be ruled out. I have read that there are some types of connective tissue cancers that those who have SLE are more likely to suffer. Also, it is hard to tell what is SLE and what is a possible cancer symptom, since many of them overlap. Has anyone had tumors on the bones or connective tissue? If so what did they turn out to be?
I saw the surgeon and he had no idea what was going especially since there are two hard knots in two different locations. However, he said that he didn’t want to play the wait and see game because there is definitely growth since the ultrasound just a week before. I am scheduled this week for surgery. It is will be an open biopsy on both locations because the surgeon said that a needle probably would not work and that they offered missed problems. He is not taking any chances. I feel blessed to know that I have a great team of doctors who are trying to get to the root of the problem. I will keep everyone posted on the outcome. In the meantime if anyone has any ideas as to what is going on, please post!
Thanks,
Punygirl
