My mom Patti had a history of osteoporosis with several previous compression fractures in her spine. She began having increasingly worse back pain to where she could not pick up her grandchildren. She developed severe back pain again following lifting her granddaughter. I am a nurse (her daughter). This fracture was not behaving in the same manner. The pain continued for eight weeks, and she was confined to bed.
I begged her to let me take her to the hospital. But, she wanted to wait until the pain dissipated so she could tolerate lying on the MRI table. Then she began having the lumbar pain spread to her right flank. She would not let me take her in, so I had a mobile urgent care come to her.
They recommended imaging, as they were unable to determine the source of one UTI/kidney infection was ruled out. A few days later, she had severe pain in her right femur and let me take her to the ER. Following an MRI, the doctor said her spine appeared to be infiltrated with cancer. Every vertebra had lesions, as well as her pelvis and femur. After a CT scan, they saw a lung mass and enlarged lymph nodes in her chest. Following the biopsy, it came back as nonsmall cell carcinoma.
My mom never had a cough, chest pain, or symptoms of lung disease. Only being 60, she chose radiation and chemo. Unfortunately, she was too weak and passed away two months after her diagnosis. We all miss her dearly. I pray for a cure so another family doesn’t lose their mom.
