New symptoms - still think it is lung cancer

[Jaydee]

So - my symptoms have been going on for about 4 months. The symptoms are mainly a persistent dry cough and an unrelenting shoulder pain radiating down my arm.  A few weeks ago I started having hoarseness in my voice, especially when I talk a lot or have to speak loudly.  Recently, within the past week or so, I have been experiencing a lot of pain in my jaw, next to/under my ear.  The pains are all on my left side and do not go away with meds.  I am also experiencing a sharp pain at the top of my left rib.  This pain is intermittent.  I have been to a GI dr who doesn't think the cough is related to reflux (but he did no tests at all).  I went to an ENT who put a scope in my nose/throat and didn't see anything at all, but he also couldn't explain my cough, hoarseness or the pain in my jaw.  I have been to an ortho who did an xray of my neck and didn't find anything to explain my shoulder pain, but sent me to physical therapy.  The physical therapy is helping a tiny bit with the shoulder pain.  I am also randomly having pain in my left knee and hamstring.  I have had a clean chest X-ray and clean chest ct scan, but I am still so worried, because no dr. can explain any of my symptoms and it seems weird that all of these symptoms could be so many different problems.  Also, there is a certain kind of lung cancer, a pancoast tumor, that is very hard to find and the symptoms are mainly shoulder pain and hoarseness.  My symptoms point to lung cancer and as a past smoker (I am 40 but haven't smoked for 16 years), this is what I keep going to.  I was finally started to believe I was okay, until the jaw pain and hoarseness.  I am seriously at my wit's end! 

[Moebearocka1980]

Jaycee - I could have written your post. In fact, I had to look at the name a few times to make sure it wasn't a post of mine! I have been doing through the EXACT same symptoms as you for about 2 months now almost. I have the same shoulder, jaw pain. Hoarseness. Everything. Except all my symptoms are on my right hand side. I too am obsessed with Pancoast Tumors. Over the last 2 months I have had: 3 clean chest X-rays, a clean shoulder xray and ultrasound of my shoulder, a clean MRI of my brain, a pretty clean MRI of my cervical spine (showed only minor disc herniation between C5-C6..not causing my pain though), and had the ENT look down my throat with the scope. The ENT did see that my lingual tonsils were a little enlarged which he said is a common finding with Silent GERD (LPR) which I have. I am trying not to worry about the enlargement of the tonsils since my ENT flat out said, it is not cancer or anything related to cancer. I have also had numerous blood tests which have all come back clean.

The one that I haven't had is a CT of my chest. My doctor will not order one because he sees no reason for me to have one. He believes that something would have been picked up on the multiple chest xrays that I have had. Dr. Google tells me that pancoast isn't always seen on chest xrays. However, it is seen and does NOT hide on a CT of the chest. If you have a clean CT of the chest, then you do not have pancoast. I wish my doctor would give me a chest CT so I could finally have some piece of mind. It's sad that I want to expose myself to more radiation just to get piece of mind.

Whatever is going on with us....I sure hope we both feel better soon! Just know that you are not in this alone. Like I said, I could have written your post!

[Slangevar]

Moebearocka1980 - yours sounds like LPR or silent GERD... it doesn't sound anything like lung cancer (or even a pancoast tumor). 

To both of you: Pancoast tumors are supposedly hard to diagnose because they DON'T present with a cough or hoarseness... which both of you have. If the tumor was in a place to affect your voice or coughing, it would show up on a chest X-ray.

I've known three people with lung cancer in my life. All three were life-long smokers. One had no symptoms - the cancer was found on a routine X-ray when he was in his late 50s. The other two coughed up blood and had their cancer identified by X-ray.  The ones who coughed up blood are still living and doing great.