Hello,
Thank you for your consult at DoctorSpring.com.
The good news is that the present x ray doesn't suggest any sorts of cancer in lung, you can definitely relax !
Are you an alcoholic?
Was the pain related to alcohol ingestion?
Has it worsened by sitting and leaning forward?
It hardly seems to be anything significant and I think its just from the muscles and bony cage.
Do you have any belching or feeling of upper abdominal fullness?
I can't find any definite cause of left sided chest pain from the chest x ray and the pneumonia on right can't be responsible for a left sided chest pain.
I would advise a rest, hot fomentation for 2 days along with topical anti inflammatory , analgesic sprays.
Wishing you a speedy recovery, I would be glad to answer any follow-up queries.
Regards
Dr. Jacob George P
MD, FCCP
Patient replied :
I forgot to mention that i had 2 days of arrhythmias before the pain started. No im not an alcoholic, i rarely drink alcohol . Pain lasts for something like 10 days. I feels worse when i inhale as much as i can and then exhale, then it hurts near my shoulder blade. Im on a broad spectrum antibiotics now because of pneumonia and ill have a blood test in 6 days by recommendation from my doctor. I just wanted to be sure that this kind of pain is not from lung tumor. Although people on the internet usually complain on this kind of pain when they have cancer. So i just wanted to know is this possible in my case. First 10 things that pop out when you enter my symptoms in to google is lung cancer. I know the internet is not the place to search for medical problems and solutions , and i usually dont use it for that, but this just freaked me out.
Dear patient, regards again.
Well if it is not related to alcohol intake then a rare possibility of pancreas related cause is out.
The only remaining cause is muscular origin of pain. so it can be safely ignored.
Continue the full course of antibiotic as prescribed by your physician, and take a pain killer spray. It should do all the work.
I too agree that internet is not a good source for silly symptoms as the main reason they aim is to create social awareness against cancer. However, I now believe you can safely exclude that possibility from your mind.
You need a holter monitoring / cardio opinion to study the reason for arrhythmia. But I feel the pain is not related to that also.
Wishing you a speedy recovery,
Dr.Jacob George P
MD, FCCP
Patient replied :
thanks for your consultation. further reading on the internet while awaiting your reply gave me more trouble than peace. i see that usualy people with cancer are mistreated for the shoulder and chest pain when xray does not show anything and few months later they find out that they have cancer after all.
Dear patient,
Chest radiograph has its own fallacies as a screening tool for lung tumour. Investigation of choice is ct thorax. However, your chest radiograph shows no direct or indirect signs of lung tumour. For lung tumour to be symptomatic so as to cause a pain as described by you, it cannot be missed on a chest radiograph.
Wishing you a speedy recovery
Regards
Dr. Jacob George P
MD FCCP