What a Pain

If you do not have cancer and develop a pain somewhere in your body, your doctor will assume that what is causing the pain is anything but cancer.

If you do have cancer and develop a pain somewhere in your body, your doctor will assume that what is causing the pain is cancer.

Sometimes a pain is just a pain.

I've had a little nagging "tweak" in my right shoulder blade recently. Over the weekend I decided to be a big, stupid, gorrila-man and went out in the afternoon heat and started pruning trees.

I couldn't help myself. Our big trees grow into our neighbors' yards and hang down low enough to make it difficult for them to even walk through their yards without ducking. I was feeling guilty. I want to be a good neighbor. The problem had to be fixed.

So trimming trees I went. I pruned out a nice canopy and fixed the problem. I definitely have some more trimming yet to go. But at least I was feeling like a more responsible neighbor.

Then the next day my little "tweak" in my right shoulder blade turned into a growing, excruciating pain.

I saw my oncologist yesterday, and as always he asked me if I had any pains. I told him about the right shoulder blade and added that I thought it was probably physical in nature because I was being a big, stupid, gorilla-man.

One thing that makes me think it is physical in nature is the fact that when Barb rubbed some Aspircream (like Ben Gay without the smell) on it, it felt better, a little better at least.

The oncologist told us that Aspircream would have no effect on cancer caused pain.

He suggested we watch it for a week or two and keep an eye on it. I've been through so much lately, he didn't want to just toss me into a bone scan.

I was comfortable with that.

But yesterday afternoon into this morning it has just hurt more and more. Everything I do is now met with a grimace. Fortunately I do have some pain pills around and have started taking those to try to calm the pain.

I'm anxious to get back to exercising and more activity (like pruning the rest of the trees), but I'll have to try to practice some patience and see where this pain wants to take me.