TYPE OF STUDY: Chest CT with IV contrast. Abdomen and pelvic CT with IV contrast. CT individualized dose optimization technique was used to include one or more of the following techniques: Automated exposure control, mA and/or kV dose modulation according to patient size, and/or iterative reconstruction technique. CLINICAL HISTORY: Follow-up breast cancer. Chest CT: Multiple axial CT images of the chest were obtained with IV contrast. Sagittal and coronal reformats were also obtained. Comparison is made to the chest CT of January 29, 2024. The heart size is normal. Aorta is normal. Left second rib fracture, unchanged. Left third rib metastasis.*** Left fifth and sixth rib fractures.**** These are new since the prior exam. These could be benign fractures. Right second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth rib fractures.***** These are probably benign osteoporotic fractures. These were present on the prior CT but now have some callus formation. Para mediastinal opacification left more than right. Could represent post radiation pneumonitis. No pleural effusions or enlarged lymph nodes. ******T1, T2, T3, T4 and T12 bone metastasis. T4 compression fracture, unchanged. 


ABOVE I NOTED THE RESULTS  WITH *s,  AND HERE ARE MY NOTES THAT CORRILATE TO THE FINDINGS SO YOU ALL UNDERSTAND IT A BIT BETTER. NOTHING REALLY "NEW".  

*Dr Tun, my oncologist, believes these are all old fractures we know about. 
**In short, I HAVE to start walking further and getting some weight off, maybe getting a stationary bike to have here at home will help.
*** This is that gnarly rib fracture, that was ravaged by cancer, that likely won't look good ever again, and will show up on scans as metastasis.  
****As thought, last weeks visit to my primary PA,  x-rays taken,  although they didn't show the rib fractures, on the x-ray, they are there. *****These guys are taking forever to heal, but they are showing signs of healing, so we just have to be patient. 

*******These are the initial fractures waaay back in October, that are doing better. 

    So to break it down, rib fractures are still happening, and some of the older ones are healing. Apparently this is something I may be dealing with for some time, until my body can repair the damage, and strengthen my bones better. UGH... I guess if that's all I have to deal with, I can manage it, just have to be HYPER AWARE of doing even small things that might cause this.. like SNEEZING.. ya, exactly.. how do you NOT DO THAT? LOL 
Anyhow tomorrow I am off to PT at 8am(sounds horrible, but its nice and quiet at that time of the day), and then at 9:30 I meet with my pain pump specialist.  My oncology Dr. has asked me to remind them of the current scan, and that they might want to recalibrate the dosage some. We'll see what they say.