Cancer Discovery
A patient visited Dalton Chiropractic complaining of pain “going down the leg.” She shares the pain has been bothering her for the past two years and she has seen multiple practitioners before becoming disgruntled as they continued to diagnose her with sciatica, telling her to take more Tylenol. Sciatica refers to pain that radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve, which branches from your lower back through your hips and buttocks.
It seems accurate to diagnose her with sciatica stemming from a pinched nerve going down the back of her leg. Nonetheless, an exam was conducted in which some tests were consistent with classic sciatica, whereas others were not as consistent. Because of this inconsistency, x-rays were ordered where it was revealed that the patient had a secondary cancer in the gluteal bone (ischial tuberosity) that had eaten away enough of the bone that the bone was actually breaking causing gluteal (buttocks) pain and pain down the leg.
This patient was appropriately referred out and never seen again as a chiropractic patient at Dalton Chiropractic. Thankfully, her cancer was found timely enough that she was able to make a full recovery. She came into the office a year later with a Christmas gift package and said, “Thanks for saving my life.” Although this patient was never really seen as a chiropractic patient beyond the initial consultation for x-rays, this is a memorable case for Dalton Chiropractic.