Hello doctor, My friend gets frequent fever and weak bone problems. She is not able to gain weight and strong bones. She belongs to a poor family though she has been visiting many ayurvedic, homeopathic MD's no one is able to figure out the exact reason. There might be chances of bone cancer? She had already spent lots of money and now she is losing hope. Please help.
Hi. It seems from what you have mentioned that your friend is a 30-year-old lady with frequent episodes of fever and bone pain (assuming that the bone problems you mentioned are bone pains at multiple locations). If she is indeed only 70 lbs, then it is likely that she is cachexic. This along with the frequent fevers gives us a major red flag for two serious conditions that she might have tuberculosis (TB), or tumor anywhere in the body. Let us discuss these two possibilities. Tuberculosis is endemic and is more common than we think. Most individuals already have the bacteria in them, and the disease occurs when their immunity reduces. Long-standing low grade fevers, loss of appetite and weight, history of contact with someone who had active TB, and low socioeconomic living conditions are quite likely to cause TB. While TB most commonly involves the lungs causing a chronic cough. TB can affect almost any system in the body. One may have musculoskeletal TB involving the spine, joints and any of the bones. If your friend's bone pains are related to TB, she should have pain at only a few locations in her body, unless she is immunocompromised. Tumors or cancer anywhere in the body can cause loss of appetite and weight. Low-grade fevers may occur in some tumors, while the spread of tumor tissue to bones will lead to bone pains and pathological fractures. Tumors arising from the bones are a definite possibility. Finally, besides TB and tumors, there are other rarer causes cachexia and bone pains. These include nutritional deficiency disorders like osteomalacia, HIV infection, certain medications that reduce immunity, etc. It might be a good idea for her to take pictures of all the tests that she has undergone, and also any x-rays or imaging that she may have got done till now. You may upload these on this platform and we could discuss her issues further. I understand she may be losing hope from any medical intervention, and such disease-related depression is quite common. If she has consulted only ayurvedic doctors till now, it may be prudent to take opinions from allopathic doctors. It is quite possible that her diagnosis may have been missed. Lastly, I would sincerely suggest that you take at least verbal consent from her before discussing the specifics of her case on this platform. I hope this helps. Tuberculosis, Malignancy.