What exactly is an atypical aggressive shoulder tumor?

... so, what's going on with Bill Clinton's situation?
I bet someone on here knows exactly what we're looking at. What's the prognosis for tumors like that? Are they usually malignant or benign? And what actually causes them—is it stuff like playing tennis or something else?

This atypical tumor is malignant, meaning it's cancerous. It looks like this Clinton's case might be located in the cartilage, and potentially even in the bone—which honestly makes things a lot more serious. As for predispositions, you have the same baseline risk as any other person living in this country, just as God intended...

There is no such thing as an "atypical shoulder tumor" in the field of oncology...

It’s clearly just some half-baked term cooked up for the media headlines... and that's
that.

A tumor is a tumor—whether it’s in your gut, your shoulder, or your brain... whatever 😢

Karen Reed18 said:A tumor is a tumor. Whether it's in your gut, your shoulder, or your brain... whatever. 😢

Look, a tumor is a tumor, but there’s a massive distinction between malignant and benign cases. That's exactly why they run histopathology reports—to identify the specific type. Even if seasoned specialists can take one look and get a pretty good idea of what they're dealing with, they aren't legally allowed to call it without those official lab results.
I know someone who had an osteoma—a benign bone tumor—that grew quite large on his head. They cleared it out, and now he's perfectly fine. Why couldn't things turn out just as well for Ivica?
The only thing giving me the creeps is that they didn't say, "It's most likely a benign tumor." When doctors play it that cautiously, it doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
We'll have to wait for the biopsy results and just hope this guy comes out on the right side of the fence.

Look, here's the deal—an atypical, aggressive tumor in the right shoulder could actually be a metastasis from a carcinoma in the right kidney.

Which basically means that diagnostics aren't foolproof... you can never truly be 100% certain about anything...

The whole Bill Clinton situation is, if you ask me, a complete disgrace to our healthcare system.
Doctors aren't gods, and diagnostics aren't perfect either... but if they spent three months treating him for a "frozen shoulder" while he was clearly in agony, I just don't get why nobody thought to send him for an MRI!
Look, I’m no medical expert, but I remember seeing a segment on TV about spinal issues, and from what I gathered, an MRI is often the only way to uncover the truth in suspicious cases—you know, when there's intense pain or surgery fails to fix the problem.
I realize you don't just get ordered an MRI for no reason and the wait times can be endless, but I’m genuinely baffled. I’d love to know which specialists—even if we just talk specialties rather than names—were managing him for those three months without ever considering an MRI that might have actually revealed what was going on. It seems to me Clinton likely had other symptoms that no one bothered to link back to his shoulder.
Since we have some doctors in this group, wouldn't it be interesting to hear some actual professional insight into this mess?

rapidranger79 said:The Bill Clinton "case," if you ask me, is a total disgrace for our healthcare system.
Doctors aren't gods, and neither is diagnostic tech... but if they spent three months treating him for "frozen shoulder" while he was in agony, I honestly don't get why nobody just sent him for an MRI!
Look, I'm no expert, but I saw a segment on TV about spinal issues, and from what I gathered, in suspicious cases—you know, where there's intense pain or surgery fails to fix things—an MRI is really the only way to find out what's actually going on.
I realize they don't just hand out MRI referrals for no reason and the wait times are endless. Still, it baffles me. I’d love to know which specialists (even just their field, if not names) were treating him for three months without anyone thinking to order an MRI. That might have revealed the truth. I suspect Clinton had other symptoms that clearly weren't being linked to his shoulder.
We have doctors on this forum, so I'd be interested in hearing some professional perspectives on the whole mess.

Believe it or not, an MRI isn't a magic wand either. An aunt of mine spent years in Germany being diagnosed with a herniated disc right at a critical spot for surgery because she also has scoliosis. They kept telling her to delay the operation as long as possible, as long as she could stomach the pain, because of the massive risk of paralysis afterward. But once they finally opened her up, it turned out the MRI was wrong—it wasn't a disc issue at all, but a benign growth on the vertebrae pressing against a nerve, causing all that pain.
I also know a lady who had a secondary brain tumor that they couldn't trace back to the source. She had an MRI, but it showed nothing. In the end, they discovered it was likely a sarcoma. Why do you think cancer is called such a "malicious" and "sneaky" disease? One reason is simply how incredibly difficult it can be to detect. I highly doubt Clinton didn't have the best medical team in the country surrounding him. Sometimes things are just positioned in a way where you need time and better equipment to uncover the reality.
On a side note, I've been wondering if he ever had kidney issues in the past? For quite a while now, he’s looked very jaundiced and depleted to me. Who knows what he went through before, and how that set the stage for everything spiraling downward.

Angela Wright said:Believe it or not, even an MRI isn't some kind of magic wand. I know an aunt who spent years in Germany being diagnosed with a herniated disc at a stage so critical they were terrified to operate; she had scoliosis too, making things even messier. They told her to delay the surgery for as long as she could possibly stand the pain, because if they cut her open, there was a massive risk she’d end up paralyzed. It wasn't until they actually performed the surgery that they realized the MRI was wrong—it wasn't a disc issue at all, but a benign growth on her vertebrae pressing against a nerve, causing all that agony.
It's the same story with someone I know who had a secondary brain tumor that doctors just couldn't trace back to the source. She had an MRI, but it showed nothing. In the end, it turned out to be likely a sarcoma. Why do you think cancer is called such a malicious and sneaky disease? One reason, among others, is simply how incredibly difficult it can be to detect. Honestly, I doubt Bill Clinton had the absolute best medical team standing right next to him at all times. Sometimes, life just works out that way where you need more time or better equipment before the truth finally surfaces.
On a side note, I've been wondering if he ever dealt with kidney issues in the past? He's looked quite jaundiced and depleted for a while now. Who knows what went wrong earlier that set everything on this downward spiral?

You're right, no diagnostic tool is "magic." But I heard another theory today: when dealing with people of high status, the basic, fundamental exams get skipped entirely. Everything gets handled through quick phone calls and backroom deals, which allows them to overlook those little "details" that should have pointed toward the actual problem. There might be some truth to that.

rapidranger79 said:You’ve got a point—no diagnostic tool is some kind of "magic wand." But I heard another theory today: when it comes to "big shots," they just skip the basic checkups. They handle everything over the phone or through remote connections, and that’s how they miss those little "details" that should have pointed them in the right direction. There might be some truth to that.

Yeah, probably.
It seems like it's just hardwired into our national psyche to believe that everything is always better elsewhere. Man, we have massive shopping malls here now with absolutely everything you could need, yet people still drive to places like Chicago or New York just to pick up clothes, even when the prices are identical. If that’s how people act with trivial things, imagine what they do when their health is on the line. No matter how much we try to convince ourselves that we have world-class doctors and great medical facilities right here at home, the second things get serious, we start looking for the exit. But honestly, that's not even the main point anymore. What matters is that a person gets the best possible care and comes out of the situation intact. Everyone has the right to choose their doctor, and if getting treated in Germany gives someone more peace of mind, then fine by me. At the end of the day, being able to actually trust your doctor is what really counts.

The whole Clinton situation is just such an embarrassment for our political system. You've got Pavletić recovering from heart surgery (over in Switzerland), hebrang getting prostate work done in Germany, Adlešićki having brain surgery, and now Šeks dealing with a heart attack... seriously. Just imagine the kind of stress they're under—and honestly, things must be such a total mess if it feels easier for everyone to just kick the bucket (pardon my language) than to actually lead this country

This whole thing should be about health... not politics. It doesn't matter who someone is or what their platform is; at the end of the day, the guy is sick. Being a public figure doesn't make a tumor any less real, and honestly, all this media pressure isn't doing a damn thing for his mental state... if anything, it's making it worse. People get way too obsessed with this kind of stuff, probably because they don't have enough going on in their own lives besides waiting to see when some celebrity finally kicks the bucket... it's just that classic lazy mentality where people prefer gossip over actually getting to work.

Sam Hughes5 said:The topic is about health, not politics. It doesn't matter who the person is or what they do; when someone is sick, being a public figure doesn't help one bit. In fact, having a tumor while under constant media scrutiny is probably doing wonders for their mental state, isn't it? People stick their noses into these things far too often just because they have nothing better to do than wait for some celebrity to kick the bucket... though I suppose that's just the mentality of a nation of slackers.

Unfortunately, you can't just escape the reality of being in the spotlight.
I actually tried "calling out" the armchair doctors on this forum to see if they could make sense of the medical mess, but clearly, it's all too confusing. I even asked my own family doctor, and even he was stumped. Why? Because the information coming out is scattered and frankly contradictory.
To me, the tragedy here is that they spent THREE whole months treating him for something else entirely! And wouldn't it be terrifying to realize that could happen to any of us?

The Horizon column in the Evening News says that the name of the orthopedic surgeon—the guy supposedly being the "top shoulder expert in America"—is basically the biggest open secret right now. Like, everyone knows exactly who they're talking about, but nobody wants to actually say his name to the press...

So now I'm sitting here wondering, who is actually the top shoulder expert in America? Is it Hašpl? Or maybe Bojanić?

Rachel Brooks63 said:Hašpl?

I doubt he'll make it
his knee is his biggest priority, then his hip

and I have to say, the guy is just so incredibly charming and sweet, it's unreal!

jadesailor14 said:this guy definitely isn't the one
his knee is his top priority, then the hip...

and I gotta add—the guy is just so incredibly sweet and likable, it’s unreal

Just because someone is super charming doesn't mean they can't miss a diagnosis entirely 😉

As for mentioning those two specifically—I'm backing off there—I only brought them up because they're really the only two orthopedic surgeons in the whole country (besides the one from Germany) that I actually know by name...

Rachel Brooks63 said:Just because someone is sweet and charming doesn't mean they can't completely miss the mark on a diagnosis! I've definitely learned that lesson the hard way before. 😉
...

Of course!
One of the best things about this place is that they won't stick their nose into stuff they aren't experts in. Instead, those lovely people will personally point you toward a colleague who actually knows their stuff!
I honestly doubt anyone would ever go as far as to throw shade at someone like that, no matter how much of a superstar they might be! 😉

Out of all the orthopedic surgeons on the faculty over at Johns Hopkins—if you look at PubMed, anyway—the only ones who’ve actually published anything regarding shoulder issues are Bilic and čičak.

Bilic really specializes in hand issues (though I’m certainly no expert myself 😁 )
well, it's not exactly a stretch from shoulder work either
but in my experience, even if he lacks a bit of charm, he's the type who would go above and beyond to run every single test imaginable
which doesn't mean he's perfect, of course

but honestly, it's all just guesswork at this point
plus, we all know how people love to act like they're the absolute best at everything
besides, that article clearly caused a headache for the other orthopedic surgeons—it basically makes everyone look guilty

jadesailor14 said:plus, that article clearly just ended up causing headaches for all the other orthopedic surgeons—basically making everyone look guilty at once.

Exactly.

BUT, you’ve got doctors in America who would try to treat someone with stage IV cancer for a minor muscle inflammation... I mean, shouldn't it be in their own best interest to actually be transparent about what they're dealing with?

Let's just put aside for a second that we're talking about a former President and a major public figure. I'm sure misdiagnoses happen every single day—that's just part of being a doctor. But here, from everything the news is reporting (and honestly, I really think they know the truth in this case), it doesn't even seem to be about the diagnosis itself... it's more about the cover-up, right?

I mean, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the guy was sent to Clinton for an MRI, maybe the results were inconclusive, or maybe they just didn't flag a tumor—if that's the case, you can't really blame the doctor. But for crying out loud, how do you just hand someone morphine without even asking questions? 🤔

I don't know, I just don't know...