Could chest pain be due to a bony lump near the sternum?
Patient: I am a 42-year-old female who weighs 120 lbs.  I normally weigh 128 lbs. but I lost 8 lbs. over the last fours weeks because I'm on an elimination diet (basically a vegan diet) to try and identify food triggers for my chronic migraines.  Three weeks ago I had horrible pains in my upper chest and back that I attributed to heartburn and that were somewhat relieved by TUMS.  Since then I have continued to have sensations of discomfort in my upper chest, something like your chest feels when doing exercise at high altitudes.  The discomfort is pretty constant and doesn't seem to coincide with eating.  A couple days ago I discovered a bony lump on the right side of my sternum, an inch or so below my collarbone.  It's about the size of a marble and it feels uncomfortable when pressed but not painful otherwise.  Is the lump related to the chest pain and should I have it checked?  When I breath in deeply, I feel the most discomfort at the top of my sternum and so I'm wondering if the lump is related? Doctor: It could possibly be related to this mass.  Sometimes, we can get bony non-malignant growths - osteomas (which is a new piece of bone growing from another bone).  This is usually benign, but can cause discomfort.  I would recommend a CT scan of your chest, and I'd have them scan your abdomen at the same time.  The other test I would recommend is an endoscopy, which can be done by a gastroenterologist.  Finally, a right upper quadrant ultrasound can look at your gallbladder and liver, and see if there are abnormalities (this would be lower on the list, as gallbladder pain is usually related to eating).  Hope this is helpful.