abdominal and back pain

Hi!  I am 35 years old and 2yrs ago I noticed a lump the size of a small orange around my belly button.  Shortly after that, I went to my Gyno complaining of lower back and abdominal pain.  He had me take an ultrasound and said everything was fine.  Since then, I now still have lower back and abdominal pain but I also have leg pain.  I cannot stand up for too long and if I sit down on the floor, it's hard for me to get up.  The pain in my legs is unbelievable.  What should I do?

[Annekathryn Goodman, M.D.]

dear Charlene,

You should see a surgeon. Lumps in the belly button are usually hernias. A hernia means a weakness of the abdominal wall. The bowel or fatty tissue around the bowel can get stuck in a hernia. that can cause pain. It needs to be surgically corrected. More rarely cancers can spread to the lymph vessels around the belly button causing a lump. Spread to the belly button is called a "Sister Mary Joseph nodule" after the nurse who first keenly noticed this in people with advanced intra-abdominal cancers (gastric, ovarian).

At age 35, I would be more inclined to think about hernia. Another condition that can cause a nodule int he belly button is endometriosis.
please let us know what happens
take care