On a technical note
cancer without special tests ? well they did have an x ray
and the sign the junior saw COULD have been this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codman_triangle
which is seen in trauma and can cause confusion.....I have to say I am surprised the wiki article doesnt warn about this ( ie can be seen in trauma )
If any one remembers the Birmingham bone cancer over diagnosis scandal 2004 of which there is NO internet record I can find, the presence of this sign in trauma was one of the confounding factors
[ and as my mother said: I dont mind how rude the surgeon is, can he do the operation ? ]