How to Learn about Bone Scan: Bone Cancer

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By pepper0617
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Bone Scan

A nuclear medicine tech does body scans to show bone growth. A bone scan is used to evaluate bone growth. It evaluates metastasized bones, especially with someone who is waiting for a bone cancer prognosis. All information is used to determine bone cancer treatment for a tumor that may be growing.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Step 1

The doctor can tell how much damage is in the bone, and the bone condition can be monitored for infection, and trauma. A bone scan is much better, as the results are weeks to months, faster than having an x-ray. Time is so relevant to someone with cancer, which needs to know the results now.
Step 2

Magnetic Resonance (MRI)

A radioactive tracer substance is injected into the veins travels to the bones. The process takes hours pictures are taken to show what is going on inside the bones. The tracer shows bone infarction in the low blood supply to the bones, especially in some bone cancers. Rapid bone growth with increased tracer shows up as bright spots, and hot spots may show up as a fracture, arthritis or problems due to cancer.
Step 3

Bones scans show:

1. Find Cancer or tell if it has metastasized, or spread.

2. Helps diagnose location of pain. May have to follow up with a Computed Tomography (CT) Scan or Magnetic Resonance (MRI).

3. Diagnosis of broken bones, not shown in normal X-ray.

4. Find infections due to other problems.
Step 4

Body X-ray

You have to have the injection of tracer then come back for the bone scan in about 2 hours. It takes anywhere from 2-5 hours for the tracer to attach to your bone. It is a long test, and will take several hours, so you may have to bring something to read. Some types of tests, the tests are done during injections and then more pictures taken in 3-5 hours after bone trace injection.
Step 5

After the test is done the pictures are interpreted by a radiologist or nuclear medicine technician for accuracy. If it is someone with a diagnosis of bone cancer due to prostate cancer, the test may have to be repeated every few months to show how much the tumor growth is growing; and changes to the bones. The test may be uncomfortable if you experience bone pain.