Mystery spot on bone scan

Adelaide77

I just had a bone scan yesterday. I have osteoporosis & a (healed) spinal compression fracture, and my oncologist wanted to make sure the fracture wasn't disguising/hiding any mets. (I think that's how she explained it.) Anyways, I just heard back, and the spine looked fine, but there's a small spot on my sternum that they are not able to definitively say what it is from the scan. They're ordering a PET/CT to get a better picture, but I just wanted to touch base in the meantime with anyone who may have been through something like this or who is more knowledgable than me about bone scans. What kinds of things, besides mets, could show up on a bone scan?

NewHopeAndrea

I also had a mystery spot, on my skull, before chemo.  They said it could be a healed injury.  In my case, the post chemo scans showed it had "resolved" along with my internal mammary nodes.  This was really mixed news, as the response to chemo may well mean it was a bone met.  But up until post chemo scans, I was told that one bone met is kind of unusual.  I took that as hopeful. 

The doctors have varied in their level of frankness versus happy talk.  The bottom line for me is that I am shortly starting rads on breast, axillary and internal mammary areas but they are not approaching that skull spot for now.  I am having proton radiation which allegedly makes it easier to target those areas (internal mammary nodes are near the breastbone) without hitting vital organs.   So that area may be treatable with rads.  I have mixed feelings about having rads - but my radiation oncologist made his views fairly clear when he said "without radiation you're a goner!" 

I have decided that one day at a time and - while trying to be informed - not dwelling on what if the next test result is bad - is the best/only way to cope.  I have had chemo, mastectomy/ALND, implant placement last week, and going to start rads soon. 

bluepearl

Lots of benign things can show up, esp. healed bone from an injury and arthritis. There is a type of arthritis you get in the sternum as well. There are bone cysts and other benign lesions. This is why they have to take a better look....it could be anything which is far better than them actually KNOWING at this point. Best wishes for a benign condition!