Bone scan?

KMom57

I am two weeks out of surgery, stage 3a. 8/11 nodes. LVI extranodal. More cancer there than we knew. Had a clear PET at diagnosis in Nov 2019. Onc has scheduled CT of chest, ab, pelvis for staging, and says if I want to do a bone scan because of long standing pain in my right leg and hip, we can but that’s up to to me. Opinions? If it’s just for peace of mind, I’m not sure I want the extra radiation. I’m chek2 positive and have Chemo and rads coming up. Are there any medical things I need to consider that maybe I don’t know about? So many life-altering decisions for one year.

BevJen

Hi, KMom57,

I was originally diagnosed in 2003, and my standard tests to stage were CT and nuclear bone scan.

I can tell you that each test has a different level of sensitivity (not sure if I'm using the correct word there) but they each pick up different things. For me, now (I'm stage 4) the CT doesn't pick up nearly anything like what the bone scan picks up, so I think it would probably be worth it for you to do the bone scan. Also, it would be helpful moving forward to have that as a baseline.

Hope this helps.

KMom57

How do they tell if something that shows up is cancer or just like arthritis? I mean, I know something is going on because it hurts. How would they know if it’s something benign or not?

BevJen

If you find out the answer to the one, I'd like to know, too. My tumor markers began going up in 2018. Had a CT and nuclear bone scan. Bone scan report said extensive arthritis. TMs still going up later in 2018. Same result. TMs still going up in 2019 -- May 2019, some slight mention of something other than arthritis. Most recent bone scan last week: Well, now they are sure that what's in my spine are bone mets -- arthritis now centered around my knees, feet, and ankles.

I guess the answer is to have good radiologists who take the time to compare scans and look very closely. I don't know.

xxyzed

I would get the bone scan. It will serve as a good baseline and give you confidence that at this time you have no cancer spread. It is unlikely your aches and pains will disappear completely with age so it will be helpful in assisting in changes over time if the pain continues to be a problem.

KMom57

Thank you all for the advice and encouragement. I was pretty scared but did it. Nothing lit. The leg and hip pain is not due tothe letrozole either as it pre-dates that.

Flo80

Hi KMon I am glad it’s negative. I also am having hip pain and leg pain. I am taking exemestane and zoladex. Had a clear bone scan in January abc don’t know what to do about this pain

KMom57

Hi Flo80. It’s been suggested to me that mine is orthopedic. I know it’s worse when I drive a lot, and when I wear flip flops a lot. I did have my gait analyzed and I overpronate badly on that side. I think I’m going to try PT to correct my gait. I’ll let you know if it helps.