Radioactive dye and Herceptin?

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moonwolf
moonwolf Member Posts: 130
edited June 2014 in HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
Radioactive dye and Herceptin?
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  • moonwolf
    moonwolf Member Posts: 130
    edited March 2010

    I have a bone scan scheduled for the day before my next Herceptin.  I will be radioactive for 48 hours!  Not looking forward to that :( 

    Will the radioactive dye react with the Herceptin do you think?

    Thanks.

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  • chainsawz
    chainsawz Member Posts: 3,473
    edited March 2010

    Moon - that is definitely an interesting thought!!  I am no expert, but I think they will float around together but not pay any attention to one another.  Herceptin is attracted to the HER2 protein and the bone scan tracer is attached to particular biological molecules, which are attracted to and accumulate in the bones.  But, who knows?! 

    The bone scan is one of the easiest scans I do, so you will do great!  I don't take any precautions for the radioactive stuff, because the amount of the radionuclide they inject you with is so small.  I just drink lots of water the following day or two to flush it out thru my bladder :>

    Have you had this scan before?  If not, here a good site that explains the process in detail.  It helped me be prepared for what was going to happen: http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/bone-scan?page=1

    Best of luck to you!!!  lisa

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  • RegulJ
    RegulJ Member Posts: 244
    edited March 2010

    No there will be no interaction between the two. The bone scan injection will degrade in 24 hours or so.

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  • navygirl
    navygirl Member Posts: 886
    edited March 2010

    I had my bone scan while I was on Herceptin and I had no issues with it. I was more concerned about the slip of paper they gave me after my MRI, which explained why I might set of a geiger counter- should I need to cross the border or go to the county dump before it wore off! 

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  • moonwolf
    moonwolf Member Posts: 130
    edited March 2010

    Thanks.

    Chain - thanks for link - very helpful.  Contradiction though!  Link says that the camera does not produce radiation, but the nurse said that it does!  Hmm!  Link says out of system 24 hours, but my nurse said 48 hours.

    I have not had a bone scan before and am not happy to be radioactive for 48 hours :(  If I have not already got cancer then this will surely start another lot off as there is a risk of damage to cells from even a small amount of radiation.  If MRI's are the Rolls Royce you'd think that would be sufficient on its own.

    I do feel it is a bit much for my body to cope with a shot of Herceptin while I am radioactive.  I just don't trust the hospital staff.  You hear of so many blunders.  My danger sensors are flashing madly - I think I will delay the scan for a week.  A week won't make any difference - I have aready been waiting 2 months for the scan because of incompetence - I was overlooked Frown

    navygirl - but did you have the Herceptin shot while you were actually radioactive?

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  • Beach
    Beach Member Posts: 127
    edited March 2010

    The muga scan that we get every 3 mths while on Herceptin is also radioactive, so I don't think there's a problem.  True story though---a woman I met in tx tried to cross the border from Canada into the US shortly after a muga scan, and her radioactivity was picked up while her car waited in line to approach the booth.  Crazy stuff!! 

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  • RegulJ
    RegulJ Member Posts: 244
    edited March 2010

    OK- the short Bone Scan and MUGA injections use the same base radioactive element  Technetium 99m which has a half life of 6 hours. Meaning that half of the original amount will be gone in 6 hours and in another 6 hours half of that. For example 1cup-.5cup-.25cup-.125cup.

    The ball park dose for bone/MUGA is around 20mCi(millicuries a unit of measure). So if you get injected at 9am with 20, at 3pm 10 will be left at 9pm 5 will be left and so on. You can also increase the rate of removal from your system by drinking lots of water.  Now keep in mind that sensors now a days can pick up very tiny amounts from a good distance so potentially even at 24 or 48 hours you may show up on a geiger counter or set off airport alarms.

    Now as a CNMT(certified nuclear medicine technologist) who spent the last 11years doing heart scans the radiation DOES NOT come from the machines. (the nurse is wrong) It comes from the injections.

    and as Beach wrote I have also heard of people having trouble crossing the border while being radioactive.

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  • moonwolf
    moonwolf Member Posts: 130
    edited March 2010

    Beach - did you have the scan the day before the Herceptin shot though? 

    RegulJ - So you reckon that the injection will have worn off in 12 hours then?

    Does the injection contain Bisphosphonates?  The nurse said it contains Phosphorus.  Is that the same thing?

    Only I have already turned down Bisphosphonates for osteoporosis because of ONJ (dead jaw syndrome), so am worried about being injected with it.

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  • my2boys
    my2boys Member Posts: 339
    edited March 2010

    I had a bone scan while on Herceptin and it was not a problem.

    As far as the MUGA scans go, I decided after I had a few of those that I would request an Echocardiogram (sp?) instead.  I switched to the ECHO midway through my Herceptin treatments and I still use it instead of a MUGA for my Neratinib trial.  No radiation with an ECHO.....no injections either.  This is just a suggestion for those of you who are concerned about MUGA scans and radiation. 

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  • Beach
    Beach Member Posts: 127
    edited March 2010

    RegulJ--Thanks for the info and clarification.

    Moonwolf--I have had a MUGA scan the day before a Herceptin tx and had absolutely no issues from both being so close together.  I do understand your worry though; with all the treatment and tests.....how much can our bodies possibly endure Undecided??

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