bone scan

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kcat2013
kcat2013 Member Posts: 391
edited January 2015 in Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned

I developed some right hip pain about 4 weeks ago that has gradually gotten worse. Saw my MO yesterday for my 3 month check and discussed it with her. She said she wanted me to have a bone scan done. I also have rheumatoid arthritis, which does cause me hip pain but generally in both hips, not just one. And this pain feels quite a bit different than the RA pain. Also saw my rheumatologist and she's agrees with MO that this sounds like something other than the RA. MO told me not to be alarmed if I do have spots light up because they can light up just from inflammation. She said if needed they will send me for an MRI next if something does show up on the bone scan. I forgot to ask her if this means that the radiologist can't differentiate between arthritis and cancer on the bone scan?

My scan is Thursday and then I won't have the results for about a week or maybe less.

Kendra

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  • kcat2013
    kcat2013 Member Posts: 391
    edited December 2014

    bump! anyone??



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  • leggo
    leggo Member Posts: 3,293
    edited December 2014

    Hi kcat. It can be diffucult to tell the difference in bone scan imaging. If any hot spots do light up,  further testing will likely be done, such as biopsy,  mri, etc.  Here's a push good overview of how bone scan imaging works and what they're looking for.

    http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/387840-overview#a01

    Hoping it turns out to be nothing.  

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  • BrooksideVT
    BrooksideVT Member Posts: 2,211
    edited December 2014

    I shuddered to see all the black spots on my bone scan, but they were all pronounced arthritis. About the only place that did not show up was my two hips, which felt like I was walking on knives.  Next step, PT.  Turned out that it was bursitis all along.  I am hoping for a similar outcome for you.

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  • kkhalle
    kkhalle Member Posts: 20
    edited December 2014

    I had a bone scan done due to rib pain then followed up by an MRI done of my lumbar and thoracic region. The report states I have edema at T4 & T5. Not sure what that means. I Know what edema is. I have an appt. with my orthopedic Dr. in 4 weeks. I hope it is nothing serious. I have had back issues most of my life but now have to worry about possible bone metastasis. It should be noted my bone scan was inconclusive.

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  • kcat2013
    kcat2013 Member Posts: 391
    edited December 2014

    Leggo thanks for the link, that was very informative and helped me make sense of what the different scans are capable of detecting.

    Kendra

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  • kcat2013
    kcat2013 Member Posts: 391
    edited December 2014

    brookside, I'm glad to know you only had arthritis and bursitis. I'd never heard of bursitis until my doctor mentioned it to me last week. I'm hopeful that nothing else is going on because my dr also prescribed prednisone and I'm feeling much better after a few days of that. We'll see what the scan shows though.

    Kendra


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  • kcat2013
    kcat2013 Member Posts: 391
    edited December 2014

    Hi kkhalle, I'm sorry you have pain too. It sounds good that you have an appointment with the orthopedic and you can get some info about the edema.


    Kendra

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  • vlnrph
    vlnrph Member Posts: 1,632
    edited January 2015

    Hi kcat - hopefully you had your scan last month & rec'd unremarkable results. It's not surprising you felt better on prednisone (too bad oral steroids cause so many adverse effects if people take them in high doses or for extended time periods) Care to bring us up to date? Also curious to discover how kkhalle is doing...

    I'm searching these threads since I will be having a couple of imaging studies soon to rule out bone problems. I do have chronically high serum calcium levels which jumped recently. It's probably a parathyroid issue but my oncologist is going down this road of investigation before sending me to an endocrinologist.

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  • slv58
    slv58 Member Posts: 1,216
    edited January 2015

    I could have written this thread! I also have hip pain lasting over a month but with inflamatory arthritis I just thought it was a flare up. I had a predisone shot before Christmas which got rid of all the aches I have except the hip pain. I finally called my MO today and she has ordered a hip x ray this Thursday and bone scan next Thursday. I'm really trying to stay positive but admit I'm concerned. I'm grateful my MO is being thorough.

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  • kcat2013
    kcat2013 Member Posts: 391
    edited January 2015

    Hi vlnrph, thanks for asking for an update. My bone scan didn't show anything concerning. The steroids did help tremendously, although I'm starting to have little twinges of pain again. Wish I knew if it was the RA or bursitis or what, but I'm thankful it doesn't appear to be mets!

    slv58 sorry about your hip pain! I wasn't sure if my hip pain was the Ra or not since it was just one hip. I had a lot of anxiety waiting for the scan and the results, it's so hard to not to think the worst once you've dealt with cancer. Let us know how your scan goes!

    Kendra

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  • slv58
    slv58 Member Posts: 1,216
    edited January 2015

    thanks Kendra, I'm really happy your scan was clear! I was thinking mine was bursitis also but stayed off (as much as possible) it for a month and there is no change. I'm eating Tylenol for the pain and know enough is enough- time to get it checked. The funny thing is some mornings I'll wake up and I'm not in pain- sometimes during the day I'll realize it doesn't hurt and I'll think it's better, then wham!

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  • kcat2013
    kcat2013 Member Posts: 391
    edited January 2015

    slv, my pain wasn't constant either. I would get excited because it would be gone for a short while. I'd be able to squeeze in a pain free walk, or errands and then bam it would be back. But the pain did increase, so by the time I got the bone scan I was dealing with pain the majority of the time.

    It sounds like it's definitely time to get your pain checked out and dealt with!

    Kendra

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