PET vs. Bone Scan

From my own experience the PET scan uses radioactive saline which is absorbed by any cancer cells anywhere the body. The scan would pick this up. A bone scan would measure bone density and any iregularities in the bone. Maybe there is someone else who has more detail on these procedures, but I think thats it in a nutshell. 

Hi Little G,

To answer your question, PET uses radioactive sugar that is injected in a vein. The sugar circulates  through the body and is taken up by cells that are growing faster (like cancer cells). If a tumor is growing really fast it will take up more sugar-if it is slow growing it will take up less. You can see bone mets on the PET scans but if one is on nulasta then all the bones show up because the bone marrow is stimulated to grow.

A bone scan is where you get an injection of a radioactive mineral that is taken up by the bones. Bone that is remodeling itself (because of mets, fracture or arthritis) will show up on the scan.I had one of these years ago to look for a fracture in my leg and then another last year to look for bone mets when I had rib pain-thankfully both were clean.

A bone density scan is an x-ray. It looks at how dense the bones are and to see about osteoporosis (a side effect of chemo and just getting old)`

Hope this helps

I was dx in March 2006. Went for my yearly scans this year and my insurance denied my PET scan said it wasn't medically nesessary, Can you believe that!! I went back to the Doctor complaing of bogas pain just to try and get it approved. They still denied it. But let me get a bone scan.  I will fight for it this January FOR SURE!!! I feel I should be able to get one for at least the first 5 years!!!

I'll be having shortness of breath or something come Jan!!!!!!