How many of you have had a bone scan?

[Chelee]

Out of curiosity how many here have had a bone scan? Not PET/CT, DEXA scan...but actually bone scan?

Thanks,

Chelee

[Ellie F]

Hi Chelee
I have had two bone scans. My first was routine following diagnosis and my second was earlier this year around the time of my recurrence. On my second one they thought I had a suspicious area on my skull. Eventually it was seen by a specialist onc radiologist and was found to be related to cysts.
I have since asked my onc when I will have my next one. His reply was since I am having 6 monthly CT scans of chest, abdo and pelvis with bone windows the only if something turns up on this would he do a bone scan
Ellie

[Sheila]

Chelee
I have had about 6 since being diagnosed....probably more so because of my fractured rib, but mostly they bone scans show degenerative joint disease and arthritic changes.....a nice way of saying, damn, she is getting old!
Hope this helps!

[LoriE]

I've had a two bone scans - both were ordered by my onc when I had pain. Once in my hip and once when my collarbone became painful and swollen. Same answer both times - I'm getting older! And that's my goal.

[suzan w]

I have had several bone scans. Nothing remarkable...

[Debbie L.]

Chelee,

It was part of the workup at my primary diagnosis. But I don't think you're asking about that, right?

Why do you ask? If you give us more details about what/why you're asking, you'll get more on-target responses I think.

Debbie L.

[Becky]

I had one bone scan upon diagnosis. My ankles light up due to a congenital condition (OCD) in the ankle compounded by a stress fracture due to running (yrs ago). I was not surprised by the light up and it was ruled an arthritic condition although I knew if was not.

[Catherine]

Had a bone denistity test about 1 year after chemo, is that what you mean. My bones were "very good." Just my slow and tired brain that needs help....Sunday morning humor.

Catherine

[ElaineM]

I had a couple bone scans, but in my opinion they are not as reliable as MRI's and PET scans. Every time I had a bone scan I had to follow up with another kind of scan to find out what the area of concern was all about.

[Yorkiegirl]

I had a Bone Scan on my original DX. They had to inject me with a dye and then I waited a few hours and then came back and they scanned me head to foot.

[Faith in Him]

I had a bone scan at dx. I have only had CT scans after that. I was told that the ct does show some bone areas. If something shows up then we would do a bone scan. It is a relatively easy scan to do. Better than drinking the caulky stuff before ct and not as annoying as an MRI.

[StephN]

If you are having this pre-op, it is probably for the surgeon to get as much information as possible.

I have had 3 bone scans so far, and 3 Dexa bone density scans.

The bone scans are easy, as is the DEXA. You lie on the table in a comfortable position and the camera moves over you slowly.

Anything slightly suspicious in my bone scans did not have correspondance on the CT or PET/CTs.

[tricia keegan]

I had one right before starting chemo, and had one recently for back pain.

[Ceesun]

Three I think. Ceesun

[Chelee]

Debbie, I just wanted to see how many of you had a bone scan because in the almost 4 yrs I've been dealing with this I've never had one? I've read alot of posts and it seems like everyone has had at least one bone scan since dx? (I was curious as to why I've never had one especially now that we know I've had mets to hips since day one.) I've had DEXA scans, PET/CTs, Brain MRI's...but never a bone scan?

I am having my first one Monday morning ordered by the Ortho doc that will be doing my femur surgery on the 18th? I told the Ortho I was concern about my right foot/ankle swelling for the last 6 or so months...and its painful. I had asked my onc if cancer travels to the ankle? She said it can...but that is SO RARE. Dr. Femino (Ortho) said it's NOT that rare. So he wants a head to toe bone scan. I was also curious because when I forced my onc to run the MRI which showed the mass on femur...she sent me over for an X-Ray of pelvis/femur. The techs over there ALL kept asking me where my bone scan was? I kept telling them I've never had one and they said I would of had to of in all this time with my dx. They were really having a fit over it.

So I just seriously just wanted to know if I was the only one that hasn't had a bone scan? So far everyone gave me exactly the answer I was looking for...right on target. So far it looks like everyone has had a bone scan or two. (I'm glad my onc is always looking out for me.)

Chelee

[Faith in Him]

Chelee,

I don't know if bone scans are standard at the time of dx. I do have a friend who presented as stage 3. She went through treatment and was later having knee pain. When her onc asked to see her bone scan he was astonished to find she never had one. The surgeon was supposed to order it. My surgeon ordered all my up front scans, including a bone scan since I was stage 3 after surgery.

[Mary Jo]

I had one. When I told my onc. I had pain in my thigh for about a month, he ordered one. The bone scan was normal, although my onc. told me I had arthritis in my knees. I said "I do......? I have no pain at all." He said "Yes, you do....and then he chuckled and said ..... someday you'll feel it."

Mary Jo

[whatz]

I had a bone scan at initial diagnosis. My assumption was that it was routine along with the CT scan to do initial stage diagnostic. I have not had a PET scan I guess since neither CT or bonescan revealed anything and my lymph nodes were not involved.

[Chelee]

Faith, It would seem to me since I was stage IIIA, Her2/neu, 3+++ right after surgery on 1-3-06...having a bone scan should of been one of the tests they had me do from the get go. Since that time I've had lots of bone pain and complaints. I requested a bone scan about 2 yrs ago due to scapula, lower back and hip pain that was abnormal for me. In hindsight and knowing my onc the way I do now...she didn't want me to have one because it MIGHT show potenial problems that would lead her to order more tests...which equals the cost of more expensive tests. (She figured I had a bad prognosis so why bother.)

Chelee

[Ruth]

Hi Chelee ~
I had one initially at diagnosis (I think within the first week) when they realized it was in my nodes. I haven't had one since but did have the other scans.
Hugs ~ Ruth

[alicem]

My oncologist ordered a bone scan & a CAT scane for me as a baseline before I began my chemo in January. I don't know if this is standard procedure, or if my Dr. was just being cautious.

[DianaT]

Nope, never had one.

[Colleen007]

I had one at diagnosis and approx. one a year since then. They don't do them any more frequently than that because bones take a long time to heal so you wouldn't see any improvemnet if they ran one 3 months later. Since the initial diagnosis, I have also had arthritis show up (knees and ankles)...I know that comes with getting old, but I just can't wrap my head around age 42 being old. Good luck to you - the bone scan will be the easy part.

[Sandra in GA]

After my surgery, my onc ordered a bone scan and a CT scan of my body, in Sept of last year. In order to get into the clinical trial I am now completing (last dose of Tykerb tomorrow, last dose of Herceptin was this past Wed. "YEAH, YEAH"), I had to have no mets to bones or other organs. I had 21 of 21 lymph nodes test +, so when both of these came back negative, that put me stage III instead of IV!! I had another set of bone and CT scans ordered by my radiation onc in February before she began radiation. After seeing my onc in Dec and letting them draw the rest of the blood work for the study, I will see him every three months. They have not told me how often they will order scans then.

Chelee, it does seem strange that you have never had one. They give you a dye IV, but it has never been a problem. Like someone said, those scans just show them how old one is getting. On one of the CT scans, I learned that I have a small inguinal hernia filled with fat! How embarassing is that!!

[Brenda_D]

I had 2 in the last 3 years. First one was to correlate findings on pet/ct (which turned out to be false positives) and second was follow up.

[chrisy]

I've had 2 I think.

One upon my stage IV diagnosis, as part of the "let's see what we're up against" staging. Then another a couple years later.

[Bill]

Nikki had two, one at diagnosis and then another about a year later.

[Paty]

Chelee,

I have had two. One after diagnosis and one at the beginning of this year. Nothing to report.

Paty

[sassy]

Chelee,

I've had three. One at dx for baseline. One about a year later due to hip pain--bone spur on roof of hip socket. One last year following rib pain---fractured ribs.

[charlotte]

One bone scan was done last year.the background, I asked my Dr. what should I do? nothing .remarkable.on my scan. I have rib pain daily.. I also have had muscle jerking , ..
I have fallen twice in less than 2 months, and The X-rays that was taken show the fractured bone..(very painful!
Today I go in for a ct. scan of the heart.I am praying that my ejection rate is close to 50%..

ON another note, my feet are cracking,red, hard to walk on. . I am on tykerb and xeloda..thanks, Charlotte

[Karen Wheel]

I had one --- well, I think it is what you guys are talking about - but everything here I am dealing with "Italian" but it translates back to english as bone exam --- they gave me a contrast and then I waited for like an hour and half and drank a bunch of water --- and they did it in a tube and scanned the entire body ---....

Mine came back clear - and I think that they will do another the first of the year. As they said they would do one every 6 months, but I'm at the 6 month mark and no new bone scan on the horizon ....

At least one a year here - I think.
Karen

[Midwest Alice]

I had one bone scan at 9 months when I went to MDA. I had some 2 areas show up on my ribs.

[Chelee]

It seems everyone with the exception of one person here has had a bone scan so far. In the almost 4 yrs I've been dealing with this you would of thought I would of had at least one in all that time?

I had my 1st one Monday only because Dr. Femino from City of Hope ordered it or it would of never happened. I haven't seen the results yet? Hope they don't find any more mets. I have my femur surgery tomorrow as City of Hope so I pray everything goes ok? Thanks to all of you that replied? I'm going to ask my onc why I never had one in all this time once I get home.

For anyone else reading this that hasn't replied...feel free to say if you had one or not? I will check the board whenever I get home from the hospital...should be 3 days if all goes ok.

Chelee

[Barbara H.]

I had so many of them on the TDM1 trial that I have lost count. I also had to have CT and Muga scans every 6 weeks. Actually, I try to avoid scans as much as possible.
Good luck with your surgery.
Barbara H.

PS: I would reply more often, but I am just too busy with teaching which requires me to also put in a lot of work during the evening and weekends.

[Cannon]

Chelee,

Like you, stage IIIA and absolutely bone scan at diagnosis and every six months since! (nothing, thank God) Sadly, I'd say it's another example of your doctors' gross incompetence.

[Jackie07]

My oncologist reluctantly ordered one for me after I had requested for it when my recurrence was found in 2007. He did not think it was possible for me to have bone mets at the time - and he was right. But since they had missed my cancer for four years, I held him 'hostage' (while I was the true 'hostage' here) and demanded the test.

I only knew about the bone scan because it was listed on many members' signatures and postings.

By the way, we will be thinking of you tomorrow during the procedure. Prayers are sent from Central Texas and ...

[vlcarr]

I had one before I started the clinical trial. If the cancer had spread I would not have qualified to be in the trial. They came back and ask me about my leg and neck. Things showed up there I guess because I have metal due to surgery in both of these areas.

Not sure if/when I will have another. I haven't discussed that with my onc.

[tdonnelly]

I have had 2 Bone Scans
1 - Bone Density

5 1/2 weeks-Daily Radiation

Several chest xrays

Knee xrays-Lost count.........Car accident 2001

3 Tyroid Uptake Scans

*I can no longer use a Microwave in my kitchen either.