Could a deformed spine (scoliosis) throw off a bone scan which is looking for possible cancer?
I was diagnosed with breast cancer in March…because of the idiot surgeon (yes, he was an idiot which is why I switched Doctors)..I finally got the bone scan that I should have had done in March completed last week. The question that I have is this: Does cancer usually stay in the general area if it starts to spread, or can it jump around?
They say that there is an area of concern on my spine, so I am having an MRI. How worried should I be that it may have spread based on my having a wedge shaped vertebra in the same area that they are concerned with? Could that be a reason for abnormal growth in the area?
My PET scan came back perfect as did all the other tests that I have which stated that there was no evidence of spreading. I had numerous MRIs done of the breast, a chest xray, blood tests looking for markers. Although they did not do a sentinel node biopsy to see if it had spread. They were going to do the biopsy when they were going to do the surgery removing the lump.
This is was answered by :
Denisedds :
I don’t understand what you mean by “Does cancer usually stay in the general area if it starts to spread, or can it jump around?”
Cancer spreads either through your lymph nodes or your bloodstream. Breast cancers nearly always will spread to the axillary nodes first, but every once in awhile you will see one that didn’t. Once the cancer cells are circulating in your body they can start a new tumor anywhere.
There is nothing better than a bone scan to pick up bone mets and this is a common metastatic site for breast cancer. However, if they want an MRI they are not concerned about your bones as this is used to look at soft tissue. Without the radiologists reports I have no way of knowing what is happening. Scoliosis does not throw off a bone scan. The scan itself doesn’t look for anything it’s just taking a picture. It’s the radiologist that determines if there is anything there.