Bone Scan
today I had my first ever bone scan. Also a ct scan. During my bone scan after the full body they did a close up of my forearms, chest and then a side chest view. Does that mean there was something concerning or is that normal with breast cancer?
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You don’t say why the scan was ordered, but I can understand your concern, tho it sounds to me like a thorough scan was done as a matter of routine.
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Ive had this dull, deep back pain that hasn’t been helped by chiropractor appointments so they wanted to be sure nothing spreading to the bone.
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The bone scan is looking at your bones for anything that might be of concern. They want to get the best imaging possible, period. If that involves additional or multiple views of some areas, it means they want to have the most complete picture possible. I hope you don’t have to experience other testing or scans but please don’t try to give meaning or interpret what is going on based on what images were taken, if the tech looked concerned or serious, or a number of other things people use to figure out if something is concerning. The only thing to focus on will be the actual results. Take care
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One of the techs told me once that sometimes the radiologist reading the scans will have a student with them too and they might be explaining things to them. The techs tell me that the views asked for just always depend on who's reading and that you can't draw any conclusions from what they ask for.
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Good comment, three tree. Trying to second guess what might be going on, i.e. Should I be concerned about … number of images taken, the expression on the techs face, or any number of things besides the scan results themselves is like reading tea leaves. It tells you nothing. Waiting for test results can be anxiety provoking but anything other than the actual results are not relevant.
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Exbrnxgrl - I do remember the first bone scan I got right after being diagnosed. I only knew to go there, but not really why, or anything about the procedure. All I remember was crying and being terrified that my then seemingly "confined to the breast" cancer might show up somewhere else. The tech really sensed my first timer fear and anxiety, and as I was getting ready to go, she said to me in a very pointed and reassuring way, "I think we got some REAL GOOD pictures here!". Again being new, I wasn't quite with it, but got a sense she was trying to tell me in the only way she could, that all looked good on her end. Sure enough, I had a totally clean scan at that time and the surgeon told me I was "darn lucky" given my general status. That lasted 3-4 years, but here I am now, a seasoned bone scanner with stage 4.
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threetree,
While that sounds lovely and I understand that the techs may have a great deal of experience with these scans, they are not radiologists. They simply don’t have the expertise and are not qualified to interpret what they see. Personally, I wouldn’t be comfortable with someone who is not qualified to read scans telling me anything but I guess we’re all different. I stand firm in waiting for results read by a qualified radiologist.
I am a retired teacher and have decades of experience in observing children’s behaviors and academic development. Despite this, while I am very good at making observations, if a child is struggling, I am in no way qualified to diagnose anything! I have had some very, very strong hunches about why a child might be struggling and I have often been correct but actually diagnosing something is not my field of expertise. I kind of see that as a parallel situation. However, it is simply unprofessional for an unqualified person to be interpreting or diagnosing beyond the scope of their training. As a teacher, I could have my credentials revoked if I diagnosed a student with something beyond the scope of my credentials. I imagine it may be the same for those in the medical field.1 -
Exbrnxgrl - I know exactly what you are saying and agree. Like you as a teacher, I do think the techs get a general sense of what they are seeing, especially if anything is particularly glaring, but like you say, I don't think they should be offering ( or asked for) any official or professional opinions. I would only take the radiologist's impression as anything valid, and even then I think there are times when a second or third opinion is warranted.
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thank you all for your comments. It is a scary feeling thinking of it possibly turning to a stage 4 diagnosis..and not that I think that’s what is happening, but I catch myself going down the rabbit hole at times and reading into things that I shouldn’t be, such as the close-up shots. After a couple of days I thought to myself, I was sort of breathing heavier than usual because I was slightly nervous and claustrophobic. She put a rubber band around my feet too! So that alone could have possibly distorted the pictures in my chest area. I have my double mastectomy FINALLY on Monday, so for now that’s what I’m concentrating on. Getting this sucker removed!
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