Why bone scan ?

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User

Posted 10 Aug 2019 at 16:39

So my husbands MRI was clear but he has had to have a bone scan . Without stating the obvious why isn’t the MRI enough ...... I am terrified of the result and our ability to cope

User

Posted 10 Aug 2019 at 19:17

Yes the bone scan can be very worrying. I thought it was routine although I read of people who don't have one.

It would be better to fill in your profile although your earlier note says psa 3.6 and Gleason 3+5. The psa is low which must be some re-assurance.

You earlier wrote he has static pain that makes you worried. I had that as well and it made me worried but they kept saying it was arthritis and after about 12 months of low psa results I started to think it probably was. It seemed amazing to get painful arthritis and prostate cancer at the same time.

There are other pains that arise and the first nurse I met warned me about them. She said you will get a lot of aches and pains and you'll think they're associated with your condition but it's very unlikely they will be. You need to keep a sense of perspective and not get ahead of yourself and not read scare stories. Well that was for me, but it seems all you can do most of the time.

Edited by member 10 Aug 2019 at 19:19 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 10 Aug 2019 at 22:06

The mpMRI scan is just of the pelvis area. They will look at the bones on it, but it only covers a small area of the body.

To rule out spread to bones, you need a full body bone scan. That will highlight any newly growing bone, although it won't identify why it's newly growing. Unless there's a known explanation (e.g. you broke the bone in the last year), they would then X-ray any areas which show up in the bone scan, to see if they look to be cancer or not.

This is important because the treatment paths are very different if there are any bone mets.

User

Posted 11 Aug 2019 at 01:18

It depends where you live, Francine. The NHS trusts have to decide how best to spend their limited budgets so some only offer a bone scan where there are indicators of high risk. Meanwhile, an increasing number of trusts send all men for a bone scan at diagnosis, probably because they have realised that a scan is cheaper than radical treatment that is too late.

In your case, it is most likely that it is just Notts policy to give routine bone scans to all men diagnosed, but with an element of Gleason 5 it makes sense to check.

Edited by member 11 Aug 2019 at 01:20 | Reason: Not specified

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User

Posted 11 Aug 2019 at 08:28

It was nearly six years ago, but I was diagnosed at city hospital. MRI and bone scan, were routine then. Also at that time it was trus biopsy followed by MRI, bone scan and, CT scan.

Thanks Chris

Edited by member 11 Aug 2019 at 08:33 | Reason: Additional comment

User

Posted 11 Aug 2019 at 10:57

My bone scan picked up the fact that I had damage my Sternum (breast bone) and a couple of ribs in a car crash I had in July 18. At the time I had a CT scan and was told that I only had soft tissue damage!!! I presume that Hubby has had the Pelvic MRI and not so nice Biopsy. Don't worry about any other scans, they're quite a normal part of the process.

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