What is involved in the bone scan of cancer?

Bone scanning of cancer includes injection of radioactive substances called tracer into a vein to produce gamma waves that can be picked up with a special camera. The burner consists of radionuclides that bind to the bones and show like a dark or light spot when scanning bone cancer. This procedure uses nuclear technology to detect cancer or bone cancer that metastasized to bones from another part of the body.

patients preparing for the bone scan of cancer may not be able to post before the test. A technician usually injection that could feel like bee stings. It usually takes one and four hours for the radioactive substance to move around the skeleton. During this time, patients will be asked to drink up to six glasses of water to rinse any hitchhiking material that is not absorbed by the bone. Patients still have to stay on the padded table while the large camera passes. Movement during actual scanning can create blurred images. Although this post isUP painless, for some patients it is difficult for some patients to lie during bone scanning of cancer, especially if bone pain occurs.

Radiologist or nuclear medicine specialist is looking for dark or light areas picked up with a camera. A dark spot, which is also called a cold stain, may indicate reduced blood supply and lack of trackerse absorption. Cold places may also mean that cancer is present in bones as a primary diagnosis or cancer spreading to the bones from the organ. Normal scanning shows evenly distributed indicator throughout the body.

light spots in the pictures, also referred to as hot areas, represent an excessive binding of the hitchhiker to the bone surface. This could mean arthritis, fracture or bone infection. In addition to using bone scan cancer use doctorswith leukemia and lymphoma.

Further tests can be used in conjunction with bone scanning of cancer to exclude the disease. Computer tomography with one photonon (SPECT) can produce deep layers in the bone, a process that lasts about 30 minutes. Doctors could also order a magnetic resonance imaging test or bone biopsy to detect bone cancer.

Risks associated with bone scanning is considered to be a low, approximately the same level of radiation exposure as a conventional X -ray. Radionuclides injected into the bloodstream are excreted in urine and left completely within a few days. The allergic reaction to the tracing material rarely occurs, but it is possible.