Bone Scans: Has Breast Cancer Spread to Your Bones?
A bone scan, also called bone scintigraphy, is an imaging test used to find the cause of unexplained bone pain, or to look for a bone infection or injury that can't be seen on an X-ray.
Keep in mind that a bone scan is a different test than a bone density test, such as a DEXA scan, which evaluates bone strength and your risk of osteoporosis and osteopenia.
Why bone scans are done
For people diagnosed with breast cancer, a bone scan helps doctors figure out if breast cancer has spread to the bones. When breast cancer spreads to the bones, it's called bone metastasis.
Your doctor may order a bone scan:
when you're first diagnosed, to make sure your bones are healthy, as well as to create a set of baseline images that can be compared to any future bone scans that are done
during and after treatment, if you experience persistent bone and joint pain, or if other tests suggest that the breast cancer has spread to the bones
You likely don't need a bone scan if you've been diagnosed with a non-invasive form of breast cancer, such as DCIS. You also usually don't need to have yearly follow-up bone scans if you aren't having persistent bone or joint pain.
If you've been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer that has spread to the bones, your doctor may order bone scans at regular intervals to monitor the disease.
Preparing for a bone scan
When you schedule a bone scan, the facility staff member tells you how to prepare. Usually, you don’t need to do anything special before a bone scan. When you make the bone scan appointment, be sure to tell the staff member about all the medicines you take, including any over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, supplements, and herbs. Products that contain barium or bismuth may affect the test results.
What to expect during a bone scan
Bone scans begin with an injection of radioactive material, called a tracer, into your arm, which will be taken up by the body’s bone-making cells (called osteoblasts) over the next few hours. These bone-making cells are found mostly in areas damaged by disease, where they are trying to make new bone to repair the damaged areas.
After waiting two to four hours for the tracer to be absorbed, the doctor uses a special camera to scan the body.
Getting your bone scan results
Areas of unusual bone activity, common in both cancer and arthritis, will show up on the scan because the tracer collects in areas of new bone formation. These areas appear as dark patches on the image of your bones. Any part of the bone can be affected by cancer.
Are there any risks from bone scans?
Except for the needle stick for the tracer injection, a bone scan is painless, although it may require you to lie still for up to an hour while the scanning is done. The test involves very little radiation exposure and poses no greater risk than a standard X-ray.
Questions to ask your doctor
If your doctor recommends a bone scan, here are some questions you may want to ask:
Who does the bone scan?
What happens during the bone scan?
How long will the scan take?
What are the risks and benefits of having a bone scan?
What will the results mean?
How long will it take to get the results?
Who explains the results to me?
If the bone scan finds signs of cancer, will I need other tests? If so, which other tests?
— Last updated on August 25, 2023 at 4:02 PM