Scans coming up

[docbulldog]

I am pretty confused on the types of scans I've read about on this site. I am going in next week for a CT scan and Bone scan. What are all of these numbers associated with scans? ex.GA 68 and others. Thank you

[Tall_Allen]

This may help:

pcnrv.blogspot.com/2016/12/...

[docbulldog in reply to Tall_Allen]

Thank you, now to make heads or tails of that information. Have a great day!

[Tall_Allen in reply to docbulldog]

I hoped it would be patient-friendly. Please feel free to ask questions.

[Runner4000 in reply to Tall_Allen]

Tall_Allen,

The article is very informative and helpful. Thanks!

[AlanMeyer]

Here's a little explanation of the letters and numbers. They are the names and atomic weights of elements, i.e., atoms by themselves (not combined with other atoms): For example:

Ga-68 = Gallium (Ga) with 31 protons and 37 neutrons = 68 total nucleons.

F-18 = Fluorine (F) with 9 protons and 9 neutrons = 18 total nucleons.

C-11 = Carbon with 6 protons and 5 neutrons = 11 total nucleons.

etc.

The number of protons defines an atom. All gallium atoms have 31 protons. All carbon atoms have 6, and so on. However there are different possible "isotopes" of these atoms, i.e., different numbers of neutrons on particular atoms. All the carbon atoms with only 5 neutrons are C-11. Those with the usual 6 are C-12. You may have heard of carbon-14 which is sometimes used in dating old bones - C-14.

Some isotopes are radioactive. They "decay" by giving off particles, e.g., electrons or positrons, or giving off x-rays, generally changing the number of neutrons (turning themselves into different isotopes) or protons (changing themselves into different elements) in the process. The radioactive atoms can be mixed into a solution and injected into a person's body. The radiation from the atoms goes right through the body to the outside and can be detected by scanners that create images that radiologists and doctors can interpret to see what's going on inside the body.

There are serious textbooks that explain all this in more detail, but I hope what I've given sheds a bit of light on the mysteries.

Alan

[docbulldog in reply to AlanMeyer]

That was a great chemistry lesson...I had know idea the numbers were referring to the nuclear makeup. In my small town of Lewiston, ID heaven knows how up to date their CAT scans are. Just hoping I get a good result even though my psa is up to 4.85. Thank you

[Shooter1 in reply to docbulldog]

Talk about small town--Bonners Ferry, N.Idaho. Tests in Sand Point..

[tocinovino in reply to Shooter1]

Jeeez. I thought Boise was small.

[tango65]

The PSMA PET/CT scans (Ga 68 and 18F DCFPyl) have the highest detection rates, particularly when the PSA is below 2.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/313...

They are not approved in the USA but there are some clinical trials.

clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/resu...

Axumin PET/CT scans are approved in the USA. The detection rate is lower than PSMA PET/CT and they could have more false positives. The detection rate is better if the PSA is higher than 2.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Bone scans have the lowest detection rate.

[tallguy2]

I get a CT scan (with and without contrast) and a nuclear bone scan (with Tec-99) every 3 months, because I am on a trial. Prior to that these scans were ordered when the PSA started to rise and accelerate back towards 2.0

These are valuable scans. The CT helps detects progression of disease (or lack thereof) in primarily soft tissue (like lymph nodes) and organs. The bones scan is exactly what it means: it helps detect metastasis in the bones. The other important scan is the PET with Axumin. This injection only "lights up" prostate cancer, from the head to the buttocks and everywhere in between.

[2dee]

Get the scans. Get a copy for your personal records. (DVD)

Get a copy of the report for each. Just ask for them...

The scans are not difficult and a valuable tool for diagnosis and treatment choices.

Later scans provide comparative judgment of disease progression or hopefully some regression.

2Dee

[Muffin2019]

Scans are good, I had both in January due to psa went up to 4.1, scans were great, no progression and no new lesions so reassuring to me. Since leveling to 3.6, psa like stock market.

[j-o-h-n]

As I've posted before... I get so many scans, I'm starting to speak Scandinavian....

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Wednesday 02/26/2020 5:28 PM EST

[docbulldog]

Thank you for all this great advice.