Scans After Diagnosis

After a breast cancer diagnosis, you may need additional scans to help your team understand whether the cancer has spread beyond your breast. Not everyone needs all of these tests - and your doctor will explain which scans are right for your situation. A CT scan uses X-rays to create detailed cross-sectional pictures of the inside of your body. You lie on a bed that passes slowly through a ring-shaped scanner. The scan itself is painless and takes about ten to twenty minutes, and you may be given contrast dye by injection. Some patients are also offered a PET scan which looks at the activity of cells in your body. For this scan you are given an injection of a radioactively labeled tracer which is a form of sugar. Cancer cells use the sugar more than normal cells, and the scanner creates a colour coded image of areas with higher uptake shown as brighter areas on the scan. An MRI scan uses strong magnets and radio waves to create very detailed images of soft tissues without using any radiation. You lie inside a tunnel-shaped machine for twenty to forty minutes while it makes quite loud knocking noises. You will be given headphones or earplugs during an MRI scan to protect your hearing and help you feel comfortable. Tell your team beforehand if you are worried about enclosed spaces. MRI scans can sometimes feel claustrophobic for some people - although breast MRI is not typically, as you are lying face down and your head is not inside the magnet. Staff will support you throughout and can offer medication to help you feel calmer if needed. You can usually have music playing through headphones during the scan, and the team will be able to communicate with you throughout the procedure. A bone scan checks whether cancer has spread to your bones, and involves an injection of a small amount of radioactive tracer into you arm. You wait a few hours while the tracer travels to your bones before the scan, which takes about thirty minutes. Blood tests can check how your liver, and other organs are working. Together, all these tests help your medical team build a complete picture of your overall health. Having scans does not mean your team expects to find cancer elsewhere in your body. Scans are often performed as a precaution, particularly for larger tumours, or certain cancer types. Most staging scans come back showing no spread of cancer, and the tests simply help your team plan the most appropriate treatment for you. Results from scans usually take about a week to come through from the reporting team. Waiting for scan results can feel very stressful and uncertain. Try to keep yourself occupied with normal activities and reach out for support from family, friends, or your breast-care nurse if you need it. Remember that getting thorough information helps your team plan the best treatment. If scans show the cancer has spread to another part of your body, this is called secondary or metastatic breast cancer. While this can be very difficult news to receive, effective treatments are available. Treatment aims to control the disease and maintain your quality of life. Waiting for results is one of the hardest parts of this journey. Be kind to yourself during this time, and reach out for support when you need it: Your breast-care nurse is just a phone call away.