Extra spot on RAI scan

tygin

Last friday I was given 150 mCi. I just went in for a full body scan today and was told that there is a spot somewhere around my bladder that looks suspicious. I talked with my doctors' nurse who said that the description seems so vague and that I am more than welcomed to bring it up at my next appointment in May. I feel that this is too far away. I want to know what this spot is. Has anyone else received an "unclean" scan?

litman25

I have been told that it is very normal to see some uptake in the bladder, area. I even had some in my nasal area that they said was not unusual.

Rustifox

It is very normal to see 'spots' of physiological uptake on RAI scans, which are sometimes interpreted as 'unclean' scans... normal sites of physiologic (ie normal body processes) uptake include bladder, intestines, and even other 'odd' ones - a sneeze on your gown and/or pants can even show up as 'spots'!

Sometimes these can even be something as simple as having a kleenex (contaminated with RAI mucous) in the pocket of your pants, spit curls in the hair, or chewing gum... so I wouldn't worry too much about this at all. This is why radiololgists train for over 10 years - so that they can tell the difference between these types of 'accidental/physiological uptakes' and 'real' issues for us. If there was a definite 'positive' reading on this scan, the radiologist would clearly have stated concern and recommended further follow up in the report.

Here are a few links to help set your mind at ease:
http://www.jsnm.org/cgi-bin/select.cgi?file=04062813&filetype=2

This is an excellent article about false positives - the pdf file will download immediately for you, as long as you have adobe acrobat reader:
http://bjr.birjournals.org/cgi/reprint/73/870/627

So please don't worry too much about this... even drops of urine in our underwear can cause 'spots' on the scan that require a skilled eye... it is likely that if the scan was a serious concern, they would have had you return for a second scan today, or next week, to see if the 'spot' continued to be there. I have had to go back 3 times after a post treatment scan - but again, it turned out to be absolutely nothing to worry about. I hope the above links can maybe help set your mind at ease a little about all the things that will show up on these scans - many of them are just 'false' readings from innocuous contamination. All the best to you.

LMedlin

I had that on several of my scans. I was told it was just where my body was getting rid of the waste and so far have not had any problems. I have been having scans since 2003. You can persue it if you are extremely worried. It is always your choice.