Unveiling Cancer Detection Methods: Your Guide to the Medical Maze

Bone Scan

Patients will receive a bone scan if doctors suspect that they may have a form of bone cancer, such as osteosarcoma. A bone scan will create an image of the patient's skeleton. This happens through the use of a radioactive tracer, which is injected into a vein in the patient's arm a short time before the scan. In most cases, it takes three to four hours for the tracer to collect in the patient's bones. During the bone scan, patients must remain still unless the technician or doctor asks them to move in order to provide additional angles for the images. Patients will need to drink a significant amount of water following the scan to flush their body of the tracer. If the bone scan reveals abnormal results, patients may need additional tests.

Chest X-Rays

If doctors suspect that a patient may have lung cancer, one of the first tests they will order is a chest x-ray. X-rays are high-energy waves that pass through the part of the body being examined. Once they pass through the body, a machine on the other side picks up the x-rays and creates an image out of them. Different parts of the body will look different based on the rate at which they can absorb the energy from the x-rays. Bones are dense and often appear white and fairly clear, whereas the lungs are soft and should appear dark. Chest x-rays often reveal the tumors that lung cancer creates as white-grey masses. It is vital to note that chest x-rays cannot always differentiate between lung cancer and other lung conditions, such as a lung abscess or pneumonia. Thus, doctors will often order additional tests after a chest x-ray. If they suspect lung cancer, the next test they will order will often be a computerized tomography scan.