Have pancreatice cancer with back pain can a PET scan tell if it has gone to my bones?

Yes, PET scans show the location of metastatic disease. They take advantage of malignant cells increased metabolic rate and high requirement for nutrients. The test requires glucose (sugar) that has been irradiated. The irradiated glucose gives off a signal that can be detected. The radioactive signal is combined with a cat scan that overlays the signal of x-rays with the radioactive signal. The test is amazing in terms of imaging quality.

Sorry to hear of your diagnosis. Pain in the back is not necessarily from spreading cancer but may be referred from nerve endings in the pancreas. I hope that you find a good pain doctor who can keep you comfortable.

Some dogs can. However, see your doctor first.

they used a nucular pet scan to see if my cancer went into my bones.

YES!! But get a PET/CT scan. The difference is 43% more accurate.

PET/CT is more accurate than MRI, PET, CT, x-ray, ultrasound, and most of the time you have to fight for it. Also, do not use a moble service. Doctors often times own a portion on the imaging service, so know that you can choose were you go. Use an established service.

If you have medicare you can get a test under the national registry.

PET and PET/CT are sometimes difficult to obtain. This is a relatively costly study and it is state of the art. Insurance companies are often one step behind the cutting edge, and do not necessarily reimburse for studies until they become the practice standard.

I have an ongoing problem obtaining PET and PET/CT scans for some of my patients, even when the result of the scan will be the deciding factor in whether or not I will offer the patient major surgery. In some cases, I have won the fight by repeatedly contacting the insurance companies and eventually talking directly to upper level managers.

There are two things I have to comment on. First of all, the FDG (fluorodeoxyglucose) isn't "irradiated", it is actually manufactured with radioactive isotope. It, itself, is radioactive and thats why it can be detected by a gamma ray camera. A minor point, I know... but details are important to me. ;) The other thing is that the comments about nerve pain and pain control are 100% correct.

Although CT/PET, bone scan, or even plain film xray may be able to diagnose bone invasion, this doesn't change management. Pancreatic cancer tends to go first to lymph nodes and to liver, and these are evaluable by conventional CT scan. The treatment for localized/early stage disease is surgery followed by chemotherapy, and the treatment for advanced disease is chemotherapy alone. Radiation can play a role in selected cases.

If you were already diagnosed with disease which had spread from the pancreas (and most people are - this is the nature of the disease) then systemic measures such as chemotherapy are the central focus of treatment. Additional focus of disease is not going to change that plan.

Directly above the pancreas is the root vessel that feeds the entire foregut along with its appendages, the liver and pancreas, as well as the spleen. This artery, the celiac axis, is covered with nerves that are going to and coming from the foregut. This is a region that is notorious for involvement in pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic pain is a sharp midback pain to start with, and direct irritation of pain fibers from this cancer is treated by a celiac nerve block, or even division of these nerve fibers. A pain specialist absolutely is the right person to see in regard to exploring options such as this, for ongoing pain management.