Scans - posted by Pierre

Laura had 2 scans last week. A CT scan on Wednesday, followed by a gallium scan on Friday. So, what's the diff? The following, on CT scans, is what I took from a website as it is simplest explanation I've found.

"CT's are still just X-ray images but they produce a near 3D image of the interior of the body. They do this by having the scanner spin around the body taking multiple pictures, or slices. A computer combines these images into a single image that looks like a slice taken right out of your body when looking down from the top of the head."

A gallium scan, on the other hand does more than just give you a plain picture of what's there. It differentiates between structures in the body. Basically, Laura had to be injected with gallium mixture a few days prior to the scan. Apparently cancer cells quite like gallium and don't find it horrid at all and soak it up. Those areas will light up quite vividly on the image when the scan is performed.

From my understanding, the CT and gallium scan complement each other. The CT can show structures in the body and a trained professional can see abnormalities. The gallium scan results, when matched with the images from the CT scan, will help them know if those abnormalities are likely to be cancer or just scar tissue and such (scar tissue wouldn't absorb gallium, therefore wouldn't show up on the gallium scan).

We are not sure when the results will be ready, or when we will meet with our oncologist to speak about the scans. We will be trying to get more info this week as we are quite anxious to find out the results.