Most breast cancer survivors will be advised to have a bone scan and bone mineral density (BMD) test, annually, or every few years. Results of the baseline scans and future tests will help you and your medical team decide how to manage your risk.
A bone density test is a relatively short, simple test to take. I found it to be a piece of cake. You take off your shoes, leave on your clothes, and place your legs on top of a rubber wedge. The scanning machine passes above your body (not really close) and then you do it again in a different position. (Mine was lying on my side with one hip up). Total time for both scans: about 15 minutes. The technician does some calculations on the computer (based on your age, height and weight, I believe) and you go home with a computer-generated picture of your skeletal structure, detailing which bones are weak, strong and comparing you to other women who match with you, as well as with others, older and younger than you.
A bone scan shows any "hot spots" of activity in your bones. This test takes about one hour. You lay on your back on this too skinny exam-type table and the scanner passes over your body in a circular motion. At our facility it starts at your feet, circles around and moves sloooooowly upward. No pain, but I do not like it when the machine passes over your face. It is really close - you couldn't fit your hand between your nose and the machine. Simplest solution for me was to close my eyes while it was over my head (about 3 minutes) and sing to myself. (Good thing it was to myself - I would have scared the radiology tech!). You have to lie still for this procedure, but within reason. I was able to turn my head side to side while it was scanning the rest of my anatomy. My first bone scan, I did not do my homework and as a result, got myself into a frenzy. As the machine moves, the computer spits out a digital rendition of your body, with some spots showing up red. I had a bunch of red spots and was sure I had bone mets throughout my body. What I found when the test was done is that the "hot spots" include arthritis sites, past fractures, etc. Whew!
