Aa
Husband having iliac crest biopsy.
Just wondering why they would do a bone biopsy for lung cancer?
Hi,
Suzanne08 can be right. The biopsy can be done to see if there is malignant invasion, especially if blood tests and imaging tools are inconclusive. Bone involvement is pretty common for lung cancer, some patients actually get fractures before they get any problems such as coughing.
Other reasons for doing the bone marrow would be:
if the components of the blood (red blood cells, platelets…)seem too low, out of proportion to the extent of the cancer – looking at the marrow may show another problem not related at all to the malignancy
A different cancer is considered such as myeloma.
The best answer comes from the doctor requesting it. Get involved, discuss the plans with your doctor and while there may be some gray areas, a little knowledge would make you feel less anxious.
Stay positive.
Suzanne08 can be right. The biopsy can be done to see if there is malignant invasion, especially if blood tests and imaging tools are inconclusive. Bone involvement is pretty common for lung cancer, some patients actually get fractures before they get any problems such as coughing.
Other reasons for doing the bone marrow would be:
if the components of the blood (red blood cells, platelets…)seem too low, out of proportion to the extent of the cancer – looking at the marrow may show another problem not related at all to the malignancy
A different cancer is considered such as myeloma.
The best answer comes from the doctor requesting it. Get involved, discuss the plans with your doctor and while there may be some gray areas, a little knowledge would make you feel less anxious.
Stay positive.
Hi ElleninAZ
I am not a doctor but would guess they would do one to make sure the cancer has not spead to the bones. My mother passed of Breast Cancer and they had to test her bones to see if had spread. That is all I know though. Hopefully someone can give you a better explanation.
Suzanne
I am not a doctor but would guess they would do one to make sure the cancer has not spead to the bones. My mother passed of Breast Cancer and they had to test her bones to see if had spread. That is all I know though. Hopefully someone can give you a better explanation.
Suzanne
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