Anyone had a full body scan when they have prostate cancer?

@mjp0512 My PSMA started at my head.

@topf
For my husband too . I thought it always includes head too but it seems that in some places it is different *huh

@topf - My scans actually started just above the lower jaw and ran to just above the knee. I was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma via biopsy prior to the scan. If it was small cell carcinoma or neuroendocrine carcinoma, scan would have included the brain and been coupled with MRI (I asked). Adenocarcinoma very, very rarely metastasizes to the brain and then usually only after it is identified in other organs like lungs and liver first. (Or so I was told)

@gkgdawg, MRI of the hip. Call any of his doctors and get the order by phone. Abiraterone can cause joint inflammation and bone loss, but helps prevent metastasis to the bone. Orgovyx can cause both muscle and bone loss.
If he hasn't had a dexa for bone health, he should have one. Again you should be able to get the requisition by a phone call.
Are you having follow-up PSA labs?
Was his cancer intense enough to required continued ADT?
The radiation beams can often pass through the hip bones and/or adjacent to them. Radiation itself can be destructive to bone.
You might not want to wait. If you call tomorrow morning, have them send you a copy of the requisitions. That way you can call around to find the earliest appointments.

PSMA PET/CT scans are standard of care at major cancer centers if MRI & biopsy show cancer. My PSMA PET/CT scan was from "Scull base to mid thigh"

I had a PSMA PET/CT. This is an advanced imaging test that injects a radioactive tracer to target the prostate-specific membrane antigen protein, allowing doctors to detect prostate cancer growth or spread with significantly higher accuracy than traditional CT or bone scans. My test was done because my biopsy showed cribriform cells, which are often associated with metastasis. I encourage you to discuss this with your provider. Mayo Clinic has an article on their website called "PSMA PET scan for prostate cancer" which has some very good information about the test.

I did have a full body MRI at Sloan after my BCR in addition to a pelvic MRI.
Let me just say that I will NEVER, EVER have another one unless I am completely anesthetized (out!)!!
The techs told me nothing about what to expect - intentionally now that I think about it. I was never claustrophobic before this event, but now I totally AM!
You are weighed down with about 60 lbs of sandbags to immobilize you and a polycarbonate catcher’s mask is screwed into place over your face, crushing your nose to prohibit movement.
You are then slid into a coffin-like tube (being generous with the dimensions) and spend the next 45 minutes in total hell; banging, clanging, whirring and screeching noises assault you as you struggle to breathe and not choke to death on the post nasal drip threatening to reach your larynx.
I’m telling you man, nothing you have growing inside you can be worse than this f***ing machine!
Phil

@heavyphil - ...and the music they let you pick out to comfort you is drowned out by the banging, clanging, whirring, and screeching noises, so why bother. Never had a full body but 2 pelvis, 3 lumbar, and 1 shoulder. I am not looking forward to another.

I have not but used to work for a cancer drug company and the patients in the clinical trial all had full body scans as part of the prostate cancer clinical trial screening to look for both metastasis and drug/tumor update ratios, to track the disease.

@gkgdawg did he also get a bone density test? My husband had that around diagnosis and psma pet scan. Also on firmagon and zytiga but he works out 5 days a week, weight lifting and treadmill and stays active at home