scan. The body eventually gets rid of the glucose solution naturally, and no special precautions are needed. The PET scan machine is a table surrounded by a doughnut-shaped camera that is moved up and down around the body. A PET scan is painless, but the test may take a while and the child must be able to lie still; some children may require sedation. Some food and medications may interfere with PET scan results so your child will be given special diet instructions before the day of the scan. X RAY An X ray is a simple procedure that uses low levels of radiation to create pictures of the tissues, organs, and bones inside the body. Standard X rays, which might be called plain films , are taken of areas that might be affected by your child’s condition. Children have to be still for a moment to have X rays taken, but X rays don’t cause pain. To minimize exposure to radiation, a special gown or vest will shield parts of your child’s body that aren’t being imaged, and you may be asked to step out of the room or wear similar protection when the X ray is taken. CHEST X RAY Chest X rays have many uses. For instance, they can be used to look for enlarged lymph nodes inside the chest or lungs, to diagnose infections or spread of disease in the lungs, or to check the placement of tubes that were Ultrasound is a technique that uses the echoes from high-frequency sound waves to produce a picture of internal organs or tumors. It has many uses, including finding tumors in the belly, checking the health of the kidneys and bladder, and measuring the size of some organs (like the liver, gall bladder, and spleen). A type of ultrasound that looks at the way blood flows and the condition of the blood vessels, Doppler , can be used to diagnose clots in blood vessels. An ultrasound is a painless test that does not use radiation. The child lies on a table for a short time, and a clear jelly is smeared on the area being examined. (The jelly wipes off easily after the test.) A small, round handle is moved around on the jelly to get a clear picture of the tissue or organ being examined. Depending on the location of the ultrasound, the child may not be allowed to eat or drink for several hours or may need to have a full bladder before the test. WHAT IS STAGING? Staging is the process of determining the location of the tumor and amount of tumor present at diagnosis. Staging for rhabdomyosarcoma and soft tissue sarcoma is based on the location of the tumor, the size of the tumor, whether the tumor has spread from the primary site, and the type of tumor cell. If your child has surgery, the amount of tumor remaining after the surgery will be a factor in staging. The method of treatment proposed for your child will depend upon the stage of the disease at the time of diagnosis. Types of Rhabdomyosarcoma: • Embryonal: most common type, more common in younger children • Alveolar: second most common type, more common in adolescents • Other: spindle cell/sclerosing, pleomorphic/anaplastic, and mixed type are uncommon, and seen in less than 2% of cases in children put in for treatment. ULTRASOUND The staging of rhabdomyosarcoma is done in three parts. A stage, clinical group, and risk group will be assigned to your child’s rhabdomyosarcoma, as explained below. Your doctor can discuss the staging system for your child’s soft tissue sarcoma.
5
Powered by FlippingBook