Note: Can you tell from an MRI if the mass is cancerous?
Of course, you can!
Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI is perhaps a well-established approach in medical science used for the identification & assessment of soft tissue tumors & accurately helps determine the nature of the tumors – Benign or Malignant!
Not just that,
MRI is a diagnostic process that can detail the shape, size, stage, and precise location of the malignant or cancerous growth! It can show you whether cancer originates in that very position or is it one that has spread to a definite area over time!
No doubt,
Doctors prefer MRI scans over all other diagnostic approaches for cancer assessment!
However,
A static MRI may not trace a cancerous mass in its initial stage because of the deeper location and the existence of a wide variety of soft tissues that appear almost similar to the ordinary eye! That is why doctors order a subcategory of MRI scans called the MRI with contrast.
Do you know what an MRI with contrast is & how it can tell whether the mass is cancerous or not?
If not, you can get a detailed insight herein! So, sit back & keep reading with me!
What is MRI with contrast & how is it different from a static MRI?
A static MRI is a process in which strong magnets & radio waves lay used to curate an in-depth image of your internal body structures & functions. It is a non-invasive test, meaning no wear & tear in your body. Therefore, the test does not require a hospital stay & lay conducted on an outpatient basis.
Unlike a CT scan or X-Ray, the test does not indulge in radiation use, and therefore the possibility of future complications is nil in this diagnostic approach. The test takes around 15 to 45 minutes on average & depending upon the area of assessment, it may even take an hour or more!
Whereas,
An MRI with contrast is nothing but the same process alongside the use of contrast dye named gadolinium-based contrast agents or GCAs before the scanning to ensure better clarity to the MRI imaging.
No, the contrast dye shall not change the color of your internal organs permanently. All it does is temporary changes the view of imaging modality so that various soft tissues can become distinguished from one another.
MRI with contrast is not completely free from side effects like a static MRI! Instead, there lay a possibility for mild setbacks to pop up after the test such as – Fatigue, Nausea, Dizziness, Headache, Skin Rashes or Redness, Itching, Fever, Chills, etc.
But,
These side effects shall only stay for 24 hours till the contrast dye remains in your body. When the contrast dye exit, the side effects disappear automatically!
How is an MRI with contrast performed?
MRI with contrast lay conducted the very same way as a static MRI is, only there lay one additional step at the beginning & that is the allocation of contrast dye to the patient!
- When you walk up to the test lab, you shall see a long narrow tube-like machine standing on one side and a moveable bed standing right in front of the tube. The radiologist will ask you to lie down in this bed.
- Now, the contrast dye gets injected into your veins through an IV needle, and the area will be pressed & thereby covered with a small round-shaped Band-Aid. Hereafter, the radiology technician may ask you a few questions regarding your health and then instruct you to close your eyes.
- Once you are ready, the bed you are lying in gets moved into the tube & the machine lies switched on. Herein, the strong magnets shall try to provoke your body protons to send signals, and when they do so, the radio waves are likely to capture the signal & screen it on the computer.
That’s it! As long as the detailed imaging requirement remains, the test shall go on, and when it’s done, you shall be moved out of the machine and released!
What can an MRI with contrast show?
An MRI with contrast can show that a static MRI, without contrast cannot normally!
- It helps to show small tumors or cancers existing underlying your skin & flesh.
- MRI can help show soft tissue inflammations and those occurring in deeper areas between the bones.
- It helps show spine problems like herniated discs, compressed discs, pinched nerves, multiple sclerosis, etc.
- It also helps show damage in your heart chambers and heart walls, narrowed or bulged blood vessels, blood clots therein, and reduction in the blood flow to certain organs.
- MRI shows various brain abnormalities like white matter disease, Parkinson’s disease, brain infections, aneurysms, and a myriad of others.
How can an MRI with contrast tell you whether the mass is cancerous?
MRI with contrast offers cross-section images of your internal body parts. It locates a mass that is cancerous and thereby helps determine the stage! This view is called the axial view.
MRI with contrast also offers imaging from one side, somewhat like a sliced one from top to bottom. It’s called the sagittal view, which helps the doctor understand the extent of the cancerous mass and how far it has spread.
CEMRI renders imaging from the front to the back, somewhat like a ripped-out view, named the coronal view! This allows your doctor to see the origin of the cancerous mass and plan the cancer treatment accordingly.
MRI with contrast provides an oblique view of a cancerous mass growing in your endometrial or renal walls. It is not a perpendicular view, but rather the one tilted to 45 degrees.
The cancerous mass is likely to appear black in the MRI imaging and looks very different from a clear sinus. However, you may not be able to read the MRI findings of a cancerous mass and inevitably have to consult your doctor to understand what it shows!
Ending Remark:
Does your doctor predict from your symptoms that you may have a cancerous mass growing inside your body?
Did Doctor order an MRI to see whether the mass is actually cancerous or not? If so, to what extent is the cancerous mass spreading?
It’s high time you opt for the early diagnosis and acquire early treatment. For that purpose, you can book an MRI at www.mrichandigarh.com and eliminate the possibility of standing in a long queue to get your test done, thereupon fetching an early treatment before the situation goes out of hand!
For More info, You Can Contact us :
Call: 8699572364
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